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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.
Edward A. Lazarus, Michael C. Zarnstorff, Stuart R. Hudson, Long-Poe Ku, Douglas C. McCune, David R. Mikkelsen, Donald A. Monticello, Neil Pomphrey, Allen H. Reiman
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 46 | Number 1 | July 2004 | Pages 209-214
Technical Paper | Stellarators | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A557
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
It is demonstrated that there exists a plausible evolution of the discharge from the vacuum state to the desired high beta state with the self-consistent bootstrap current profile. The discharge evolution preserves stability and has adequate quasi axisymmetry along this trajectory. The study takes advantage of the quasi-axisymmetric nature of the device to model the evolution of flux and energy in two dimensions. The plasma confinement is modeled to be consistent with empirical scaling. The ohmic circuit, the plasma density, and the timing of the neutral beam heating control the poloidal flux evolution. The resulting pressure and current density profiles are then used in a three-dimensional optimization to find the desired sequence of equilibria. In order to obtain this sequence, active control of the helical and poloidal fields is required. These results are consistent with the planned power systems for the magnets.