Steady state scenario development with elevated minimum safety factor on DIII-D

On DIII-D (Luxon 2005 Fusion Sci. Technol. 48 828), a high β scenario with minimum safety factor (q_min) near 1.4 has been optimized with new tools and shown to be a favourable candidate for long pulse or steady state operation in future devices. The new capability to redirect up to 5 MW of neutral beam injection (NBI) from on- to off-axis improves the ability to sustain elevated q_min with a less peaked pressure profile. These changes increase the ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) n = 1 mode β_N limit thus providing a path forward for increasing the noninductive current drive fraction by operating at high β_N. Quasi-stationary discharges free of tearing modes have been sustained at β_N = 3.5 and β_T = 3.6% for two current profile diffusion timescales (about 3 s) limited by neutral beam duration. The discharge performance has normalized fusion performance expected to give fusion gain Q ≈ 5 in a device the size of ITER. Analysis of the poloidal flux evolution and current drive balance show that the loop voltage profile is almost relaxed even with 25% of the current driven inductively, and q_min remains elevated near 1.4. These observations increase confidence that the current profile will not evolve to one unstable to a tearing mode. In preliminary tests a divertor heat flux reduction technique based on producing a radiating mantle with neon injection appears compatible with this operating scenario. 0D model extrapolations suggest it may be possible to push this scenario up to 100% noninductive current drive by raising β_N. Similar discharges with q_min = 1.5-2 were susceptible to tearing modes and off-axis fishbones, and with q_min > 2 lower normalized global energy confinement time is observed.