Transport Analysis of Ignited and Current-Driven ITER Designs

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) design is intended to provide an engineering test of both ignited and current-driven operation. Both modes have been modeled using the WHIST transport code. Simulations indicate that tangential neutral beam injection inclined at a small angle to the horizontal midplane provides a means of controlling the heating and current drive profiles over a greater density range than near-normal injection, that a long current ramp of ≈100 s is needed to avoid skin currents during inductive startup, and that sawtooth activity is important in assessing volt-second consumption.