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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. L. Sanders‡, D. E. Klein, M. E. Crawford
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 8 | Number 1 | July 1985 | Pages 251-256
Blanket and First-Wall Engineering | Proceedings of the Sixth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (San Francisco, California, March 3-7, 1985) | doi.org/10.13182/FST85-A40053
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A liquid metal facility using the eutectic composition of sodium and potassium (NaK) as the working fluid has been designed and constructed at The University of Texas at Austin. The facility is capable of experimentally modeling magnetohydrodynamic flow through many of the geometries envisioned for fusion related systems, particularly blanket designs. A study currently in progress involves the measurement of the magnetohydraulic pressure drop across a packed bed of electrically conducting spheres. Reynolds numbers based on volume flow rate and sphere diameter range from 5 to 300, and Hartmann numbers range from 0 to 200, resulting in an interaction parameter range up to 4000.