Saddle Point Condition for D-³He Tokamak Fusion Reactor

Abstract

The concept of a generalized ignition contour map, showing , and T, is used to study the ignition criterion for a D-³He fusion reactor with plasma temperature and density profiles. Direct heating scenarios to the D-³He ignition regime without the help of deuterium-tritium burning are considered. The machine size and enhancement factor for the confinement time required to reach D-³He ignition can be simply determined by comparing the height of the operation path with Goldston L-mode scaling and the height of the generalized saddle point. A confinement enhancement factor of 2 to 3 is required in the case of a large plasma current (30 to 80 MA) in a small-aspect-ratio tokamak. On the other hand, for a small plasma current (≲10 MA), large-aspect-ratio tokamak, an enhancement factor of 5 to 6 is necessary to reach ignition. Fuel dilution effects by fusion products and impurities, the confinement degradation effect due to 14-MeV protons, and the operation paths are also considered. To lower the height of the saddle point, and hence the auxiliary heating power, we optimize the fuel composition and examine operation in the hot ion mode.