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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.
V. Basiuk, A. Bécoulet, T. Hutter, G. Martin, A. L. Pecquet, B. Saoutic
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 26 | Number 3 | November 1994 | Pages 222-226
Technical Paper | Experimental Device | doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A30324
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
During additional heating in Tore Supra [ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) or neutral beam injection], fast ion losses due to the toroidal field ripple were clearly measured by a set of graphite probes. This detector collects the flow of fast ions entering a vertical port and usually shows a maximum flux for ions originating from the vicinity of surface δ* = 0. During the monster sawteeth regime, achieved with ICRF, a remarkable phenomenon was observed: an ejection of fast ions that were not correlated with any measured magnetohydrodynamic activity. The radial distribution of these ions was quite different from the distribution usually observed exhibiting a peak located in the central section of the plasma. A new diagnostic is being constructed for measurement of the energy distribution of these ions, from 80 keV (energy of the neutral beam injected in Tore Supra) up to 1 MeV (expected during ICRF). The principle of the diagnostic is the identification of the ions through their energy by using their Larmor radius (ρ = 1.3 cm for 100 keV → ρ = 3.6 cm for 700 keV, B = 4T). The detector is made of a hollow graphite cylinder with a small entrance slot, located in a vertical port on the ion drift side. An array of six metallic collectors placed inside the graphite cylinder intercepts the ions. The current on each collector was estimated at 10 → 100 nA, during ICRF heating. The energy resolution of this diagnostic is expected to be ∼20 keV for the lowest energy range and 100 keV for the highest energy range. This type of elementary detector might be extrapolated for the measurements of alpha-particle losses in future deuterium-tritium experiments. It should also be suitable for studies of stochastic ripple diffusion.