DIII-D Exploration of the D2+Kink Path to Runaway Electron Mitigation in Tokamaks

A novel path to runaway electron mitigation in tokamaks found by combining an impurity-free (deuterium) background plasma with current-driven kink excitation at low safety factor (qa) is being explored for its application to ITER and beyond. Realization of this scheme requires primary or secondary injection of deuterium and promotion of kink instability via limited actuation by the poloidal field coilset. This contribution will 1) summarize published DIII-D results; 2) present more recent database studies and 3) discuss a planned DIII-D experiment targeting open questions in this topic.