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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.
Shoichi Ohi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 27 | Number 3 | April 1995 | Pages 349-352
Compact Torus (Field-Reversed Configuration, Spheromak) Concepts | doi.org/10.13182/FST95-A11947103
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Confinement times of particle and trapped magnetic flux in FRC plasmas were simulated using a one dimensional transport model and classical (Spitzer's) resistivity. Comparing the simulation results and experimental results indicated that a transport in the plasmas was basically classical and deviations of experimental results from classical values (so-called anomaly) might attribute to a plasma geometry effect, by which the deviation was larger for fat plasmas and smaller for prolate ones.
In order to verify this indication, a plasma electron heating with an axial injection of pulsed and intense ion beams was proposed for the plasmas in current FRC experiments. Possibility of this heating were examined by estimating an energy deposit rate of a beam ion in the plasmas. The energy deposit rate is a few%~about 100% for a plasma of 12cm in diameter and 80cm in length with a plasma parameter range of current experiments.