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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.
Stephan M. Senn, Steven J. Pemberton, Per F. Peterson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 45 | Number 4 | June 2004 | Pages 573-582
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A532
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Oscillating thick-liquid jets have been proposed to create pockets to provide neutron shielding and droplet clearing at high repetition rate for heavy-ion inertial fusion energy. A procedure is introduced to compute nonsinusoidal nozzle oscillation functions based on the desired pocket geometry at the time of target ignition. The primary goals for creating optimum pocket geometries are discussed, such as complete pocket closing at time of target ignition, avoidance of liquid-liquid collisions that could lead to jetting into the target region, maintenance of a uniform void distribution to avoid the propagation of strong shocks toward the injection nozzles, and consideration of mechanical limitations on the maximum nozzle acceleration. The equation of motion for a horizontally translating nozzle is derived that generates the desired pocket shape. Numerical results are compared to a sinusoidal oscillation function. The same procedure had been applied to a rotating nozzle.