Magnetohydrodynamic stability regimes for steady state and pulsed reactors

Abstract

Abstract A tokamak reactor will operate at the maximum value of β ≡ 2μ0 〈p〉/B2 that is compatible with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability. This value depends on the plasma current and pressure profiles, the plasma shape and aspect ratio, and the location of nearby conducting structures. In addition, a steady state reactor will minimize its external current drive requirements and thus achieve its maximum economic benefit with a bootstrap fraction near unity, IBS/IP ≈ 1, which constrains the product of the inverse aspect ratio and the plasma poloidal β to be near unity, ϵβP ≈ 1. An inductively driven pulsed reactor has different constraints set by the steady-state Ohm's law which relates the plasma temperature and density profiles to the parallel current density. We present the results obtained during ARIES I, II/IV, and III and PULSAR reactor studies where these quantities were optimized subject to different design philosophies. The ARIES-II/IV and ARIES-III designs are both in the second stability regime, but differ in requirements in the form of the profiles at the plasma edge, and in the location of the conducting wall. The relation between these, as well as new attractive MHD regimes not utilized in the ARIES or PULSAR studies, is also discussed.