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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.
T. Ozeki, N. Aiba, N. Hayashi, T. Takizuka, M. Sugihara, N. Oyama
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 50 | Number 1 | July 2006 | Pages 68-75
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST06-A1221
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A strategy for integrated modeling of burning plasmas at Japan Atomic Energy Agency is described. In order to simulate the burning plasma, which has the complex feature of widely different timescales and spatial scales, a simulation code cluster based on the TOPICS transport code is being developed by integrating heating and current drive, impurity transport, the edge pedestal model, the divertor model, the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), and the high-energy behavior model. The developed integration models are validated by fundamental research from JT-60U experiments and the simulation based on the First Principle in our strategy. The integration of MHD stability and the transport progresses for three phenomena with different timescales of neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) (~NTM ~ 10-2R), beta limits (~Alfvén), and edge-localized modes (ELMs) (intermittent of E and Alfvén). Here, R, Alfvén, and E are the resistive skin time, the Alfvén transit time, and the energy confinement time, respectively. The integrated model of the NTM is produced by coupling the modified Rutherford equation with the transport equation. The integrated model of the beta limits is developed by the low-n stability analysis of downstreaming data from the TOPICS code. The integrated model of the ELM is developed by the iterative calculation of the MARG2D ideal MHD stability code and the TOPICS code. These models are being validated by the data from the JT-60 experiments and estimate the plasma performance for burning plasmas.