Pellet fueling technology development leading to efficient fueling of ITER burning plasmas

Pellet injection is the primary fueling technique planned for core fueling of ITER [ITER Technical Basis 2002 ITER EDA Documentation Series (Vienna: IAEA)] burning plasmas. Efficient core plasma fueling with deuterium and tritium D-T is a requirement for achieving high fusion gain and it cannot be achieved with gas fueling. Injection of pellets from the inner wall has been shown on present day tokamarks to provide efficient fueling and is planned for use on ITER. Modeling of the fueling deposition from inner wall pellet injection using the Parks E×B drift model indicates that pellets have the capability to fuel well inside the separatrix. Gas fueling calculations show very poor neutral penetration due to the high density and wide scrape off layer. Isotopically mixed D-T pellets can provide efficient tritium fueling that will minimize tritium wall loading when compared to gas puffing. Currently the performance of the ITER inner wall guide tube design is under test with initial results indicating that pellet speeds in excess of 300 m/s will lead to fragmented pellets. The ITER pellet injection technology requirements and remaining development issues are discussed along with a plan to reach the design goal for employment on ITER.