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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.
Magdi Ragheb, Otto Lazareth
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 6 | Number 2 | September 1984 | Pages 195-224
Technical Paper | Blanket Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST84-A23153
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Student's t-distribution is used for the direct estimation of the modeling and geometrical perturbations in the Monte Carlo simulation of fusion blankets. A test of hypothesis is carried out for the equivalence of the means for the reference and perturbed systems at different confidence levels. If the test is failed, intervals for the difference of means or perturbation can be directly deduced. No variance reduction is attempted in the application of this methodology. Application of the methodology to the neutronic and photonic analysis of the conceptual HYFIRE high-temperature process heat fusion reactor blanket is carried out. The use of a two-dimensional model for the analysis versus one-dimensional models leads to differences in the estimated system parameters (e.g., breeding ratio) ranging from 1.5 to 7% at the 70% confidence level. Accounting for the penetrations, using three- versus two-dimensional models, affects those system parameters in the range of 12.8 to 20.9% at the same confidence level. These uncertainties are judged significantly large and need to be accounted for in future reactor designs.