The KSTAR tokamak

The KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) project is the major effort of the Korean National Fusion Program to design, construct, and operate a steady-state-capable superconducting tokamak. The project is led by Korea Basic Science Institute and shared by national laboratories, universities, and industry along with international collaboration. It is in the conceptual design phase and aims for the first plasma by mid 2002. The key design features of KSTAR are: major radius 1.8 m, minor radius 0.5 m, toroidal field 3.5 T, plasma current 2 MA, and flexible plasma shaping (elongation 2.0; triangularity 0.8; double-null poloidal divertor). Both the toroidal and the poloidal field magnets are superconducting coils. The device is configured to be initially capable of 20 s pulse operation and then to be upgraded for operation up to 300 s with non-inductive current drive. The auxiliary heating and current drive system consists of neutral beam, ICRF, lower hybrid, and ECRF. Deuterium operation is planned with a full radiation shielding.