Application of inter-linked superconducting coils for central solenoid and advanced divertor configuration of DEMO

Abstract

To determine the engineering feasibility of an “inter-linked” (IL) superconducting central solenoid (CS) and poloidal field (PF) coil, we studied the basic engineering design of the IL-CS and PF coil. We were able to use IL superconducting coils in a tokamak fusion demonstration power plant (DEMO) reactor to achieve a sufficient amount of the CS magnetic flux swing for the current ramp-up while maintaining plasma size and also achieving an advanced divertor concepts of “super-X divertor (SXD)” by locating near the plasma. A basic idea of the IL superconducting CS and PF coil concept is to wind a CS (PF coil) such that it is linked in a set of toroidal field (TF) coils. In this study, we considered the conductor and feeder design of the IL-CS and PF coil including the superconducting strand type, cooling, and winding and assembly methods, and determined that react and wind Nb3Al is a candidate for use in an IL coil and feeder in this specification. This paper presents the preliminary engineering design results of the IL superconducting CS and PF coil for creating a SXD equilibrium configuration.