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Fusion Science and Technology
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WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
M. E. Abdel-Kader
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 81 | Number 5 | July 2025 | Pages 471-484
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2024.2397619
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The cascade discharge of the hollow plasma device is modeled using the snowplow model. In the model, one or three condenser banks discharge between the two electrodes, with a different time delay. The results were achieved with and without the hollow plasma’s multidischarge cascade. The cascade discharge aims to increase the plasma’s energy to keep the discharge current from breaking down and to keep the plasma column compressed for an extended period. Both the cascade and the single discharges affect the pinching time. The calculated induced magnetic field increases progressively until it reaches the pinch point, and then it decreases, at which point the total discharge current reaches a low value. The magnetic field distribution was calculated as a function of the plasma radius, both with and without the cascade discharge. The model demonstrates that, both with and without a cascade discharge, the magnetic field distribution is low at the tube’s exterior wall and increases toward the axis, reaching a maximum value of 138 kG in the case of a cascade discharge and 42.5 kG with a single discharge. A delay unit resembling the one found in a hollow plasma device is utilized to manually manage the electric circuit discharge simulation.