Traveling wave array for DEMO with proof of principle on WEST

To decrease the power density and associated high voltages, a distributed antenna system is proposed as ICRH system for the DEMO reactor. Among the different solutions, a layout made from a set of travelling wave array (TWA) sections is considered as the most promising. It optimizes coupling to the plasma, is load resilient and avoids large values for the VSWR in the feeding lines. The total radiated power scales as the number of independently fed sections such that high reliability can be expected. The TWA concept for ICRH is innovative and very different from the traditional IC antennas. A test on WEST would provide a proof of principle of the validity of the TWA approach together with a comparison with the existing WEST IC antennas. The chosen geometry of the TWA section is compatible with one unit of the complete set designed for a future reactor. The paper describes the progress made in the preparation of a test on WEST along with the extrapolation for a future reactor like DEMO. A comparative modeling with the present antennas is also discussed and a preliminary RAMI analysis is introduced showing the promising positive impact of the TWA design on the RAMI scores.