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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.
T.K. Mau, D.J. Hoffman, D.A. Ehst, The ARIES Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 19 | Number 3 | May 1991 | Pages 882-888
Advanced Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29456
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fast waves launched from folded waveguides are proposed as the reference current drive scenario for the ARIES-I tokamak reactor. An RF power of 100 MW at 141 MHz is launched from above the plasma midplane on the outboard side to drive the required 3.3 MA seed current in the core. The entire coupler system is compact, consisting of two poloidally stacked 12-waveguide toroidal arrays with a directivity of >95% and a coupling efficiency of ∼97%. Recent waveguide experiments on RFTF confirmed the high power capability (∼40 MW/m2), and the better coupling and spectrum shaping properties than those of loops. A definitive demonstration experiment on a tokamak is needed.