Simons Hour Talk

Stellarator Coil Optimization Supporting Multiple Magnetic Configurations
Date
Feb 15, 2024, 10:00 am11:00 am
Location
Virtual

Speaker

Details

Event Description

Abstract: We present a technique that can be used to design stellarators with a high degree of experimental flexibility. For our purposes, flexibility is defined by the range of values the rotational transform can take on the magnetic axis of the vacuum field while maintaining satisfactory quasisymmetry. We show that accounting for configuration flexibility during the modular coil design improves flexibility beyond that attained by previous methods. Careful placement of planar control coils and the incorporation of an integrability objective enhance the quasisymmetry and nested flux surface volume of each configuration. We show that it is possible to achieve flexibility, quasisymmetry, and nested flux surface volume to reasonable degrees with a relatively simple coil set through an NCSX-like example. This example coil design is optimized to achieve three rotational transform targets and nested flux surface volumes in each magnetic configuration larger than the NCSX design plasma volume. Our work suggests that there is a tradeoff between flexibility, quasisymmetry, and volume of nested flux surfaces.

Talk time in other timezones:
AEDT  2:00 AM Fri 16 Feb,
JST  12:00 AM Fri 16 Feb,
CET   4:00 PM Thu 15 Feb,
GMT   3:00 PM Thu 15 Feb,
UTC  15:00    Thu 15 Feb,
EST  10:00 AM Thu 15 Feb,
CST   9:00 AM Thu 15 Feb,
MST   8:00 AM Thu 15 Feb,
PST   7:00 AM Thu 15 Feb
Sponsor
Simons Foundation