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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.
S. A. Eddinger, H. Huang, M. E. Schoff
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 4 | May 2009 | Pages 411-416
Technical Paper | Eighteenth Target Fabrication Specialists' Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST55-411
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The inertial confinement fusion program requires the uniformity of multilayered samples to be measured to high accuracy. We currently use a reflection spectroscopy tool to measure optically transparent shells with no more than two layers. The method cannot measure opaque samples such as beryllium shells, low-reflection samples such as foam shells, or any shells with more than two layers such as National Ignition Facility specification Ge-CH shells. We also use a white-light interferometer to measure transparent samples with multiple layers, but only at the North/South Poles for a given orientation. To complement these existing tools, we developed an X-ray technique based on a commercial X-ray microscope (Xradia MicroXCT). MicroXCT is capable of providing high-contrast, high-resolution images and allows the samples to be precision aligned and angular indexed. Dimension accuracy is achieved through the calibration of the projection magnification and the lens distortion. From each X-ray image, a wall thickness trace along the great circle is obtained by converting Cartesian coordinates into cylindrical coordinates, and edge-finding algorithms are developed for a contact radiography project. Three-dimensional reconstruction and wall thickness display allow the visualization of the sample nonuniformity. The method has a 0.3 m measurement precision and, through phase contrast calibration, can achieve 0.3 m accuracy.