Description
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A theoretical model is presented that for the first time matches experimental measurements of the pedestal width-height Diallo scaling in the low-aspect-ratio high-β tokamak NSTX. Combining linear gyrokinetics with self-consistent pedestal equilibrium variation, kinetic-ballooning, rather than ideal-ballooning plasma instability, is shown to limit achievable confinement in spherical tokamak pedestals. Simulations are used to find the novel Gyrokinetic Critical Pedestal constraint, which determines the steepest pressure profile a pedestal can sustain subject to gyrokinetic instability. Gyrokinetic width-height scaling expressions for NSTX pedestals with varying density and temperature profiles are obtained. These scalings for STs depart significantly from that of conventional aspect ratio tokamaks.
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Keyword
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conventional aspect ratio tokamaks, gyrokinetic instability, ideal-ballooning plasma instability, kinetic-ballooning-limited pedestals, linear gyrokinetics, low-aspect-ratio high- β tokamak NSTX, novel Gyrokinetic Critical Pedestal constraint, NSTX pedestals, pedestal width-height Diallo scaling, self-consistent pedestal equilibrium variation, spherical tokamak pedestals, spherical tokamak plasmas, width-height scaling expressions |
Notes
| PSFC REPORT PSFC/JA-24-126
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract Numbers DE-AC02-09CH11466, DE-SC0022270, DE-SC0022272, and the Department of Energy Early Career Research Program. The United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes.
If this record does not contain the full text, then the manuscript has been embargoed by the publisher thus restricting open access for 12 to 24 months after publication. |