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ITER NEWSLINE 250

ITPA: 2013 experiments for ITER are decided

Discussing the implementation of ITER physics R&D: ITPA Coordinating Committee Chair Yutaka Kamada (front row, 2nd from left); IEA IA CTP Chair Steve Eckstrand (front row, 2nd from the right); ITER Director-General Motojima (front row, 3rd from left); David Campbell, Director of Plasma Operation Directorate (front row, 1st from the right) and colleagues. (Click to view larger version...)
Discussing the implementation of ITER physics R&D: ITPA Coordinating Committee Chair Yutaka Kamada (front row, 2nd from left); IEA IA CTP Chair Steve Eckstrand (front row, 2nd from the right); ITER Director-General Motojima (front row, 3rd from left); David Campbell, Director of Plasma Operation Directorate (front row, 1st from the right) and colleagues.
Last week, a key meeting for the implementation of ITER physics R&D took place in the new Council Chamber. The Joint Meeting of the International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) Coordinating Committee and the International Energy Agency Implementing Agreement (IEA IA) on Co-operation on Tokamak Programmes (CTP) is an annual gathering of senior representatives of the ITER Member fusion communities, the ITPA Topical Group leadership and program leaders from the major fusion facilities.

The 56 participants that had travelled from the ITER Members joined 12 from the ITER Organization for the meeting. In his opening remarks, ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima welcomed the participants, outlined the key priorities of the Unique ITER Team in relation to ITER construction, and underlined the major physics R&D needs. David Campbell, director of the Plasma Operation Directorate, gave an overview on the issues of physics R&D that are critical to the design and development of the ITER Research Plan.

Among these priorities are: the understanding and control of Edge Localized Modes (ELMs); disruptions and runaway electrons (and their mitigation); H-mode accessibility; use of all-metal plasma-facing components; the behaviour of tungsten impurities; tritium retention; dust; and power scrape-off layer (SOL) thickness.

The chairs of the seven ITPA Topical Groups reviewed the progress made in 2012 and proposed an experiment plan for 2013, focusing on the urgent issues for ITER. The Chair of Divertor and SOL Physics Topical Group, Emmanuelle Tsitrone, coordinated a special discussion session on the plan for joint research focusing on the comparison of divertors with carbon and tungsten plasma-facing components.

On the basis of high-priority research topics for ITER and the experimental capabilities of current fusion facilities, the facility program leaders decided on the priorities for each proposed experiment within their experimental programs for 2013. David Campbell commented, "I would like to thank ITPA for the continuing support of ITER R&D activities. We regard ITPA as a very important component of the ITER Project and a critical part of our physics R&D program, providing a great deal of input to the physics design basis for the completion of the ITER design—a high-priority activity at the moment."

return to Newsline #250