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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.
L. M. Garrison, F. W. Meyer, M. E. Bannister
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 72 | Number 4 | November 2017 | Pages 574-580
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1352431
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The retention of hydrogen isotopes in the plasma-facing materials of a fusion reactor is dependent on the density of trapping sites in the material. One factor that can influence the trapping defects is the surface state of the material before exposure. Mechanically polished, electropolished, and recrystallized tungsten samples were compared by exposing them to 350 eV D+ beams with peak fluences of ~1 × 1024 D+/m2 at 500 and 740 K at the Multicharged Ion Research Facility (MIRF). At the exposure temperature of 740 K, no significant retention was detected. For material exposed at 500 K, significant differences in retention were observed, and the order of increasing retention was recrystallized, electropolished, and mechanically polished. The other variable besides surface treatment was the time delay between ion exposure and thermal desorption spectroscopy which also may have impacted the retention measurements if there was out-gassing of the D while samples were in storage before thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS).