Neutral beam optimisation for the spherical tokamak ST40

Abstract Orbit following Monte Carlo code (ASCOT) calculations of neutral beam (NB) induced torque, current and heating have been performed for a selected set of plasma scenarios to optimise the neutral beam injection system for the proposed high magnetic field spherical tokamak ST40. It is found that there are strong variations especially in the current drive efficiency and in the toroidal torque depending on the NB alignment and injection energy. The optimal alignments as well as the optimal injection energy depend both on the scenario and whether the current drive or the toroidal torque is to be maximised. Due to the relatively small calculated current drive efficiency (0.05–0.2 MA/MW) we find that for the studied scenarios a relatively central low field side (LFS) deposition below midplane provides the best overall performance still at a tolerable shine through power.