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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.
J. J. MacFarlane, R. R. Peterson, P. Wang, G. A. Moses
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 26 | Number 3 | November 1994 | Pages 886-890
Inertial Confinement Fusion Reactor, Reactor Target, and Driver | Proceedings of the Eleventh Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy New Orleans, Louisiana June 19-23, 1994 | doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A40266
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We present results from radiation-hydrodynamics calculations which show the central role resonant self-absorption plays in reducing radiative energy loss rates in high-gain ICF target chamber plasmas. Calculations were performed using a non-LTE radiative transfer model which we have recently coupled to our target chamber radiation-hydrodynamics code. The lower radiation fluxes escaping the plasma, which occur due to the self-absorption of line radiation in their optically thick cores, lead to significantly lower temperature increases at the surface of the target chamber first wall. The calculations were performed for the SIRIUS-P laser-driven direct-drive ICF power reactor. In this conceptual design study, high-gain targets release approximately 400 MJ of energy in the center of a gas-filled target chamber. The target debris ions and x-rays are stopped in the gas, and the energy is reradiated to the chamber wall over a much longer time scale. Because the time scales are comparable to the time it takes to thermally conduct energy away from the first surface, the thermal stresses and erosion rates for the first wall are greatly reduced.