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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.
Norman Rostoker, Michl Binderbauer, Hendrik J. Monkhorst
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 1395-1402
Innovative Approaches to Fusion Energy | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963143
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A plasma consisting of large orbit non-adiabatic ions and adiabatic electrons is considered. For such a plasma it is possible that the anomalous transport characteristic of Tokamaks can be avoided. Experimental evidence in support of this possibility has been obtained with energetic beams injected into Tokamaks for heating in DIII-D and TFTR and with energetic fusion products in JET. Energetic particles were observed to slow down and diffuse classically in the presence of anomalous transport of thermal particles. Assuming that classical transport theory is applicable we have elected to investigate magnetic confinement for field reversed configurations (FRC's). This configuration was chosen because there are some 20 years of experimental investigation, about 600 published papers and current programs in Japan to provide background information for a case where a substantial fraction of the ions are non-adiabatic and contribute to the current. The investigation begins with self-consistent equilibrium solutions of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations. The classical Fokker-Planck equation is employed to evaluate Coulomb collisions and transport. Reactor configurations based on D - T, D - He3 and H - B11 reactions are considered. Energy balance is investigated considering the only losses to be Bremsstrahlung.