Reversed field pinch: status and trends

Abstract

Recent advances in Reversed Field Pinch (RFP) research are described. These include experiment and theory on a non-Spitzer loop voltage and non-collisional ion heating, both important for RFP confinement, and brief mention of results from transport theory and 3-D codes. Other experimental studies include the improvements in confinement obtained by reducing field errors and the equilibrium displacement, preliminary experiments on current drive, the successful operation of an RFP with a thin shell and studies of a non-circular pinch. Topics such as scaling, density control using pellet injection and impurity behaviour are briefly mentioned and the paper concludes with a discussion of how RFP research is likely to develop in the future, both on the existing devices and on new large machines being constructed.