Optimizing fusion power balance using HTS magnets, negative triangularity, and high-Z impurities

A well-studied configuration for net fusion power is the steady-state conventional aspect ratio advanced tokamak that uses D-T fuel and superconducting magnets. Recent advances in high temperature superconductor (HTS) magnet technology have encouraged the exploration of toroidal plasmas that deviate from this model. In particular, we use 0-D and 1-D reactor models to explore the benefits of a pulsed approach and using advanced fuel cycles, both of which offer potential physics and engineering simplification. Recent research also shows that tokamaks with negative triangularity configurations can exhibit improved confinement. We adapted a computational tokamak reactor model^[1] to allow leverage of the triangularity of the plasma and density profile of seeded high-Z impurities, as well as other more typical plasma parameters. With this model, we explore the effect of HTS technology, advanced fuel cycles, negative triangularity, and seeded impurities on fusion power balance.

[1] D. Whyte et al. “Maximizing fusion power in an ARC-class tokamak with a heat exhaust solution.” APS-DPP Virtual Conference, 2020.