Numerical Modeling of Elmo Bumpy Torus Plasmas

The extrapolation of the ELMO Bumpy Torus (EBT) confinement concept to the reactor regime involves many uncertainties, two of the most critical unknowns being: (a) the power required to sustain the steady-state high-beta annuli necessary for core plasma stabilization and (b) the propagation of ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) waves in an irregularly EBT-shaped vacuum vessel. Consequently, strong emphasis has been placed on plasma modeling in order to interpret and extrapolate present data. Some of the modeling work done to date on the conjecture of replacing electron rings with ion rings is highlighted. A method that evaluates the density eigenvalues of the plasma for which ICRH wave propagation can exist is also described.