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Ding S, Garofalo AM, Wang HQ, Weisberg DB, Li ZY, Jian X, Eldon D, Victor BS, Marinoni A, Hu QM, Carvalho IS, Odstrčil T, Wang L, Hyatt AW, Osborne TH, Gong XZ, Qian JP, Huang J, McClenaghan J, Holcomb CT, Hanson JM. A high-density and high-confinement tokamak plasma regime for fusion energy. Nature 2024; 629:555-560. [PMID: 38658758 PMCID: PMC11096097 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07313-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
The tokamak approach, utilizing a toroidal magnetic field configuration to confine a hot plasma, is one of the most promising designs for developing reactors that can exploit nuclear fusion to generate electrical energy1,2. To reach the goal of an economical reactor, most tokamak reactor designs3-10 simultaneously require reaching a plasma line-averaged density above an empirical limit-the so-called Greenwald density11-and attaining an energy confinement quality better than the standard high-confinement mode12,13. However, such an operating regime has never been verified in experiments. In addition, a long-standing challenge in the high-confinement mode has been the compatibility between a high-performance core and avoiding large, transient edge perturbations that can cause very high heat loads on the plasma-facing-components in tokamaks. Here we report the demonstration of stable tokamak plasmas with a line-averaged density approximately 20% above the Greenwald density and an energy confinement quality of approximately 50% better than the standard high-confinement mode, which was realized by taking advantage of the enhanced suppression of turbulent transport granted by high density-gradients in the high-poloidal-beta scenario14,15. Furthermore, our experimental results show an integration of very low edge transient perturbations with the high normalized density and confinement core. The operating regime we report supports some critical requirements in many fusion reactor designs all over the world and opens a potential avenue to an operating point for producing economically attractive fusion energy.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Ding
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA.
| | | | - H Q Wang
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Z Y Li
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - X Jian
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - D Eldon
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - B S Victor
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - A Marinoni
- University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Q M Hu
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | | | - L Wang
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | | | | | - X Z Gong
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - J P Qian
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - J Huang
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | | | - C T Holcomb
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - J M Hanson
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Wang L, Wang HQ, Ding S, Garofalo AM, Gong XZ, Eldon D, Guo HY, Leonard AW, Hyatt AW, Qian JP, Weisberg DB, McClenaghan J, Fenstermacher ME, Lasnier CJ, Watkins JG, Shafer MW, Xu GS, Huang J, Ren QL, Buttery RJ, Humphreys DA, Thomas DM, Zhang B, Liu JB. Integration of full divertor detachment with improved core confinement for tokamak fusion plasmas. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1365. [PMID: 33649306 PMCID: PMC7921092 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21645-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Divertor detachment offers a promising solution to the challenge of plasma-wall interactions for steady-state operation of fusion reactors. Here, we demonstrate the excellent compatibility of actively controlled full divertor detachment with a high-performance (βN ~ 3, H98 ~ 1.5) core plasma, using high-βp (poloidal beta, βp > 2) scenario characterized by a sustained core internal transport barrier (ITB) and a modest edge transport barrier (ETB) in DIII-D tokamak. The high-βp high-confinement scenario facilitates divertor detachment which, in turn, promotes the development of an even stronger ITB at large radius with a weaker ETB. This self-organized synergy between ITB and ETB, leads to a net gain in energy confinement, in contrast to the net confinement loss caused by divertor detachment in standard H-modes. These results show the potential of integrating excellent core plasma performance with an efficient divertor solution, an essential step towards steady-state operation of reactor-grade plasmas.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Wang
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - H Q Wang
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA.
| | - S Ding
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | | | - X Z Gong
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - D Eldon
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - H Y Guo
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | | | - J P Qian
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | | | | | | | - C J Lasnier
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - J G Watkins
- Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - M W Shafer
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - G S Xu
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - J Huang
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - Q L Ren
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | | | | | | | - B Zhang
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - J B Liu
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
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