We report the status of hybrid scenario experiments in Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR). The hybrid scenario is defined as stationary discharges with β N ⩾ 2.4 and H 89 ⩾ 2.0 at q 95 < 6.5 without or with very mild sawtooth activities in KSTAR. It is being developed towards reactor-relevant conditions. High performance of β N ≲ 3.0, H 89 ≲ 2.4 and G-factor (≡ β N H 89 /q 2 95 ) ≲ 0.46 has been achieved and sustained for ≳ 40τ E at n e /n GW ~0.7 with heating power of ≲5 MW. Some KSTAR hybrid discharges exhibit a unique feature of a slow transition from conventional H-mode to hybrid mode after the third neutral beam injection. The reason for the confinement enhancement is extensively studied in this transition period of a representative discharge exhibiting a common feature of KSTAR hybrid scenarios. 0D performance analysis with magnetohydrodynamic activities, 1D kinetic profile dynamics, power balance analysis, linear gyro-kinetic analysis and edge pedestal stability analysis were conducted. The enhancement is thought to be from both the core and the pedestal. The improvement in the core region of the ion energy channel is observed from the linear gyro-kinetic analysis considering the electromagnetic, the fast ion, the Shafranov shift, ω E×B , and the magnetic shear effect. The electromagnetic finite β stabilisation plays a role in the inner core region at ρ tor ∼ 0.35 together with the fast ion effect. The alpha stabilisation effect is also found at ρ tor ∼ 0.5. ω E×B , which could reduce the linear growth of the ion temperature gradient mode in the outer core region at ρ tor ∼ 0.5 − 0.7 with the highest contribution from the toroidal rotation. Regarding the improvement in the pedestal, Shafranov shift broadens the stability boundary of the pedestal in support of the diamagnetic effect. The pedestal height and width could be reproduced by the EPED model, while a realistic current profile is used to calculate the internal inductance for Shafranov shift. Based on these findings, a comprehensive confinement enhancement mechanism has been proposed by considering the core-edge interplay.

We present experimental observations suggesting that the non-diffusive avalanche-like events are a prevalent and universal process of the electron turbulent heat transport in tokamak core plasmas. They are observed in the low confinement mode and the weak internal transport barrier tokamak plasmas in the absence of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities. In addition, the electron temperature profile corrugation, which indicates the existence of the E × B shear flow layers, is clearly demonstrated as well as their dynamical interaction with the avalanche-like events. The measured width of the profile corrugation is around 45ρ i , which implies the mesoscale nature of the structure. a)

We report a discovery of a fusion plasma regime suitable for commercial fusion reactor where the ion temperature was sustained above 100 million degree about 20 s for the rst time. Nuclear fusion as a promising technology for replacing carbon-dependent energy sources has currently many issues to be resolved to enable its large-scale use as a sustainable energy source. State-of-the-art fusion reactors cannot yet achieve the high levels of fusion performance, high temperature, and absence of instabilities required for steady-state operation for a long period of time on the order of hundreds of seconds. This is a pressing challenge within the eld, as the development of methods that would enable such capabilities is essential for the successful construction of commercial fusion reactor. Here, a new plasma con nement regime called fast ion roled enhancement (FIRE) mode is presented. This mode is realized at Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) and subsequently characterized to show that it meets most of the requirements for fusion reactor commercialization. Through a comparison to other well-known plasma con nement regimes, the favourable properties of FIRE mode are further elucidated and concluded that the novelty lies in the high fraction of fast ions, which acts to stabilize turbulence and achieve steady-state operation for up to 20 s by self-organization. We propose this mode as a promising path towards commercial fusion reactors.

A newly developed integrated suite of codes coined as tokamak reactor integrated automated suite for simulation and computation (TRIASSIC) is reported. The suite comprises existing plasma simulation codes, including 1.5D/2D plasma transport solvers and neoclassical/anomalous transport, plasma heating/cooling, and cold neutral models. The components in TRIASSIC are fully modularized by adopting a generic data structure as its internal storage. Primary components such as the transport solver and the neutral beam or electron cyclotron wave actuator were verified to its standalone implementation. The interpretive and predictive simulations of 50 stationary plasma phases from 30 KSTAR discharges were conducted for validation, and a good agreement with experimental measurements on all simulation cases was found.

Advanced operation scenarios such as high poloidal beta (βP) or high q min are promising concepts to achieve the steady-state high-performance fusion plasmas. However, those scenarios are prone to substantial Alfvénic activity, causing fast-ion transport and losses. Recent experiments with the advanced operation scenario on KSTAR tokamak have shown that the electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) is able to mitigate and suppress the beam-ion driven toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs) for over several tens of global energy confinement time. Co-current directional intermediate off-axis ECCD lowers the central safety factor slightly and tilts the central q-profile shape so that the continuum damping in the core region increases. Besides, the rise of central plasma pressure and increased thermal-ion Landau damping contribute to TAE stabilization. While the TAEs are suppressed, neutron emission rate and total stored energy increase by approximately 45% and 25%, respectively. Fast-ion transport estimated by TRANSP calculations approaches the classical level during the TAE suppression period. Substantial reduction in fast-ion loss and neutron deficit is also observed. Enhancement of fast-ion confinement by suppressing the TAEs leads to an increase of non-inductive current fraction and will benefit the sustainment of the long-pulse high-performance discharges.

We report an experimental observation of destabilization of the Alfvénic activity by non-axisymmetric (3D) magnetic field induced toroidal rotation braking in the KSTAR tokamak. The toroidicity-induced Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs) are destabilized when toroidal plasma rotation is reduced down to the minimum to approach near-zero rotational shear by 3D magnetic braking. This observation indicates that the stability of the TAEs is strongly correlated to the plasma rotation that modifies Alfvén continuum. The TAE frequency predicted by stability calculation with the reduced rotation is in a good agreement with the experimental measurement. It is suggested that the impact of 3D magnetic field and rotation on the Alfvénic modes and associated fast ion confinement should be considered for the operation of magnetic confinement fusion devices.

DIII-D physics research addresses critical challenges for the operation of ITER and the next generation of fusion energy devices. This is done through a focus on innovations to provide solutions for high performance long pulse operation, coupled with fundamental plasma physics understanding and model validation, to drive scenario development by integrating high performance core and boundary plasmas. Substantial increases in off-axis current drive efficiency from an innovative top launch system for EC power, and in pressure broadening for Alfven eigenmode control from a co-/counter-I p steerable off-axis neutral beam, all improve the prospects for optimization of future long pulse/steady state high performance tokamak operation. Fundamental studies into the modes that drive the evolution of the pedestal pressure profile and electron vs ion heat flux validate predictive models of pedestal recovery after ELMs. Understanding the physics mechanisms of ELM control and density pumpout by 3D magnetic perturbation fields leads to confident predictions for ITER and future devices. Validated modeling of high-Z shattered pellet injection for disruption mitigation, runaway electron dissipation, and techniques for disruption prediction and avoidance including machine learning, give confidence in handling disruptivity for future devices. For the non-nuclear phase of ITER, two actuators are identified to lower the L–H threshold power in hydrogen plasmas. With this physics understanding and suite of capabilities, a high poloidal beta optimized-core scenario with an internal transport barrier that projects nearly to Q = 10 in ITER at ∼8 MA was coupled to a detached divertor, and a near super H-mode optimized-pedestal scenario with co-I p beam injection was coupled to a radiative divertor. The hybrid core scenario was achieved directly, without the need for anomalous current diffusion, using off-axis current drive actuators. Also, a controller to assess proximity to stability limits and regulate β N in the ITER baseline scenario, based on plasma response to probing 3D fields, was demonstrated. Finally, innovative tokamak operation using a negative triangularity shape showed many attractive features for future pilot plant operation.

The accumulation of tungsten impurities measured in a KSTAR experiment was analyzed theoretically using a drift-kinetic code, NEO, to determine the contribution of neoclassical transport. According to the NEO simulation results, there is a certain value of impurity toroidal rotation speed maximizing the neoclassical inward convection. The inward convection decreases or the outward convection increases as the rotation increases only beyond the speed value. The non-monotonic dependency of the neoclassical convection on the rotation is analyzed by the several coefficients for many profile effects, including ion and electron profiles. The dependency of the coefficients for the main ion density gradient on the rotation is different from that for the temperature gradient, so it results in the amplification of the temperature screening beyond the certain value of the rotation. In the KSTAR case with high toroidal rotation of the tungsten (around Mach number 4.5), only in the mid-radius does the rotation reduce the inward impurity particle convection or change the inward convection to the outward convection. Thus, the rotation is a useful tool to control the impurity accumulation conditionally. The favorable condition occurs only for high rotation, which significantly depends on the radius and the collisionality due to the complicated non-monotonic dependency of the convection on the rotation speed.