On similarity scaling of tokamak fusion plasmas with different aspect ratio

Abstract

Previously, tokamak research has been focused mainly on large aspect ratio devices where the vessel/plasma major radius is about a factor three larger than the plasma radius. This research culminated in the design and construction of the international thermonuclear experimental reactor, ITER. Spherical tokamaks (ST), with aspect ratio below two, represent an attractive alternative to large aspect ratio tokamaks as, in our opinion, provide a faster, more economical and compact solution on the path to a fusion reactor. STs are the focus of research at Tokamak Energy Ltd with its present device ST40 in operation and the first ST reactor being designed, taking advantage of the high temperature superconductor (HTS) technology. HTS allow to design a ST with magnetic field/comparable or exceeding that of present-day large aspect ratio tokamaks. However, plasma studies carried out so far on compact, low aspect ratio tokamaks have been limited to small, low magnetic field, low plasma-current devices and therefore the data available for extrapolating to large scale ST plasmas is limited. This paper addresses the problem of scaling the results of large aspect ratio tokamak and existing ST plasmas to a high field ST reactor using plasma-similarity arguments in order to mitigate its design and operational risks. The role of the plasma aspect ratio in scaling burning plasmas as well as conventional experiments in deuterium is highlighted. We find that the scaling for fusion-reactor plasmas exhibit a stronger dependence on the magnetic field and aspect ratio than the one of conventional non-burning plasmas. The parameters of a ST having the same fusion gain Q fus of ITER under different confinement assumptions and for different aspect ratios are presented and discussed.