EXPERIMENTAL TESTS OF A LARGE NONCIRCULAR RFP.

Within a large noncircular conducting shell the authors have examined reversed-field-pinch (RFP) plasmas in order to (1) investigate plasma control aspects of a large RFP (R equals 1. 4 m, average minor radius equals 0. 5 m), (2) establish that an RFP with noncircular boundary can be sustained by dynamo activity, (3) examine the effect of poloidal magnetic field curvature on RFP stability (the shell contains a 35% indentation at the midplane), and (4) investigate the possibility of obtaining sustained RFP plasmas in a poloidal divertor configuration.