Negative triangularity shape development

2024 Research Campaign, Plasma Control

Purpose of Experiment

The overall goal of this diverted negative triangularity (NT) plasma control study is to identify and incorporate more optimized algorithmic and hardware configurations that allow us to expand the achievable NT plasma parameter operating space to the fullest extent possible given the existing DIII-D Poloidal Field coilset and their actuating power supplies.

Background: DIII-D has been exploring NT since 2016 and in 2023 had a successful campaign with some limitations to the plasma shape due to available control. This experiment aims to provide methods with which the DIII-D tokamak can be most fully utilized to study remaining NT challenges. If successful, this would enable a more robust assessment of NT fusion pilot plant physis without requiring the construction of an entirely new tokamak facility.

Experimental Approach

This experiment will be conducted in several well-separated sessions in order to allow the experimental team adequate time to efficiently adjust control strategies based on prior results. All efforts will be simulated in the simulation environment before attempting implementation on the DIII-D machine. A new patch panel (different power supply and poloidal coil pairings are used for different shapes) has been developed for this experiment with a new grounding scheme. This requires a new breakdown setup with different coils, which will be testing during this run day.

See more details, including project leads, at U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI).