Conceptual Design of DC Power Supplies for FFHR

The force-free helical reactor (FFHR) is a helical-type fusion reactor whose design is being studied at the National Institute for Fusion Science. The FFHR will use three sets of superconducting coils to confine the plasma. It is not a fusion plasma experimental device, and the magnetic field configuration will be optimized for burning plasma. This paper introduces a conceptual design for a dc power system to excite the superconducting coils of the FFHR. In this design, the poloidal coils are divided into a main part, which generates a magnetic field for steady-state burning, and a control part, which is used in the ignition process to control the magnetic axis. The feasibility of this configuration was studied using the Large Helical Device coil parameters, and the coil voltages required to sweep the magnetic axis were calculated. It was confirmed that the axis sweep could be performed without a high output voltage from the main power supply. Finally, the power supply ratings for the FFHR were estimated from the stored magnetic energy.