National Center for Computational Sciences

PI: Fred Jaeger, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The next step toward fusion as a practical energy source is to develop a device capable of producing and controlling the high-performance plasma required for self-sustaining fusion reactions (i.e., “burning” plasma). High-power electromagnetic waves in the radio frequency range have great potential to heat fusion plasmas into the burning regime and to control plasma behavior through localized energy deposition, driven current, and driven plasma flows. Efforts in this research will extend the wave-plasma interaction research conducted in the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing program to the burning plasma regime of ITER. The extension to ITER is difficult because its physical size and the high plasma density require an order-of-magnitude increase in resolution over previous calculations.