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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.
Brian M. Patterson, Kimberly A. DeFriend Obrey, George J. Havrilla, Abbas Nikroo, Haibo Huang
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 4 | May 2009 | Pages 417-423
Technical Paper | Eighteenth Target Fabrication Specialists' Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A7420
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three-dimensional (3-D) computed micro X-ray tomography (micro CT) and 3-D confocal micro X-ray fluorescence (MXRF) combined are very useful nondestructive metrology techniques for determining the unique compositional and morphological information of fusion targets and target materials. Micro CT and confocal MXRF are being used in concert to examine a beryllium ablator capsule that has been sputtered and graded doped with copper and argon. In this manuscript, we will show that two-dimensional (2-D) MXRF imaging in concert with a simple radiograph is very useful for approximating the copper and argon profiles in the x and y dimensions, but because of the lack of signal discrimination in the z direction, image "bleed" from the sample regions where the X-rays are out of focus is prevalent. Data collected using the micro CT and overlapped with the confocal MXRF data produce absorbance and elemental line profiles without the signal bleed. Overlapping the 3-D data from these techniques provides a more accurate picture of the composition of these capsules than 2-D nondestructive techniques.