Fusion by Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (FAST) is a project being proposed as a facility for R&D, testing, and demonstration of systems integration for a deuterium–tritium (DT) fusion energy reactor. The required specifications for FAST are: DT fusion power of 50–, neutron wall loading of 0.3–, discharge duration of 1000 s, and full-power operation lifetime of 1000 h. A quasi-zero-dimensional parameter survey has been carried out to find the parameter region necessary to satisfy the above specifications with the minimum device cost. It was found that a low aspect ratio (), compact (major radius ) tokamak with high temperature superconductor magnets and neutral beam injection power of about (with the energy of 500 keV) offers a possible design point. A time-dependent transport analysis was performed to confirm accessibility to such an operating point and to evaluate the required flux swing for the central solenoid.
This paper describes the optimization of the design parameters for the Fusion by Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (FAST) facility, which aims to test and demonstrate systems integration for a deuterium-tritium fusion energy reactor. The study found that a low aspect ratio, compact tokamak with high-temperature superconductor magnets and neutral beam injection power can meet the required specifications, including 50 MW of DT fusion power, 0.3 MW/m^2 neutron wall loading, 1000 s discharge duration, and 1000 h of full-power operation.