Articolo in rivista, 2021, ENG, 10.1088/1741-4326/ac30c8

Implications of parasitic absorption of electron cyclotron waves on ITER operation around half-field

Poli F.M.; Farina D.; Figini L.; Poli E.

Princeton Plasma Phys Lab, Princeton, NJ USA; CNR, Inst Plasma Sci & Technol, Milan, Italy; Max Planck Inst Plasma Phys, Garching, Germany.

The ITER Research Plan envision operation around half of the nominal magnetic field (i.e. around B = 2.65 T) as a path to baseline operation. This work discusses constraints on the optimal range of magnetic field, which is bounded in the lower limit by the presence of the third-harmonic electron cyclotron resonance at half field, and on the upper limit by the loss of core heating and current drive. It will be shown that increasing the magnetic field by only 3%, i.e. to 2.75 T, eliminates the third harmonic parasitic absorption without compromising demonstration of access to H-mode, while operating at a magnetic field of 3.0 T - previously proposed for optimal use of the ion cyclotron system - would impair the use of the electron cyclotron system for core-heating and current drive. Operation at 2.65 T would still be possible if the polarization of the equatorial launcher is changed from X-mode to O-mode in the current flattop phase.

Nuclear fusion 61 (12), pp. 126035-1–126035-10

Keywords

ITER, half-field operation, non-active phase, electron cyclotron heating, integrated modeling

CNR authors

Farina Daniela, Figini Lorenzo

CNR institutes

ISTP – Istituto per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Plasmi