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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.
S.L. Bogart, C.E. Wagner, N.A. Krall, S. Sedehi, C.F. Weggel, J.A. Dalessandro, T.J. Seed, K.O. Lund
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 10 | Number 3 | November 1986 | Pages 1404-1411
Machine Upgrades and Next-Generation Device | doi.org/10.13182/FST86-A24925
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Demountable Toroidal Fusion Core (DTFC) concept has been analyzed for the Inductively Heated Tokamak (IHT), the Spherical Tokamak (ST), and the Reversed Field Pinch (RFP) for Fusion Engineering Research Facility (FERF) applications. Each of these confinement concepts is viewed as a “core” that is inserted into a surrounding machine envelope including, for example, the outboard toroidal field coil turns, the major poloidal equilibrium coils, blanket and materials testing stations, and a tension-suppression system (precompression) that provides mechanical integrity during the ignition and burn phases. Parametric systems analysis reveals that DTFC FERF operation is possible for all three confinement configurations with the IHT being the most costly and technologically challenging and the RFP being the least costly and, perhaps, least technologically challenging. Future work on the DTFC will be directed toward a Toroidal Physics Optimization Facility.