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Princeton University Plasma Physics Laboratoi - Princeton, New Jersey 0L343 Annual Report Covering the Period October 1. 1985 to September 30, 1386 Princeton University Plasma Physics Laboratoi - Princeton, New Jersey 0L343 PPPL-Q-44 PPPL-Q—44 DE88 007501 Edited by Carol A. Phillips DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United Stales Government. Neither the United Slates Governmeni nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsi­ bility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that iti use would not infringe privately owned rights. Rrfsr ence herein to any specific commercial pruduct, process, or scmce by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise docs not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recom­ mendation, or Favoring by the United Stales Government or any agency thereof The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United Slates Government or any agency thereof. Unless otherwise designated, the work in this report is funded by the United States Depart­ ment of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-76- CHO-3073. Printed in the United States of America ^ Or Tiny pntfjm^T 1J: -^ Contents Preface 1 Principal Parameters Achieved in Experimental Devices 3 Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor 5 Princeton Large Torus 38 Princeton Beta Experiment 48 S-1 Spheromak 58 Current-Drive Experiment 64 X-Ray Laser Studies 67 Theoretical Division 74 Tokamak Modeling 86 Spacecraft Glow Experiment 92 Compact Ignition Tokamak 94 Engineering Department 104 Project Planning and Safety Office 122 Quality Assurance and Reliability 124 Administrative Operations 126 PPPL Invention Disclosures for Fiscal Year 1986 138 Graduate Education: Plasma Physics 140 Graduate Education: Plasma Science and Fusion Technology 143 Section Editors 147 Glossary of Abbreviations, Acronyms, Symbols 148 I Preface During 1986, the Tokamak Fusion Test nomenon at hrgher electron temperatures and Reactor (TFTR) set world records for both the densities. Preparations were made 1or PLT ion temperature and the Lawson parameter shutdown at the end of CY86. Central ion temperatures of 20 keV were The PBX (Princeton Beta Experiment) is being reached by injection of neutral-beam power in transformed into PBX-M, which will have the 15-20 MW range. The discovery, in these stronger bean-shaping capabilities and various experiments, of a new type of "enhanced auxiliary stabilization techniques. The beta value confinement regime" led to the achievement of is expected to rise from about 5% toward 10%. equivalent D-T 0-values above 0.2 at the 1 -MA and it may be able to enter the theoretically level of TFTR plasma current. The tokamak loop predicted second stability regime. voltage required to drive this current was found The S-1 device was equipped with an to vanish—a result that supports the existence improved flux core, and is investigating resistive- of the classically predicted "bootstrap effect," MHD dynamo mechanisms in 50-100 eV which could be of major importance for future spheromak plasmas with beta value of 5-10%. tokamak reactors. In separate TFTR experi­ The Current Drive Experiment (CDX) success­ ments, pellet injection into ohmically heated fully demonstrated the generation of a closed plasmas was used to reach a Lawson parameter 14 tokamak configuration maintained in quasi- nrE of 1.4 x 10 cm-3 sec at a temperature steady state by the injection of helicity from an of 1.4 keV. electron gun. For future TFTR operations, including D-T, the The X-Ray Laser program achieved a 182-A Engineering Department has devefoped a group soft-X-ray beam with 500-fold enhancement of computer models that simulate the as-built above spontaneous emission and only 5 mrad configuration of the poloidal field coils, and can divergence. Preparations are well underway for serve to set upper limits on all proposed a 1-TW picosecond laser facility, which is to operating scenarios. A substantial effort is now utilize multipholon processes to extend X-ray underway on TFTR tritium systems, in prepa­ lasers to shorter wavelengths. The Spacecraft! ration for the demonstration of D-T breakeven Glow Experiment achieved significant initial in 1990. results in both the areas of surface glow and A provisional conceptual design for the erosion. Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) was completed Extensive theoretical and computational in June, 1986. The CIT is to be the next major studies were carried out in support of CI1 and step in the U.S. fusion program beyond TFTR. other experimental projects, particularly in the If authorized for construction in FY88, the CIT areas of MHD slabilization, alpha-particle is scheduled to enter experimental operation at physics, simulation of ignitici conditions, and the TFTR site in 1993. divertor design. The theory of tokamak MHD The Princeton Large Torus (PLT) has extended stability has been advanced by the discovery Ion Bernstein Wave Heating (IBWH) to the 0.5- of an important new type of ballooning mode, MW level. Both the wave-coupling and plasma- by a comprehensive survey of resistive-kink- confinement results were found to be promising stable current profiles, and by the demonstration for future high-powered applications of IBWH. that stability is possible, under special condi­ Lower-hybrid current drive at 2.45 GHz was tions, for a central MHD safety factor well below used to study the sawtooth-stabilization phe­ unity. PRINCIPAL PARAMETERS ACHIEVED IN EXPERIMENTAL DEVICES (Fiscal Year 1986) Alternate Concept Parameters Tokamak Facilities Facilities TFTR PLT PBX PBX M S-1 CDX R(m) 2.48 1.32 1.45 1,65 0.40 0.59 a(m) 0.83 0.42 0.3 03 0.25 0.1 0.7 lp (MA) 2.5 0.6 0,8 0.35 — BT(T) 5.2 3.4 2.4 2.2 0.4 0.57 TAUX (sec) 1.0 0.5 0.3 0.5 — dc PAUX (MW) NB 2.0(100keV) — 7 (40 kV) 7 (40 kV) — — ICRF — 5.0 (30 MHz) „ 10 (30 MHz) — 0.002 LH — 1.0 (2.45 GHz) — 2.0 (4.6 GHz) — — ECRH — 0.05 (60 GHz) — — — 0.002 n(0) (cm-3)* 4.0 * 101" 0.8 * 101" 1.5 x 1014 3* 1014 3* 1013 T,(0) (keV)* 20 5.0 55 — 0.1 0.04 ^E (msec)* 500 40 40 — 0.25 0.2 *These highest values of n, T, and r were not achieved simultaneously. 3 /- TOKAMAK FUSION TEST REACTOR SUMMARY projected. An improvement of almosl two is expected when the high-species mix. (nHo/ni0i - 0.6) 120-kV, long-pulse ion sources are used in 1967. A further The main goal of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor improvement in nr of 2 to 3 is required for the (TFTR) is to carry out deutrium-tritium (D-T) break­ D-T break-even experiments, fn the supershot regime, even experiments in mid-1990, as indicated in the this will require that nr improves with plasma current, TFTR Research Plan (Fig. 1), TFTR has made and that techniques be developed to extend super- significant progress toward this goal during calendar shots from the present 1.0 MA to 2.5 MA. year 1986. TFTR is also exploring a high-density approach World-record ion temperatures of 20 keV were to D-T break-even experiments. Deutrium pellet achieved by a combination of improved plasma injectors developed and constructed at the Oak Ridge handling techniques and high neutral-beam-heating National Laboratory (ORNL) have been used to create power. The improved plasma handling—a reduction high-density (up to 4 * 101'' cm-3) peaked-density 1 5 1 14 of deuterium recycling—was made possible by profiles with world-record ne(0)?E ~ * ° cm-3 extensive conditioning of the large-area inner-wall sec in ohmically heated plasmas with T,(0) - Te(0) - 1.3 keV. Near-term experiments will concentrate bumper limiter. When low-density discharges at lp - 0.8 MA were heated with near balanced injection, on combining pellet injection with neutral-beam heating. Longer range experiments will utilize 6 MW the plasma stored energy rose to 3 MJ with ne(0) TE ~ 1013 cm-3 sec. This confinement ii r>T,;gr) y ihree of central ion-cyclotron radio-frequency (ICRF) times the low-mode value projecteo •>•••> i earlier heating to raise the ion temperature to multi-keV experiments. These "supershots" also U^ scord values. deuterium-deuterium (D-D) neutron yields *.' '2 * In addition to producing world-record parameters, 1016 neutrons per second with 6* 1015 neutron • per TFTR has made significant contributions to funda­ pulse. This neutron yield gave ODD ~ 6.7 x 10-4. If mental tokamak physics. The observation of a tritium were introduced with the same plasma (ne, nonohmic plasma current which is in agreement with the theoretical prediction of the "bootstrap" current T,. Te, Z) and beam parameters, a OQT ~ 0.2 is crej Cr 84 CT85 CT68 CY90 B, ~20tQ B.-50kG L-I5MA I.-2.5MA I,-10 MA P„~5M#(D) P.B-I5MW10I P»,-^7M*(D1 T-.--Q.5stc P„,~4MW P„r ~7*>MW r„-J OSM rMB~0.5ttC r„ -7 0-.K OH HB WCC""W 5larl.jp Stariup Optimisation a~i Optimizatio! n Ofiirni/al-ion | QH | ban rLrt J _J Jl • r.Ktj • Stilus «2N6 • Repealing •JNB In,. •UmjP.jHe • Idf • H/flf. •T'll S»l 1 r~^ | •••! 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