Abstract Details

Add files

Advancement of Stellarator Improvement Goals Through International Collaboration

Author: Hutch Neilson
Requested Type: Poster Only
Submitted: 2009-12-21 10:58:10

Co-authors: G. H. Neilson, D. A. Gates, M. Bitter, T. G. Brown, T. A. Dodson, P. J. Heitzenroeder, D. Monticello, A. H. Reiman, M. C. Zarnstorff (PPPL); J. H. Harris, M. J. Cole, P. J. Fogarty (ORNL)

Contact Info:
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
P. O. Box 451, MS-38
Princeton, NJ   08543
U.S.A.

Abstract Text:
Stellarators offer robust physics solutions for overcoming major control challenges facing MFE— maintenance of the poloidal field without current drive, and elimination of most of the causes and effects of disruptions and other transients. While some of the needed physics tests are still in planning or preparation, the likelihood of success is such that stellarator research now increasingly focuses on engineering goals– reducing the technical risks foreseen in the construction and maintenance of large-scale stellarators. The complex geometries of modern stellarator coils, the source of much of the risk, are determined using numerical optimization to achieve desired plasma properties within engineering constraints. Technical risk reduction therefore requires us to deepen our understanding of the quantitative physics and engineering metrics that drive design, and in doing so to take advantage of opportunities to collaborate on large-scale stellarator experiments in Germany (W7 X) and Japan (LHD).
A partial list of U.S. collaborations on these two projects includes:
-Understanding beta-limiting physical mechanisms on LHD.
-Improving profile measurements in high-beta LHD regimes, including a high-resolution x ray spectrometer and an advanced equilibrium reconstruction tool.
-Performing analysis supporting the integration of complex coil support systems, e.g. cryogenic piping, in the assembly of W7 X.
-Designing innovative tooling for installing large but fragile superconducting coil leads within tight space constraints on W7 X.
-Developing a reliable and cost-effective insulator for W 7X superconducting joints.
An overview of progress on these tasks, and their relevance to stellarator goals, will be presented. Opportunities for broadening U.S. collaboration in LHD and W7 X will also be discussed.

Characterization: A4,A5

Comments: