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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.
James P. Blanchard, Jens Conzen
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 3 | October 2007 | Pages 506-510
Technical Paper | The Technology of Fusion Energy - Inertial Fusion Technology: Targets and Chambers | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1539
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Rapid heating by x-rays and ions in Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) chambers will produce stress waves in dry chamber walls, in some cases leading to damage that will ultimately fail the structure. These waves can affect the surface or propagate to the substrate and produce delamination. Hence, it is important that these waves be understood. Models exist for thermally induced stress waves resulting from surface heating, but models with volumetric heating have not been presented for IFE conditions. In this paper we develop models for elastic stresses caused by rapid volumetric heating in a half-space. The stress wave models are obtained analytically for heating distributions which are both uniform over a finite region and exponentially decaying over the entire depth. These two cases cover the relevant heating for a typical IFE threat. Results are given for both x-ray and ion heating using threats from a direct drive target developed for the High Average Power Laser (HAPL) target.