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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.
A. R. Raffray, L. El-Guebaly, G. Federici, D. Haynes, F. Najmabadi, D. Petti, ARIES-IFE Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 46 | Number 3 | November 2004 | Pages 417-437
Technical Paper | ARIES-IFE | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A581
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The chamber wall armor is subject to demanding conditions in inertial fusion energy (IFE) chambers. IFE operation is cyclic in nature, and key issues are (a) chamber evacuation to ensure that after each shot the chamber returns to a quiescent state in preparation for the target injection and the firing of the driver for the subsequent shot and (b) armor lifetime that requires that the armor accommodate the cyclic energy deposition while providing the required lifetime. Armor erosion would impact both of these requirements. Tungsten and carbon are considered as armor for IFE dry-wall chambers based on their high-temperature and high-heat-flux accommodation capabilities. This paper assesses the requirements on armor imposed by the operating conditions in IFE, including energy deposition density, time of deposition, and frequencies; describes their impact on the performance of the candidate armor materials; and discusses the major issues.