Deep penetration fuelling of reactor-grade tokamak plasmas with accelerated compact toroids

The application of a novel but practical technique for central fuelling of reactor-grade tokamak plasmas by compact torus (CT) plasma rings driven by a coaxial accelerator is examined. It is emphasized that this is the only advanced method of controlled and localized deep penetration fuelling which can be developed in the near term and which is already applied in a currently operating experimental system. Assessment of the dynamics of the CT as it traverses the plasma requires quantification of several interrelated constraints, including ring decay, tilting, field line reconnection, deceleration in the external field gradient and ring expansion/contraction. A self-consistent, radial zoning scheme is employed to model the transport of the CT to the desired plasma deposition point. It is demonstrated that the injection velocity requirements are usually dominated by CT tilting and reconnection with the external toroidal field of the tokamak. The implications for CT fuel transport around the reconnection point are then examined. The application of this formalism to the TIBER Engineering Test Reactor permits the parameterization of fuelling requirements in terms of injection velocity, fuel mass, penetration distance, CT dimensions and repetition rate. The hardware implications for near-term applications are also assessed.