Tore-Supra: a Tokamak with superconducting toroidal field coils

Tore Supra is a tokamak under construction on the site of Cen Cadarache by the Euratom-CEA Association. The machine technology integrates all problems related to the fabrication and the operation of large superconducting coils and of the associated cryogenic system. Tore Supra will provide a significant experience to prepare the next generation of machines for plasma physics and controlled fusion. Tore Supra is specially designed to implement a large physics program. The superconducting coils make possible the study of plasma confinement in long pulses (more than 60s), the impurities and the stability, and the efficiency of additional heating sources (neutral particle beams and radio frequency heating). The opportunity is taken to recall the particular features and requirements of the superconducting coils of the large future tokamaks in order to point out the problems that have to be faced by any new material (superconducting or not)