[en] The density limit observed in tokamak experiments is thought to be due to a radiative collapse of the current channel. A transport code coupled with an MHD equilibrium routine is used to determine the detailed, self-consistent evolution of the plasma profiles in tokamak discharges with radiated power close to or equalling the input power. The present work is confined to ohmic discharges in steady state. It is found that the shape of the density profile can have a significant impact on the variation of the maximum electron density with plasma current. Analytic calculations confirm this result. 41 refs., 9 figs

[en] Effects of an energetic particle species on high-mode-number, curvature-driven instabilities in magnetic mirror and tokamak plasmas are studied. The author investigates whether or not these hot particles can stabilize the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) ballooning mode by having magnetic drift velocities large enough that they do not respond on the usual time scale of the instability and consequently allow thermonuclear fusion devices to operate at higher, more efficient plasma pressures. However, the energetic particles themselves are subject to instabilities that limit the effectiveness of this procedure. Using an MHD particle simulation code, the stabilizing effect of a diamagnetic well formed by the energetic particles is demonstrated in an axisymmetric mirror by treating the hot species as a rigid current ring. The results match those predicted by an analytic theory based on the MHD equations. More general aspects of linear stability in mirrors containing energetic particles are examined through analysis of equations derived from the drift kinetic equation. Numerical techniques are used to show that a magnetic compressional instability can arise if the core plasma density is to high or if the hot particle pressure gradient is too large. A similar set of equations is solved numerically in a tokamak geometry to determine whether or not energetic particles will allow access to the desirable second stability region for MHD ballooning modes

[en] The procedures developed previously to simulate the radiatively induced tokamak density limit are used to examine in more detail the scaling of the density limit. It is found that the maximum allowable density increases with auxiliary power and decreases with impurity concentration. However, it is demonstrated that there is little dependence of the density limit on plasma elongation. These trends are consistent with experimental results. Our previous work used coronal equilibrium impurities; the primary result of that paper was that the maximum density increases with current when peaked profiles are assumed. Here, this behavior is shown to occur with a coronal nonequilibrium impurity as well. 26 refs., 4 figs

[en] The components of the neutral- and plasma-surface interaction model used in the Monte Carlo neutral transport code DEGAS 2 are reviewed. The idealized surfaces and processes handled by that model are inadequate for accurately simulating neutral transport behavior in present day and future fusion devices. We identify some of the physical processes missing from the model, such as mixed materials and implanted hydrogen, and make some suggestions for improving the model

[en] Energy confinement scalings for the thermal component of the plasma published thus far have a different dependence on plasma density and input power than do scalings for the total plasma energy. With such thermal scalings, reactor performance (measured by Q, the ratio of the fusion power to the sum of the ohmic and auxiliary input powers) worsens with increasing density. This dependence is the opposite of that found using scalings based on the total plasma energy, indicating that reactor operation concepts may need to be altered if this density dependence is confirmed in future research

[en] The solution for the stability of ballooning mode equations in tokamaks with hot particles is presented. The system of equations requires solving a combined set of differential and integral equations accounting for the detailed hot particle orbits. Special techniques are developed to describe the equilibrium, the linear set of matrix equations and the boundary conditions. A modified WKB technique is developed to treat the boundary conditions. A detailed discussion is given of how boundary conditions are determined. We rigorously show why, in some cases, the eigenfunction may be exponentially growing with an outgoing group velocity. Sample results are presented

[en] A time-dependent zero-dimensional code has been developed to assess the pulse length and auxiliary heating requirements of Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) designs. By taking a global approach to the calculation, parametric studies can be easily performed. The accuracy of the procedure is tested by comparing with the Tokamak Simulation Code which uses theory-based thermal diffusivities. A series of runs is carried out at various levels of energy confinement for each of three possible CIT configurations. It is found that for cases of interest, ignition or an energy multiplication factor Q /approxreverse arrowgt/ 7 can be attained within the first half of the planned five-second flattop with 10--40 MW of auxiliary heating. These results are supported by analytic calculations. 18 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs

[en] Distributions that give rise to energetic trapped particle pressures peaked in the ''good curvature'' region of a tokamak (sloshing distributions) are examined in an attempt to find stable regimes for both the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and precessional modes. It is the precessional drift destabilization of ballooning modes that inhibits bridging the unstable gap to second stability by the use of deeply-trapped energetic particles unless the hot particles have an extremely large energy (∼0.35 MeV for a tokamak like PDX). Unfortunately, our calculations indicate that the sloshing particles do not have a significant stabilizing effect. An analytic treatment shows that complete stability can be found only if the sign of the energetic particle magnetic drift-frequency can be reversed from its value in vacuum bad curvature without hot species diamagnetism. This is difficult to do in a tokamak because of the destabilizing contribution of the geodesic curvature to the drift frequency. Furthermore, for each of the two sloshing distributions employed (one contains only trapped particles; the other includes trapped and passing particles), a new ''continuum instability'' (where asymptotically along the field line the mode is a propagating plane wave) is found to be driven by geodesic curvature. These results indicate that energetic sloshing particles are not able to bridge the unstable gap to second stability

[en] A global power balance code employing Monte Carlo techniques had been developed to study the ''probability of ignition'' and has been applied to several different configurations of the Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT). Probability distributions for the critical physics parameters in the code were estimated using existing experimental data. This included a statistical evaluation of the uncertainty in extrapolating the energy confinement time. A substantial probability of ignition is predicted for CIT if peaked density profiles can be achieved or if one of the two higher plasma current configurations is employed. In other cases, values of the energy multiplication factor Q of order 10 are generally obtained. The Ignitor-U and ARIES designs are also examined briefly. Comparisons of our empirically based confinement assumptions with two theory-based transport models yield conflicting results. 41 refs., 11 figs

[en] Detailed simulations of the Compact Ignition Tokamak are carried out using a 1-1/2-D transport code. The calculations include time-varying densities, fields, and plasma shape. It is shown that ignition can be achieved in this device if somewhat better than L-mode energy confinement time scaling is possible. We also conclude that the performance of such a compact, short-pulse device can depend greatly on how the plasma is evolved to its flat-top parameters. Furthermore, in cases such as the ones discussed here, where there is not a great deal of ignition margin and the electron density is held constant, ignition ends if the helium ash is not removed. In general, control of the deuterium--tritium density is equivalent to burn control. 48 refs., 15 figs