Transport-optimized pedestals at densities above the Greenwald limit
2025 Research Campaign, Thrust: High Opacity and Density Operation
Purpose of Experiment
High density operation has important leverage for fusion energy gain, which is proportional to density squared. Using high power Electron Cyclotron heating, the experiment “Transport-optimized pedestals at densities above the Greenwald limit” aims to reduce edge plasma collisions to achieve conditions relevant to the boundary of future fusion devices, and to establish the fundamental physics and scaling relations determining the density limit for high-confinement-mode (H-mode) under these conditions. The experiment also aims to extend the H-mode density limit using new control techniques.
Experimental Approach
The experiment “Transport-optimized pedestals at densities above the Greenwald limit” exploits a recently discovered power dependence of the high-confinement-mode (H-mode) density limit to push tokamak operation to higher plasma density. It will make use of advanced control technology to tailor the particle source and heating power injected into the plasma to maximize the boundary plasma density while avoiding back-transitions to low-confinement-mode (L-mode).
See more details, including project leads, at U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI).