Science Opportunties for HBT-EP Enhanced by REBCO Superconducting TF Coils

With the success of the CFS/TFMC (MIT News, Sept 8, 2021), magnetic fusion research has entered a new age: moving from copper to high temperature superconductor. In this poster, we illustrate the advantages that would result if the HBT-EP pulsed copper TF coils are replaced by steady-state REBCO coils. The superconducting TF coils would greatly enlarge the experimental toroidal volume. Scientists and students would benefit from an easily configurable toroidal plasma with improved control capabilities. Increased scientific productivity results from repetitively pulsed, long plasma discharges. Unlike the very high-field CFS/TFMC, superconducting TF coils in HBT-EP would operate at lower field, lower stress, very high quench margin, but retain high current density. Non-insulated REBCO tapes would be co-wound with SS strip (as was proposed for the LDX upgrade), and each of twenty TF coils would be supported in individual SS cryostats and dewars like used in the CLEO device (from which HBT-EP was built.) With a steady TF, we show how HBT-EP's pulse-power systems could be replaced by solid-state equilibrium control amplifiers, illustrate several plasma shape scenarios, including those with large vacuum transforms, and describe frontier science questions that can be answered using a configurable superconducting research facility.