A pulsed, radiative L-mode scenario for application in an ARC-class device

A highly-radiative, pulsed, burning plasma L-mode regime is developed and evaluated as a candidate for the base scenario on future tokamak reactors.  In this configuration, the fusion power density can be absolutely maximized before reaching material or administrative limits, allowing for the optimal gain from plasma physics in robust scenarios with 1500 MW of fusion power. To establish this operating scenario, high-temperature superconducting magnets are employed to maximize both plasma currents and plasma densities at moderate reactor scale.  Pulsed operation alleviates the stringent current drive requirements of steady-state reactors, while high fusion power densities allow for economic benefits even with significant reactor downtime.  Operation in L-mode affords access to an ELM-free highly-radiative mantle regime with ∼85% core radiation fractions, significantly reducing the power load requirements on plasma-facing components.  Reactor conditions are calculated self-consistently using ACCOME, TGYRO, GENRAY, CQL3D, and a 1-D open-source POPCON code, demonstrating a robust operating point.