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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
Osamu Mitarai, Katsunori Muraoka
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 36 | Number 2 | September 1999 | Pages 194-211
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A102
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The consequence of the failure effect of burn control diagnostic systems, such as neutron diagnostics, bolometers, electron cyclotron emission power loss diagnostics, interferometer, and lost alpha detector, on ignited operation has been analyzed, and the fail-safe operation in a tokamak fusion reactor including the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) has been considered. Because the failure of the neutron diagnostic system for fusion power measurement leads to a fusion power surge for the simple control algorithm, the fail-safe control algorithm has been introduced to avoid this problem. As failure of the power loss measurement such as the bolometer system terminates the ignition, then it is less problematic. The effect of the interferometer fringe counting error on the ignited operation is not simple, as just mentioned, and a lost alpha detector can be removed from the feedback system using the preset value.