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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.
C.P.C. Wong, R.F. Bourque, E.T. Cheng, R.L. Creedon, K.R. Schultz
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 633-640
Blanket Design and Evaluation | Proceedings of the Seveth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Reno, Nevada, June 15–19, 1986) | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24814
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Elongated Tokamak (ET) is an innovative concept that uses a highly elongated plasma (plasma height-to-width ratio of 6–10) to allow high plasma currrent and high toroidal betas. ET has the potential for the development of small-size, high-power density, low-cost fusion reactors using normal conducting coils. The elongated plasma shape is achieved by use of a continuous stack of PF coils parallel to the plasma surface on both inbound and outbound sides. To achieve plasma stability, these coil stacks must be located no further than one plasma minor radius from the plasma edge, greatly restricting the space available for blankets. In order to assess the potential of a small reactor, we evaluated and designed blankets 30 to 40 cm thick. Three different thin blanket designs were found to be acceptable: FLiBe self-cooled, helium-cooled lithium, and helium-cooled 17Li83Pb blanket designs. A lithium-cooled integrated blanket-coil design (BLITZ-coil) was also found to be suitable for the ET commercial reactor.