NSTX Research Forum Homepage

Participation Information

The forum agenda page contains the date, time, location, and information for remote participation for each session of the forum.

If you will be travelling to PPPL for the first time to participate in the research forum, please see the Visitor Info page.

Purpose of Research Forum

The NSTX Research Forum is intended to provide fusion researchers the opportunity to present ideas for experiments to be conducted on NSTX in the upcoming run and for theoretical work supporting NSTX.

Team members or prospective collaborators are invited to attend or to participate remotely. Both well-developed and new ideas in the early stages of development are welcomed. Proposals for experiments to be performed in 2011-12 can be submitted for discussion at the Research Forum through this website.

Research priorities for the upcoming run are briefly summarized below.  For more detailed information on the NSTX research program and priorities for the upcoming run, please refer to the Topical Science Group (TSG) Information Pages listed on the right-hand column of this page.  These TSG pages also include contact information for the TSG leaders.

Proposal ideas, submissions, and brief presentations describing proposal ideas during the forum break-out sessions should be discussed and scheduled with the TSG leaders prior to the forum.

NSTX Research Priorities for FY2011-12

Advanced Scenarios and Control

  • Understand performance-limiting phenomena at low density to develop sustained high-beta ST scenarios with reduced Greenwald fraction and collisionality (Milestone R12-3)
  • Utilize improved plasma control techniques to achieve advanced ST operating scenarios

Boundary Physics

  • Study structure of the H-mode pedestal and underlying MHD/transport mechanisms, and compare with predictive models (OFES FY2011 Joint Research Target (JRT))
  • Assess very high flux expansion divertor operation (Milestone R11-3)

ITER Urgent Needs and Cross-Cutting Research

  • Study H-mode pedestal transport, turbulence, and stability response to 3D fields (Milestone R11-4)
  • Investigate combinations of active techniques for reducing core impurity accumulation

Lithium Research

  • Investigate the relationship between lithium-conditioned surface composition and plasma behavior (Milestone R12-1)
  • Assess the impact of lithiated high-Z (molybdenum) PFCs on plasma performance.

Macroscopic Stability

  • Assess ST stability dependence on plasma aspect ratio and boundary shaping (Milestone R11-2)
  • Study RWM and 3D field physics at reduced density and collisionality (Milestones R12-3 and Incremental Milestone IR12-1)

Solenoid Free Start-up and Ramp-up

  • Increase the magnitude of CHI current that couples to induction by further reducing low-Z impurities
  • Determine the confinement properties of CHI-initiated plasmas coupled to induction (Milestone R12-2)

Transport and Turbulence

  • Measure fluctuations responsible for turbulence-driven particle and impurity transport (Milestone R11-1 and OFES FY2012 JRT)
  • Investigate mechanisms for turbulence-driven electron thermal transport (OFES FY2012 JRT)

Waves and Energetic Particles

  • Utilize HHFW heating and current drive to assist non-inductive plasma current ramp-up and sustainment (Milestone R12-2)
  • Assess predictive capability of mode-induced fast-ion transport (Incremental Milestone IR12-2)