Title :
ITER plasma start-up modeling
Author :
Leuer, J.A. ; Wesley, J.C.
Author_Institution :
Gen. Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA
Abstract :
The plasma start-up characteristics of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) tokamak are presented. The initial plasma breakdown and plasma formation phases of the discharge are simulated using an eigenmode analysis which includes induced eddy currents flowing toroidally in the in-vessel blanket and vacuum vessel components. Poloidal field (PF) coil voltages are optimized to meet plasma breakdown specifications. Piecewise linear PF voltages we optimized using a constrained, least squares technique which minimize an object function composed of linear combinations of fields, field time derivatives, and voltages at the breakdown location. Constraints on the voltages are included and are used to determine the influence of superconductor limits on the overall breakdown performance of ITER
Keywords :
Tokamak devices; fusion reactor design; fusion reactor ignition; fusion reactors; plasma simulation; superconducting coils; ITER plasma start-up modeling; International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor; PF coil voltages; constrained least squares technique; discharge; eigenmode analysis; in-vessel blanket; induced eddy currents; initial plasma breakdown; linear PF voltages; piecewise linear PF voltages; plasma formation; poloidal field coil voltages; superconductor limits; tokamak; toroidal flow; vacuum vessel components; Analytical models; Breakdown voltage; Coils; Eddy currents; Inductors; Piecewise linear techniques; Plasma properties; Plasma simulation; Tokamaks; Vacuum breakdown;
Conference_Titel :
Fusion Engineering, 1993., 15th IEEE/NPSS Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Hyannis, MA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1412-3
DOI :
10.1109/FUSION.1993.518409
