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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.
John H. Pitts, Otis R. Walton
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 8 | Number 1 | July 1985 | Pages 1838-1843
Inertial Confinement Fusion Reactor | Proceedings of the Sixth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (San Francisco, California, March 3-7, 1985) | doi.org/10.13182/FST85-A40028
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Analysis of a single granule on a rotating cone shows that for the 35° half-angle, double-cone-shaped Cascade chamber, blanket granules will stay against the chamber wall if the rotational speed is 50 rpm or greater. The granules move axially down the wall with a slight (5-mm or less) sinusoidal oscillation in the circumferential direction. Granule chute-flow experiments confirm that two-layered flow can be obtained when the chute is inclined slightly above the granular material angle of repose. The top surface layer is thin and fast moving (supercritical flow). A thick bottom layer moves more slowly (subcritical flow controlled at the exit) with a velocity that increases with distance from the bottom of the chute. This is a desirable velocity profile because in the Cascade chamber about one-third of the fusion energy is deposited in the form of x rays and fusion-fuel-pellet debris in the top surface (inner-radius) layer.