DOE OSTI · 3409337
First experimental realization of robust negative triangularity plasma control in a spherical tokamak
Abstract
In this work, we present the experimental realization of a plasma with a steady negative triangularity (NT) in a spherical tokamak (MAST-U) for the first time. An average triangularity of –0.1 was maintained for 100 ms in a double-null plasma with a plasma current of 600 kA, a neutral beam injected power of 3.2 MW, a normalized β of 2, and an elongation of 2 on the MAST-U spherical tokamak. Despite many constraints, this was made possible due to the development of a dedicated plasma shape control scheme and the validation and assessment of magnetic shape controllers in simulations. Furthermore, this effort lays the foundation for physics exploitation of the NT plasma in a spherical tokamak.
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Lvovskiy, A. [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000236491169), Vincent, C. [United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:000000027227409X), Anand, H. [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000296325680), Welander, A. S. [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000550637047), Blackmore, S. [United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000337546130), Kochan, M. [United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)], McArdle, G. [United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000308880105), Silburn, S. [United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000231115113), Nelson, A. O. [Columbia University, New York, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000296121936). 2026-08-11. First experimental realization of robust negative triangularity plasma control in a spherical tokamak. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587%2Fae92b1
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