Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     The new model enhances our understanding of pedestals and brings scientists closer to achieving the greater goal of designing a fusion reactor that generates more power than it consumes.
     Parisi’s second paper in the series deals with how well the EPED model aligns with the height and width of the pedestal for different plasma shapes.
     He said, “Your core fusion pressure, and therefore your power, is so sensitive to how high your pedestal is. And so, if we were to explore different shapes for future fusion devices, we definitely want to make sure that our predictions work.”
     Parisi began with old data from experimental discharges in NSTX and then modified the plasma’s edge shape. He discovered that changing the shape had a very big effect on the width-to-height ratio of the pedestal. Parisi also found that some shapes could lead to several possible pedestals. This was particularly true in tokamaks shaped like NSTX and its descendant, which is currently being upgraded, NSTX-U. This would give those running a fusion experiment a choice between, for example, a steep or shallow pedestal.
     Parisi said, “When people came up with these pedestal models, they were trying to predict the pedestal width and height because it can change the amount of fusion power generated by a lot, and we want to be accurate. But the way that models are constructed at the moment, they only take into account plasma stability.”
     Heating and fueling are two other important factors and ones that Parisi’s third paper explores. Specifically, Parisi examined certain pedestals and determined the amount of heating and fueling required to achieve it given a particular plasma shape. A steep pedestal usually requires far more heating than a shallow pedestal.
     The third paper also considers how a sheared flow, which occurs when adjacent particles move at different flow speeds, can alter the pedestal height and width. Past experiments in NSTX found that when part of the interior of the reactor vessel was coated in lithium and the flow shear was strong, the pedestal became three to four times wider than when no lithium was added.
     Parisi continued, “It seems to be able to allow the pedestal to continue to grow. If you could have a plasma in a tokamak that was all pedestal, and if the gradients were really steep, you would get a really high core pressure and a really high fusion power.”
     Understanding the variables involved in creating a stable, high-power plasma brings researchers closer to their ultimate goal of commercial fusion power.
    Jack Berkery is co-author of the published papers and deputy director of research for NSTX-U. He said, “These three papers are really important for understanding the physics of spherical tokamaks and how the plasma pressure organizes into this structure where it increases sharply at the edge and maintains high pressure in the core. If we don’t understand that process, we can’t confidently project to future devices, and this work goes a long way toward achieving that confidence.”

Part 1 of 2 Parts
     Harnessing energy from plasma requires a precise understanding of its behavior during nuclear fusion to keep it hot, dense and stable. A plasma’s edge can become unstable and bulge. A new theoretical model brings the prospect of commercial fusion power closer to reality.
     Jason Parisi is a staff research physicist at PPPL. He said, “The model refines the thinking on stabilizing the edge of the plasma for different tokamak shapes.” Parisi is the lead author of three articles describing the new model that were published in the journals Nuclear Fusion and Physics of Plasma. The primary paper focuses on a part of the plasma referred to as the pedestal which is located at the edge. The pedestal is prone to instabilities because the plasma’s temperature and pressure often fall sharply across this area.
     The new model is important because it is the first to match pedestal behaviors that were seen in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Conventional tokamaks are shaped like donuts. However, NSTX is one of several tokamaks that are shaped more like a cored apple. The difference in tokamak proportions impacts plasma and the pedestal.
     Parisi and his team explored the limits of pedestals and investigated how much pressure could be applied to plasma inside a fusion reactor before instabilities appeared. They examined disruptions in the pedestal called ballooning instabilities. These are bulges of plasma that jut out, like the end of a long balloon when squeezed.
     Parisi said, “The model is an extension of a model that people have used in the field for maybe 10 years, but we made the ballooning stability calculation a lot more sophisticated.”
      To create their model, the researchers looked at the relationship between the pedestal measurements and ballooning instabilities. Parisi said the new model fit well on the very first try. He continued, “I was surprised by how well it works. We tried to break the model to ensure it was accurate, but it fits the data really well.”
      The existing model is known as EPED. It is known to work for donut-shaped tokamaks but not for the spherical variety. Parisi said, “We decided to give it a go, and just by changing one part of EPED, now it works really well.” The results also give researchers a better picture of the contrast between the two tokamak designs.
     Parisi added, “There is certainly a big difference between the stability boundary for the apple shape and the standard-shaped tokamak, and our model can now somewhat explain why that difference exists.” The findings could help minimize plasma disruptions in fusion reactors.
     Tokamaks are designed to increase the pressure and temperature of plasma, but instabilities can thwart those efforts. If plasma bulges out and touches the walls of the reactor vessel, it can erode the walls over time.
     Instabilities can also carry energy away from plasma. Knowing how steep a pedestal can be before instabilities occur could assist researchers to find ways to optimize plasmas for fusion reactions based on the proportions of the tokamak.
     While Parisi added that it’s not yet clear which shape is most advantageous, the model suggests other experiments that would try to exploit the positive aspects of the apple shape and see how much benefit they could provide.
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