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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.
David J. Alexander, Jason C. Cooley, Dan J. Thoma, Arthur Nobile, Jr.
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 45 | Number 2 | March 2004 | Pages 137-143
Technical Paper | Target Fabrication | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A440
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Beryllium doped with 6 weight % copper is the material of choice for fabrication of target capsules for the National Ignition Facility because of its combination of attractive neutronic, electronic, physical, and mechanical properties. The target capsules are 2 mm in diameter and thin-walled (150 microns) and must meet demanding dimensional specifications. The material must be fine-grained and of low inclusion content. Arc-melted Be-Cu is being produced to eliminate the oxide content that is inevitably present in conventional powdermetallurgy materials. Equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) is being used to refine the as-cast grain structure. Be-Cu rods produced by the arc-melting process (5 mm in diameter by 30 mm in length) are enclosed in nickel cans with electron-beam welded plugs. The Be-in-Ni billets (9.5 mm in diameter by 45 mm in length) have been processed by ECAE at temperatures from 500 to 750°C in tooling with a 120° angle. Selected samples have been annealed for 1 hour at temperatures from 700 to 775°C. The ECAE processing creates a heavily deformed and finely subdivided structure, and the annealing can produce an equiaxed microstructure with a grain size of approximately 20 m.