Extrapolation of the W7‐X Magnet System to Reactor Size

Abstract

AbstractThe fusion experiment Wendelstein 7‐X (W7‐X), presently under construction at the Greifswald branch institute of IPP, shall demonstrate the reactor potential of a HELIAS stellarator. HELIAS reactors with three, four and five periods have been studied at IPP since many years. With a plasma axis induction of 5 T, corresponding to about 10 T maximal induction at the coil, it was shown that such reactors are feasible. Now the possibility is being investigated to increase the conductor induction up to the 12 T – range, corresponding to > 5.5 T at the plasma axis. This improves the stellarator confinement properties but does not change the basic physics with respect to the previously analyzed machines. In particular the 5periodic HELIAS type, HSR5, is considered which evolves from W7‐X by linear scaling of the main dimensions by a factor of four.Recent progress in superconductor technology and the extensive development work performed for ITER are taken into account. The latter is particularly relevant since by coincidence the circumferences of the HSR5 and the ITER toroidal field coils are practically the same. For the presented 12 T reactor version, the HSR50a, also the conductor and structural requirements are comparable to the corresponding ITER specifications. Therefore, advantage can be taken of these similarities for the stellarator reactor magnet design.The input was provided by the new code “MODUCO” which was developed for interactive coil layout. It is based on Bézier curve approximations and includes the computation of magnetic surfaces and forces (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)