Divertor concept for the W7-X stellarator and mode of operation

A favourable property of the stellarator concept is the potential of stationary operation within a magnetic configuration maintained by a superconducting coil system. For proof of principle the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X is presently under construction at Greifswald, Germany, and the start of operation is planned for 2007. The magnetic configuration of the confinement is a non-axisymetric three-dimensional configuration with a helix-like magnetic axis and five identical magnetic field periods. As a first-step divertor design, an open divertor structure has been chosen, which benefits from the inherent divertor property of the magnetic configuration. The system will allow an effective particle and energy exhaust for a wide range of plasma and magnetic parameters. Experimental tools, e.g. localized heating, various heating schemas, gas feed and pellet injection, impurity doping and variation of the pumping speed together with appropriate diagnostics are provided. The purpose is to investigate different modes of operation for the divertor system and to evaluate an extended database for further improvement of the divertor.