Study of noninductive current ramp-up by neutral beam current drive

Noninductive current ramp-up by beam-driven current was studied using INTOR-like next generation tokamak parameters. Operationable ranges were found for various plasma parameters: the beam power, effective charge, and initial density. A 500 keV beam energy has been assumed in this study considering the technological limits likely in the near future. A full noninductive current ramp-up from 2 to 8 MA, was found to be possible without any OH-coil assistance. In the optimized case, the plasma current can be ramped up within 325 s with moderate beam power and acceptable total energy consumption.