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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.
Robert C. Cook
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 51 | Number 4 | May 2007 | Pages 559-563
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1444
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In this paper we show that the ambient temperature measured leakage time constant, RT, is related to the leakage at cryogenic temperature, RC, byRC = 0.23DTVsh/RTwhere DT is the density of cryogenic DT vapor, and Vsh is the internal volume of the shell. We then calculate the size of voids that may result from leakage at the Be/DT interface, depending upon the number of leakage sites and RT. Even for the slowest leakers the potential void growth is excessive. Reasons that voids have not been seen in DT layering experiments to date include the lack of a technique to see isolated micronish bubbles, however possible mechanisms preventing void formation are also discussed.