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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
In transition: Commercializing fusion power
Commercial fusion power is closer than ever. There are now around 30 U.S. fusion companies, several of which claim to be on track to connect to the grid as early as the 2030s.
Tokamak and laser inertial confinement approaches benefit from decades of research at facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and ITER, with alternative concepts including stellarator, magnetic mirror, and Z-pinch confinement also making notable progress as private and government funding for fusion increases.
Scott D. Ramsey, Roy A. Axford, Gregory J. Hutchens
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 166 | Number 1 | September 2010 | Pages 73-81
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE09-63TN
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Stochastic point kinetics neglecting delayed neutrons has been subject to rigorous analysis in the years since its introduction. Many approximate solutions appearing within this context are based upon the “quadratic approximation,” where fission multiplicity is truncated at two. In this technical note we review the quadratic approximation within the context of a stochastic, space-independent, one-energy-group model neglecting delayed neutrons and its generalization to higher-order approximations in transient and stationary systems. This generalization results in the probability of a zero neutron population for a source-free system being governed by transcendental and polynomial algebraic equations in the transient and infinite time limit cases, respectively. For 239Pu, we solve the transcendental equation over a wider range of prompt multiplication factors and times than has been previously accomplished. We also reproduce and generalize associated solutions of the polynomial algebraic equation. In both cases, solutions are computed for successive generalizations of the quadratic approximation to higher-order maximum fission multiplicity.