The SPARC Primary Reference Discharge defined by cfsPOPCON

TL;DR

This paper defines the Primary Reference Discharge (PRD) for SPARC, optimizing fusion power gain using a modified cfsPOPCON tool, confirming the stability of key parameters in the design.

Contribution

It introduces modifications to the cfsPOPCON tool and validates that the PRD parameters remain consistent with previous design assumptions.

Findings

PRD maximizes fusion power gain in SPARC's H-mode.

Modifications to cfsPOPCON did not significantly alter key PRD parameters.

The PRD design remains robust after tool updates.

Abstract

The Primary Reference Discharge (PRD) is a design point maximizing the highest-achievable fusion power gain in a full-field (12.2T), full-current (8.7MA) DT-fueled H-mode on SPARC. The Primary Reference Discharge was defined in the SPARC Physics Basis using a precursor to the cfsPOPCON scoping tool. In this memo, we discuss modifications made to the cfsPOPCON scoping tool since the release of the SPARC Physics Basis and show that the key parameters of the PRD design point have not changed significantly.