Speaker
Description
The ARC fusion power plant is a high-field tokamak design, with underlying principles being demonstrated by the SPARC tokamak. These projects are spearheaded by Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) in Devens, MA, USA. SPARC and ARC are projected to achieve fusion gains of Q ≃ 10 [1] and Q ≃ 50 [2], respectively. At these gains, a burning plasma regime is realized where DT-fusion alpha particles dominate plasma heating. Understanding the stability of Alfvén Eigenmodes (AEs) is critical for tokamak operation, particularly in burning plasmas where alpha particles may drive Toroidal Alfven Eigenmode (TAE) instabilities. Such instabilities can lead to confinement losses, reduced performance, and challenges for steady-state operation. This study investigates TAE stability in SPARC and ARC scenarios using the FAR3d code [3]. Linear FAR3d simulations have found small TAE growth rates (𝛾/⍵ ≤ 0.3%) for all toroidal mode numbers on SPARC when including alphas and dampings, which is consistent with NOVA-K [4]. Building on this, nonlinear FAR3d simulations are used to investigate the saturation of AEs, with scans performed over toroidal mode numbers, energetic particle beta values, and the effects of Finite Larmor Radius (FLR) and electron-ion Landau damping. This understanding will help forecast AE and energetic particle mode (EPM) stability in operational scenarios for SPARC and ARC, identifying potential challenges and solutions for optimizing performance in a fusion power plant.
Supported in part by Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
[1] Creely, A.J., et al. Journal of Plasma Physics 2020.
[2] Creely, A.J., et al. APS DPP 2021.
[3] Varela, J., et al. Nucl. Fusion 2017.
[4] Tinguely, R.A., et al. Nucl. Fusion, Submitted, 2024.
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