Assessment of electromagnetic loads for EAST magnets using interaction matrix method

• A new technology–interaction matrix method is applied to assess EM loads of EAST magnet system.
• The interaction matrices of EAST magnet system are obtained.
• The application validated the efficiency and accuracy of the method.
• Results indicate that the approach can be conveniently used for multi-scenario EM loads assessment for EAST current-carrying components.

An approach for assessing the electromagnetic (EM) loads of the main current-carrying components in tokamaks has been proposed recently [1,2]. It is mainly based on the interaction matrix and the method is general. This paper explores on the application of the new technology to EAST magnet system. Firstly, the interaction matrices of EAST magnet composed of bilateral interaction forces between separate components at unit current are calculated, then the EM loads are obtained by a linear transform of given currents using the interaction matrix. The application validated the efficiency and accuracy of the method, which is useful for the systematic assessment of Tokamak EM forces. Results indicate that the approach can be conveniently used for multi-scenario EM assessments and parametric studies of the EM loads for EAST current-carrying components, and a specialized force-calculating module for real-time simulating will be developed in the future.