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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
Latest News
DOE fast tracks test reactor projects: What to know
The Department of Energy today named 10 companies that want to get a test reactor critical within the next year using the DOE’s offer to authorize test reactors outside of national laboratories. As first outlined in one of the four executive orders on nuclear energy released by President Trump on May 23 and in the request for applications for the Reactor Pilot Program released June 18, the companies must use their own money and sites—and DOE authorization—to get reactors operating. What they won’t need is a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license.
Christophe S. Debonnel, Dale R. Welch, David V. Rose, Simon S. Yu, Per F. Peterson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 43 | Number 3 | May 2003 | Pages 408-413
Technical Paper | Lasers and Heavy-Ion Drivers | doi.org/10.13182/FST03-A285
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effective propagation and focusing of heavy-ion beams in the final-focus magnet region of inertial fusion target chambers require controlling the background gas density and pressure in the beam tubes. Liquid vortexes will coat the inside of the tubes next to the beam ports and will help eliminate the need for mechanical shutters to mitigate the venting of target chamber background gas into the final-focus magnet region. Before the neutralizing region, the beam space charge is high, and ablation and target debris deposition in the final-focus magnet region may cause voltage breakdown. Previous studies focused on evaluating the amount of target chamber debris reaching the entrance of the beam ports. The TSUNAMI code has now been used to assess the density, temperature, and velocity of the vortex debris transported ~3 m up the beam tubes and reaching the final-focus magnet region, assuming that the liquid vortexes are perfectly absorbing surfaces. To further mitigate debris deposition in the final-focus magnet region, and prevent voltage breakdown, a "magnetic shutter" has been envisaged to divert the debris out of the final-focus region. This shutter will prevent the hot ablation debris from reaching the magnet region and, coupled to some ionizing scheme, will conveniently suppress early ingression of debris into the final-focus magnet region.