HIGH POLOIDAL BETA EQUILIBRIA IN THE TOKAMAK FUSION TEST REACTOR LIMITED BY A NATURAL INBOARD POLOIDAL FIELD NULL

Recent operation of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) [Plasma Phys. Controlled Nucl. Fusion Research 1, 51 (1986)] has produced plasma equilibria with values of LAMBDA = beta-p eq + l(i)/2 as large as 7, epsilon-beta-p dia = 2-mu-0 epsilon<p perpendicular-to>/<<B(p)>>2 as large as 1.6, and Troyon normalized diamagnetic beta [Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 26, 209 (1984); Phys. Lett. 110A, 29 (1985)], beta-N dia = 10(8) <beta-t perpendicular-to> aB0/I(p) as large as 4.7. When epsilon-beta-p dia greater-than-or-similar-to 1.25, a separatrix entered the vacuum chamber, producing a naturally diverted discharge that was sustained for many energy confinement times, tau-E. The largest values of epsilon-beta-p and plasma stored energy were obtained when the plasma current was ramped down prior to neutral beam injection. The measured peak ion and electron temperatures were as large as 24 and 8.5 keV, respectively. Plasma stored energy in excess of 2.5 MJ and tau-E greater than 130 msec were obtained. Confinement times of greater than 3 times that expected from L-mode predictions have been achieved. The fusion power gain Q(DD) reached a value of 1.3 x 10(-3) in a discharge with I(p) = 1 MA and epsilon-beta-p dia = 0.85. A large, sustained negative loop voltage during the steady-state portion of the discharge indicates that a substantial noniductive component of I(p) exists in these plasmas. Transport code analysis indicates that the bootstrap current constitutes up to 65% of I(p). Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) ballooning stability analysis shows that, while these plasmas are near, or at the beta-p limit, the pressure gradient in the plasma core is in the first region of stability to high-n modes.