Progress in NCSX construction

The National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) is being constructed at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in partnership with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Its mission is to develop the physics understanding of the compact stellarator and evaluate its potential for future fusion energy systems. Compact stellarators use 3D plasma shaping to produce a magnetic configuration that can be steady state without current drive or feedback control of instabilities. The NCSX has major radius 1.4 m, aspect ratio 4.4, 3 field periods, and a quasi-axisymmetric magnetic field. It is predicted to be stable and have good magnetic surfaces at β ≥ 4% and to have tokamak-like confinement properties. The device will provide the plasma configuration flexibility and the heating and diagnostic access needed to test physics predictions. Component production has advanced substantially since the first contracts were placed in 2004. Manufacture of the vacuum vessel was completed in 2006. All eighteen modular coil winding forms have been delivered, and twelve modular coils have been wound and epoxy impregnated. A contract for the (planar) toroidal field coils was placed in 2006 and manufacture is in progress. Assembly activities have begun and will be the project's main focus in the next few years. The engineering challenge of NCSX is to meet the requirements for complex geometries and tight tolerances within the cost and schedule constraints of a construction project. This paper will focus on how the engineering challenges of component production have been resolved, and how the assembly challenges are being met.