The Model C stellarator was the first large-scale stellarator to be built, during the early stages of fusion power research. Planned since 1952, construction began in 1961 at what is today the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).[1] The Model C followed the table-top sized Model A, and a series of Model B machines that refined the stellarator concept and provided the basis for the Model C, which intended to reach break-even conditions. Model C ultimately failed to reach this goal, producing electron temperatures of 400 eV when about 100,000 were needed. In 1969, after UK researchers confirmed that the USSR's T-3 tokamak was reaching 1000 eV, the Model C was converted to the Symmetrical Tokamak, and stellarator development at PPPL ended.
| Device type | Stellarator |
|---|---|
| Location | Princeton, New Jersey, United States |
| Affiliation | Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory |
| Technical specifications | |
| Minor radius | 5–7.5 cm (2.0–3.0 in) |
| Magnetic field | 3.5 T (35,000 G) |
| History | |
| Date(s) of construction | 1961 |
| Year(s) of operation | 1962–1969 |
| Preceded by | Model A/B stellarators[1] |
| Succeeded by | Symmetric Tokamak (ST) |
The Model C had a racetrack shape. The total circumference of the magnetic axis was 12 m.[2] The plasma could have a 5-7.5 cm minor radius. Magnetic coils could produce a toroidal field (along the tube) of 35,000 Gauss.[1] It was only capable of pulsed operation.
It had a divertor in one of the straight sections. In the other it could inject 4 MW of 25 MHz ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH).
It had helical windings on the curved sections.
An average ion temperature of 400 eV was reached in 1969.
Construction funding/approval was announced in April 1957 with the design based on Katherine Weimer's efforts in fundamental research.[3][4]
It started operating March 1962.[5]
The Model C was reconfigured as a tokamak in 1969,[1] becoming the Symmetric Tokamak (ST).[6]