.

I
TITLE: TOKAMAK EQUILIBRIA WITH f4CLOSE TO 1

LA-UR -77-2864

P. C. T.%-+ Va

r Laan and L. W . Mann

SUBMITTED

TO:

pRoc~EDINGs F THEHIGH-BETA O THEORY o~sfiop w VARENNA CONFERENCE, September 1977. Varenna, Como (Italy)

Wrlce
lSIb mp.m W ppmd m an wcoun( .1 work ipmwnd by h Umttd Stat41 G0v9mmmt. PWher tie Mud Smta nof the Unltcd Statel Otputmml .( Smtv, nof any 01dwlfempbyn9, ncwmy oftlmk rnik mntnctan, wbcontmctm, w thek ampbyas. my wwrmty, expmm or Impkd, of Uuni* my I@ r., th, lcc,,cy, ~m~una lability u mp.mauty a Wrulnem or sny Infommlml, apparatus, product or pr0a9 dkhd, M plwtu Lh,t it, . would O, ~] lnfr* ptimtcly .3-6 IS@,

. . ..

t]y acceptance of publisher recognizes in uny copyright ~nd representtitivcs huve whole secured or in p[~rt

this article for publication, the the Governments (license) rights the Governmwst and its authorized unrestricted ri~ht to reproduce in article under any copyright

stiid

by the publisher. requests that the pcrformmf under

The I.OS Alumos Scientific I.nborutory publ; *her identify this article as work thr tsuspiccs of the [JSEtIUIA.

scient
LOS ALAMOS,

1?
NEW MEXICO

alcamos
of California
87ti45

ic laboratory

of the University

Ii
An Affirmative Aclion/Equol

Oppoftunlty Employer
[~xlrl;rl srArEw KNKR(;Y RKSIMEWtlNI) A l)\ltl,ol\lltNl K AI)INlsrl{/$llos M (ONTI{A([ \\.7405.EN(;, :Mi

(J
Dl!liTIUBUTIONOF THIS DOCUMENT IS UNLIMITED

<

Sts,) !!1 :1; I 7:,

Fllrtll

N,!

~ lo

TOKAMAK EQUILIBRIA WITH ~ CLOSE TO 1

P. C. T. Van der Laan and L. W. Mann Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory of the University of C7.ifornia Los Alamos, New Mexico U.S.A.

Equilibrium

calculations

have

been

done

for

High-Beta Tokamak

experiment, that has been under consideratio~. in Los Alamos.1 The geometry ztudied was that of a torus with a

uajor radius R.

of

30 cm

and

racetrack-shaped minor cross section of a height of 48 cm and a width of24 cm. A uetal shell around the discharge vessel keeps the magnetic surfaces olosed and inside the vessel so that force-free currents can flow along the field lines. Results showing equilibria at very high beta have been obtained with a It appears that the beta limit for

computer program described in Ref. 2.

equilibrium has disappeared and thst the force-free currents and the elongation of the minor cross section allow equilibria with a beta close to 1 at a small shift of the magnetic axis. There is a stron& relation between these

pinch-like equilibria and the Flux Conserving Tokamak (F.C.T,). Equilibrium studies done earlier for a possible High-Beta Tokamak

experiment havtibeen extended to higher betas. The incentive for these studies was! the Idea that these equilibria should be possible if no separatrix is allowed to come inside the plasma,3-5 in other uord~ if q AS kept finite. In additicn to this condition on q, the two trial functions p(w) and I(GJ)used In the computer program were chosen to approximate a flat q(r) profile. There are

,.

-zthree reasons for this choice: the force-free currents corresponding to this flat q profile reduce the otherwise excessively large equilibrium shift of the plasma, secondly a flat q profile gives the best chance for stability6 and thirdly flat q-profiles are easy to generate experimentally, as has been shown in Screw Pinches. equilibria are The two functions that thus far have produced the best

P = P.
{

x - 0.6(1

-X)3

sin~ }

forx>O

(1)

lJoI= ROBO

()

1 - 2C : o

1/2

+ a$

(2)

where x = W-~)/(4Jm-lJc), is the poloidal flux times l/2?T,which runs from $ zero at the wall to Wc where the pressure starts to rise, to its maximum $m at the magnetic axis. axis. The plasma pressure, p, has its maximum p. on the magnetic

The poloidal current times l/2n is denoted as I, R is the distance to

the major axis, R. is the major radius and B. is the toroiddl field at radius R.. Equation (1) gives p an almost linear dependence on $, wihh a rounding off The first term on the right hand side of Eq. (2)

near the low-pressure edge.

generates the diamagnetic dip in the toroidal magnetic field with a pressure dependence as in a high-beta theta pinch. The last term in Eq, (2) represents the force-free aurrents. The coefficient ~ is chosen to give a reasonably flat q(r). The toroldal current density on the magne axis, j,, required to %

, ,,

...

-3produce the right q value on axis, can be used to find the coefficient C by means of the equation

(3)

evaluated on the magnetic axis with Eqs. (1) and (2). One of the many equilibria that have been found is described in Table I and Figs. 1 and 2.

TABLE I PARAMETERS FOR EXAMPLE OF EQUILIBRIUM INPUT po(MPa) m

0.3

0=
ymax

BO(T)
2.0

c 0.44

%->

OUTPUT <f3T>
0.540

6
0.:;3

@rms 9.713

Y&l L

Shift (cm) Lf(nH) 4.46 119.1

The

three 8

values

ligted

in

the

table are:

the

averafle toroidal 6,

2 P. <p>/Bo2 often used in Tokamak literature; the local 6 on the magnetio axis, 2 popo 2 lJOPO + 6$2(rx) l; and a root mean square 6, defined as } 2 ]Jo<p2>/Bo2 which should be a figure of uerit for fusion reaotor r { The inductance Lf is the inductance 27TlJm/10 which the

extrapolations. I

capacitor bank sees.

...

-4The

peak pressure and the ~ values for this example are very high.

It is

~l!nostcertain that equilibria with @ax = 1 exist also, although no se~ious attempt has been made to find out what p(~) and 1(0) functions would be needed for this rather degenerate case. A reasonable conclusion is that the $ limit

for the equilibrium has disappeared. This is probably a general conclusion for flux conserving equilibria but the elongation cf the cross section and the force-free currents are required to reduce the outward shift to a tolerable value, such as obtained her.. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the equilibrium of Table I. Figure 1 shows at

the left the flux plot in the top half of the racetrack and at the right the distribution of the toroidal and the pololdal field, the pressure and the safety factor q along the midplane of the torus. than 1 everywhere. The value of q is greater

At these high 6 values an elongation of the innermost

uagnetic surfaces takes place, which increases the q values near the uagnetic
axis. Either this Increase of q or the elongation, which increases the chance for ballooning, lead to a violation of the Mercier criterion near the magnetic axis. How relevant this is, or whether this could be rectified by

modifications of the p and I functions, or by flattening of the p-profile in an actual experiment is an Gpen question. Figure 2 shows the distribution of the current densities along the

mldplane of the torus. At the left the poloidal and toroldal current densities are plotted: nc?e the large jpol, necessary at this high ~. perpendicular and parallel currents are shown. At the right the

-5-

The parallel currents flow throughout the plasma, also in the pressureless plasma outside the pressure profile. These force-free currents contribute

strongly to the toroidal current and reduce the toroidal shift of the plasma. lheerpendicular currents flow Inside the pressure profile only and are peaked p at the cutside, similar to what is seen in the Oak Ridge FCT.5 High-beta equilibria, such as described could be produced rather easily in Screw PZ~ch-like uachines. Required are the closely fitting shell, a uodest

vertical elon~ation and a programming of external currents to ge~erate the flat q-profile. Heating is in fact easier for these higher betas because the
u

implosion heating is

ore efficient at a lower bias field.

~

The crucial question for these high-beta Tokamak equilibria is what the limit for stak.itywill be.

Existing stability theories6 show the beneficial

effect of both the elongation and the force-free currents, but are not directly applicable because the model used has a sharp skin plasma, has no wall An extension of the

stabilization and has separatrixes present in sc}mecases.

equilibrium code used, can test for MHD stability, but there are problems with the required numerical accuracy. Experimental evidence for at least a fair zmount of stablq.itycan be inferred from Screw Pinch7 and Belt Pincha experiments in which lifetimes of a out 200 us were obtained. initial f3 of The problem in these experiments is that the

respectively 20 and 60Z decays, so that a conclusion about To avoid this decay one nee~s cleaner

long-term stability id not possible.

systems and operation at higher temperatures, so that especially the Intense radiation of Lithium-like ions, such as O VI, can be avoided. The strong

-6-

Initial oscillation in the midplane around the eccentric equilibrium position proves that the field configuration is able to hold both plasma pressure and outward momentum. This provides evidence that higher B values could be held

also, but does not say much about stability because of the short duration of the maximum outward excursion. Although both theory and experjrnentprovide these promising indications, no clear information on the stabiliky ~ limit Is available at this stage. Three theoretical studies, possible with the ~aker-~ann code are briefly described here. . The parameter $C In Table I can be increased to produce a narrower plasma profile. Results obtained thus far, show that the elongation of the

magnetic surfaces can be retained even when the profile width at half PO is reduced to
8 cm.

These

studies

can

give

information on

the

a~cessibility of elongated equilibria at higher compression ratios, (a problem discussed in Ref. 9). Results quoted in Ref. 10 show that the

plasma has less tendency to shrink to a circular cross section If force-free currents are present.
q

The stability might be imprGVed if the uinor cross section of the machine is given a D-shape. To facilitate construction we chose a shape in which a circular bulge was added to the outside of the racetrack, and the inside of the racetrack was kept straight. A number of equilibria in this

geometry hes been studied; a conclusion is that the Mercier unste.ble agnetic axis shrinks; however the peak pressure in these region near the u studies was only 1.5 MPa.

-7q

The force-free currents C1OS,?to the wall can be made to fall off by a reduction of near the wall. Experimentalll and theoretica1126 evidence

indicates that this has little effect on equilibrium and stability. It IS nevertheless interesting to study this effect in
u

ore detail, because the

current channel is expected to shrink at later times. Both in the FCT and in the HBT u achine, for which the calculations were done, flux conservation is of crucial importance. In the FCT fluxes are

conserved from the uoment when powerful additional heating is applied to the conventional tokamak target plasma. In implosion-heated Takamaks, the

configuration is set up and an important part of the heating takes place during the implosion. Eecause a large heating power (order GW) is fed into the plasma during this setting-up phase (order I-Is) fluxes are conserved right from beginning. the

This conclusion could be valid for pinches in general, but there

are two restrictions.

q

Pinches operated at lower densities induce large drift velocities and have consequently large anomalous resistivities.
u

This provides an efficient

eans of heating but leads also to an enhanced interdiffusion of field and

plasma and hence to poor flux conservation.

q

Pinches constructed without a conducting shell or with an externally applied vertical field can only be flux conservin~ in that limited part of the cross section where the flux surfaces remain in a well conducting plasma.

-8-

In Screw Pinches and in the liBT-plans,the ~onstruccion of the shell and tilechosen density range are such that both restriction: are largely avoided. oving wi.h This leads tc a cmservation of the safety factor q for an observer u the field lines, in other words: Dq/Dt = O. This Is the same condition as the

one used in FCT desoriptims where q(~] is constant. The initial q(o) profile which stays constant during the heating phase in the FCT, is that of the conventional Tokamak discharge, which is formed before the additional heating starts. Curve a in Fig. 3 shows such a q profile. The q profile in Screw Pinches and in the HBT 1? built up during the formation, when the field lines move in.
Since the field lines carry In their

q value, the time history of q at the wall determines the resulting spatial q valiation. Curve c in Fig. 3 represents the result for the simples~ To

programming: a q(wall) constant in time produces a uniform q in space. generate curves a or b, q(wall) should rise in time.

Such a time behavior of

q(wall) can be obtained by slowing down the rise of the plasma current relative to the rise of the toroidal field. Appropriate modifications in t;~eexternal Profiles

circuits make it.in fact possible to generate any given q-profile.

such as a have the force-free currents that are also present in regular Tokamak discharges; a profile as c has additional programmed folce-free currents.

REFERENCES 1. P. C. T. Van der Laan, J. P. Freidberg and K. S. Thomas, ProPO:al for the Construction of a High-E?etaTokam~k at LASL, Los Alamos report LA-6413-P 1976.

-92.

Studies for a High-Eeta Tokamak~ D. A. Eaker and L. W. Harm, llEquilibri.? Bull. Am. Phys. SOC. Q, and L. U. Mann, 642 (1974). Also D. A. I?akf?r

MIIDStability Studies of Kumerlcally Obtained Toroldal Equilibria, Proc. 2nd Top. Conf. on Pulsed HiSh-Eeta Plasmas, Garching report IPP1/127,

Paper E7, 69-72 (I?T2). 3=

V. S.

Mukhovatov and V. D. Shafranov, Plasma Equilibrium in a Tokamak,ll 605-633 (1971).

Nucl. Fusion U,

4.

P. C. T. Van der Laan, k. Schuurman, J. K. A. Zwart and J. p. (loedbloed, On the Decay of the Longitudinal Current ia Toroidal Screw Pinches,n IAEA Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Plasma Physics and Contr. Nucl. Fusion

Re~ear~h, Madison (1971) Vol. 1, pp 217-223.

5.

R. A. Dory

and

Y-K.

M.-Peng,

High-Pressure, Flux-Conserving Tokamak

Equilibr!.a, Nucl. Fusicnm,

21-31 (1977).

6.

D. A. D~Ippolito,
ll~aAimiz~ng B in a

J. P. Freldh>rg,

J. P. Goedbloed,

and

J. Rem,

Tokamak with Force-Free Currents~tt Sixth Intern. Conf.

on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research, Berchtesgaden, Federal Republic of Germany, Oct. 6-13, 1976, Vol. I, 523-5~5.

7.

A. A. M. Oomens, C. ~beldijk, J. A. Hoekzema, A. F. G.

Do

Van der Meer, and 8th Eur.

Oepts, IiInfluence Predischarge Conditions in SPICA~ proc. of

Conf. on Contr. Fusion Bnd Plasma Physics, Prague 1977, p 71.

-1o8.

E. Graffmann, F. Hoenen, A. Kaleck, L. K&?n,

M. Korten, and J. sChl;tFr,

*Experimental investigations of the Stability of a Pelt-Pinch to Vertical Displacements, Prague, p. 77.

9.

A. Kadish and D. C. Stevens, ~Equilibria and Adiabatic Compression of Fres-Eloundary Belt ?inches,!!Nuc1. Fusion N,
821:829 (1974).

100

J. A. Hoekzema, ltTorojdal Equilibrium of

Non-Circular Sharp

Boundary

Plasmas Surrounded by Force-Free Fields,lt in &h_lsedHiKh Eeta Plasmas, (Culham Laboratory, Abingdon, September 9-12, 1975) PergarnonPress, New York (1976) 535-539.

11.

C. Bobeldijk, J. A. Hoekzema, M. Mimura, D. Oepts, and A. A. M. Oomens, IIcurrent

Decay and

Stability in SPICA,lSixth Intern.

Corlf, on Plasma

Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research, Berchtesgaden, Federal Republic of Germany, Oct. 6-I3, 1976, Vol. I, 493-500.

12. J. 0. Hoekzema, llDe~ayand profile of the TorGidal Plasma Current in a Screw Pinch,!tin Pulsed Hi~h Beta Plasmas, (Culhdm Laboratory, Abingdon, 541-545. September 9-12, 1975) ?ergam>n Press, New York (1976)

FIGURE CAPTIONS

Fig. 1.

Flux plot for the top ha]f of the racetrack and plots of B +P p, and q &long the midplane of the torus. The safety factor q

is calculated for each magnetic surface and is plotted at either side of the magnetic axis. the magnetic ax% Note Lhe relatively small shift of The parameters for this

at this high pressure.

equilibrium are given in Table I.

Fig. 2.

Tile current densities for the equilibrium of Table I and ?ig. 1 plotted along the midplane of the torus. Inside the pressure

profile which is also shown, both parallel ard psrpendic~lar currents are flowing, vhereas only has dropped to zero. parallel
CULrCnt.S

can flow when P

The poloidal currents change sign in that

region, thereby separating the parama~netic outside from the diamagnetic inside plasma.

Fig. 3.

Various q profiles that can be produced in Screw Pinches or in the hBT. Carve a corresponds to the FCT profile; curve c shows

the flat profile required for the high-beta equilibria discussed in the text.

.,

24

18- 4. 20

3. 0+ u

Is

\
z. 10

6--

m . i= -% m
24

i= -a

1,

05

0? 18

30
RADIUS
[cm)

36

42

o
22 26 W 34

-1

RADIUS

(CM)

-2

40

J-

4-20

40-

I
20 P -

P 30~ a 20. -LO : 2 IA g 10- L 2030-

10

& >
L. ,,1 L = n.

100~
16 -10 IL

o 18

r
42

-lo

--

-20-

-20

,,

I
AXIS

WALL