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The Superconducting Coil System of the Advanced Modular Stellarator Wendelstein 7-X

W. Maurer, the Wendelstein 7-X Technical Group

Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 26 / Number 3P2 / November 1994 / Pages 445-452

Fusion Magnet System / Proceedings of the Eleventh Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy New Orleans, Louisiana June 19-23, 1994 / dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A40197

Wendelstein 7-X (W 7-X) is the largest stellarator experiment envisaged worldwide. It is prepared in the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching near Munich, Germany. The main goal of the experiment is demonstration of the optimized stellarator concept as an appropriate route for a fusion reactor. Essential physics and technical goals of this experiment are: demonstration of stationary operation, achievement of plasma parameters which allow a reliable prediction of the properties of a future stellarator reactor plasma without striving for ignition, and generation of the magnetic confinement with superconducting modular coils in a stellarator for the first time. The optimization criteria of the coil system are described and the status of the engineering development programme for the coils which is a common task of IPP and the nuclear research center KfK in Karlsruhe are reported.