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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.
William L. Barr, B. Grant Logan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 18 | Number 2 | September 1990 | Pages 251-256
Technical Paper | Divertor System | doi.org/10.13182/FST90-A29297
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new divertor configuration is suggested as a possible solution to the problems of high heat flux and erosion at the divertors in large high-power tokamaks. The proposed configuration is a toroidally symmetrical slot in the divertor that allows part of the edge plasma and most of its power to enter a cavity in a thin annular sheet. The large surface area of the sheet is exposed to interaction with gas in the cavity. This results in radiation and a reflux of fast neutral atoms, both of which transport power to the cavity walls. The heat flux is reduced because the power is spread over a much larger area. Erosion due to sputtering is also reduced because the decreased power flux reduces the sheath potential and, therefore, the average ion impact energy. Sputtering by fast neutrals should not be a serious problem because neutrals are not accelerated by a sheath as are ions. Helium ash and impurity atoms that are ionized within the cavity tend to be trapped there by the electric field that must exist throughout the source region in order to make the removal rates for electrons and ions both equal to the production rate.