An Exploration of Advanced X-Divertors on ITER

Abstract

It is found that the X-Divertor (XD) configuration [1-3] can be made with the conventional PF coil set on ITER[4], where all PF coils are outside the TF coils. Desirable configurations are possible where the PF currents are below the present maximum design limits on ITER, and where the baseline divertor cassette is used. It is possible that the XD could be used to assist in high-power operation on ITER, but some further issues need examination. Note that the increased major radius of the Super X-Divertor (SXD) [5-8] is not a feature of the XD geometry. In addition, we present an XD configuration for K-DEMO [9], to demonstrate that it is also possible to attain the XD configuration in advanced tokamak reactors with all PF coils outside the TF coils. The results given here for the XD are far more encouraging than recent calculations by Lackner and Zohm [10] for the Snowflake [11,12], where the required high PF currents represent a major technological challenge. The magnetic field structure in the outboard divertor SOL [13] in the recently created XD configurations reproduces what was presented in the earlier XD papers [1-3]. Consequently, the same advantages accrue, but no close-in PF coils are employed.