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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.
Akinori Oda, Yasuyuki Nakao, Takashi Kuitani, Kazuhiko Kudo, Masao Ohta†
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 23 | Number 3 | May 1993 | Pages 267-280
Technical Paper | Plasma Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST93-A30156
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The possibility of passive and active burn stabilization of ignited deuterium-tritium (D-T) tokamak plasmas allowing for radial motion is studied by using a zero-dimensional transport model. Analyses are based on a linear stability method and a nonlinear dynamic simulation. The results are principally given for a self-ignited International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)-grade plasma. The radial motion has a stabilizing effect in a plasma with ITER89 scaling. It is impractical, however, to expect the radial motion to passively stabilize the burning plasma. A compression-decompression scheme based on regulation of the vertical field sufficiently stabilizes the plasma with ITER89 scaling. This control scheme requires some space for radial motion. The radial space requirement needed to manage a certain temperature perturbation is typically written as δR/R0 ≈ 0.6δT/T0. The allowable magnitude of temperature perturbation is within only 0.5% for δR = 2 cm. The extra space requirement would be the most severe problem in this control scheme. If the fraction GT of alpha-particle power loss due to field ripple is significant, the requirement on radial space might be considerably relaxed. Preliminary calculations have shown that δR/R0 ≈ 0.3δT/T0 might be achievable for GT = 20%.