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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.
R.A. Langley
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 27 | Number 2 | March 1995 | Pages 41-47
doi.org/10.13182/FST95-A11963803
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The IAEA has proposed a coordinated research program to address tritium retention and release in fusion reactor plasma facing components. This program will address materials which are mainly of interest to the design and construction of ITER, namely beryllium, carbon based materials and medium and high-Z metals, e.g. tungsten, vanadium and molybdenum, but will not be limited to these materials. Experimental data are needed for: recycling models, tritium inventory estimates, tritium permeation calculations and hydrogen embrittlement characterization. The ultimate use of the data would be to influence the formation of models for use by fusion reactor designers. Judicious material choices must be made by the designers and accurate predictive codes are required in order to make these choices. The proposed coordinated research program will provide a forum for discussions between experimentalists, theoreticians, modelers and reactor designers, provide financial support for relevant research projects and collect and evaluate experimental and theoretical data. This paper briefly reviews existing data, addresses the data gaps and points out experiments designed to obtain the needed data.