1. ITER plasma start-up modeling
- Author
-
J.A. Leuer and J.C. Wesley
- Subjects
Physics ,Thermonuclear fusion ,Tokamak ,business.industry ,Nuclear engineering ,Electrical engineering ,Plasma ,Fusion power ,Inductor ,law.invention ,Physics::Plasma Physics ,Electromagnetic coil ,law ,Eddy current ,Breakdown voltage ,business - 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.
- Published
- 2002