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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.
R. H. Fowler, Robert N. Morris, James A. Rome
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 20 | Number 2 | September 1991 | Pages 200-207
Technical Paper | Plasma Heating System | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29690
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Neutral beam injection into the Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF) is studied using Monte Carlo methods. The detailed geometry of ATF to properly calculate aperture, shine-through, orbit, and charge-exchange losses, as well as the net plasma heating, is included. Also, the beam geometry (including the source geometry), beam divergence, and focusing are carefully modeled. The dependence of plasma heating on the injection angle is determined. The results indicate that net plasma heating is lower for perpendicular injection than for tangential injection because of large orbit and charge-exchange losses. However, this difference is partially offset by the need to use a smaller aperture during tangential injection to prevent excessive heating of the vacuum vessel. Shine-through losses are significant for low-density perpendicular injection.