Experimental results from the TFTR tokamak

Abstract

Recent experiments on TFTR have extended the operating regime of TFTR in both ohmic- and neutral-beam -heated discharges. The TFTR tokamak has reached its original machine-design specifications ( I p = 2.5 MA and B T = 5.2 T). Initial neutral-beam -heating experiments used up to 6.3 MW of deuterium beams. With the recent installation of two additional beamlines, the power has been increased up to 11 MW. A deuterium pellet injector was used to increase the central density to 2.5 x 10 20 m -3 in high-current discharges. At the opposite extreme, by operating at low plasm a current ( I p ~ 0.8 MA) and low density ( n e~ 1 x 10 19 m -3 ), high ion temperatures (9 + 2 keV) and rotation speeds (7 x 10 5 m s -1 ) have been achieved during injection. In addition, plasma-compression experiments have demonstrated acceleration of beam ions from 82 to 150 keV, in accord with expectations. The wide operating range of TFTR, together with an extensive set of diagnostics and a flexible control system, has facilitated transport and scaling studies of both ohmic- and neutral-beam -heated discharges. The result of these confinement studies are presented.