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Important Controlled Fusion Devices
Published in Hitendra K. Malik, Laser-Matter Interaction for Radiation and Energy, 2021
Nuclear fusion is considered to be a secure, long-term source of clean and sustainable energy of the future. But to recreate the fusion reaction occurring in the sun and stars is not easy. The density at the core of the sun is 150 g/cc and its temperature is 15 million Kelvin. It is essential to mimic this condition to achieve fusion in a man-made environment. For several decades researchers have been trying to find methods for liberating fusion energy in a controlled manner. At the extremely high temperature required for fusion to occur, the fusion fuel becomes plasma. Thus, a powerful confinement of the plasma and ignition with extremely high temperature is essential to obtain fusion energy.
Alternative Power Systems
Published in Stephen W. Fardo, Dale R. Patrick, Electrical Power Systems Technology, 2020
Stephen W. Fardo, Dale R. Patrick
If nuclear-fusion reactors could be used in the production of electrical energy, the process would be similar to the nuclear-fission plants which are now in operation. The only difference would be in the nuclear reaction that takes place to change the circulating water into steam to drive the turbines. The major problem of the nuclear-fusion process is controlling the high temperatures generated, estimated to reach 100 million degrees Fahrenheit.
Perspectives
Published in Ivan G. Draganić, Zorica D. Draganić, Jean-Pierre Adloff, Radiation and Radioactivity on Earth and Beyond, 2020
Ivan G. Draganić, Zorica D. Draganić, Jean-Pierre Adloff
Nuclear fusion is a reaction between light atomic nuclei which lead to formation of a heavier nucleus and the release of an important amount of energy. One way to fusion is penetrating the Coulomb barrier by force, by giving the nuclei a huge amount of kinetic energy. This usually requires heating the particles to tens of millions degrees. The process operates in the stars (Chapter 5) and was demonstrated on Earth with the explosion of the first thermonuclear device. The other way is to try to screen one nucleus from the repulsive effects of the other by binding the nuclei with a particle of opposite charge. The muonic hydrogen atom may be the right tool.
Advanced Isotope Separation Technology for Fusion Fuel
Published in Fusion Science and Technology, 2022
Xin Xiao, Henry T. Sessions, Robert Rabun
Nuclear fusion provides enormous energy and could potentially be an invaluable power-producing source when it becomes controllable. The fusing of light atomic nuclei—nuclear fusion—is the similar reaction that has been powering the Sun and stars since their formation. The concentration of D2O in water is 155 parts per million (ppm). Each liter of seawater could produce the energy equivalent of 300 L of gasoline from D-D fusion. The easiest nuclear fusion reaction is deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion; however, naturally occurring tritium is extremely rare on Earth. For use in sustained controlled nuclear fusion, tritium needs to be produced by breeding and purification processes. In the present design of nuclear fusion reactors, tritium has a low burnup rate, and therefore, a large portion of the D-T fuel will be recycled. One step in the recycling process will be hydrogen isotope separation.
Numerical Simulation of Thin-Film MHD Flow for Nonuniform Conductivity Walls
Published in Fusion Science and Technology, 2021
S. Siriano, A. Tassone, G. Caruso
Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars and is considered a sustainable and CO2-free energy source that could be potentially used to meet the ever-increasing global energy demand. At the extremely high temperature needed to sustain the fusion reaction, the fuel is in the plasma state, that is, completely ionized and dissociated in electrons and ions. In 2018, EUROfusion published a document entitled “European Research Roadmap to the Realisation of Fusion Energy,”1 which outlined eight key design issues to face the main challenges for the realization of the first fusion reactor. The “M2. Heat-exhaust systems” mission is on the development of an adequate solution for high thermal loads to which the plasma-facing components (PFCs) are subjected. The baseline strategy for the accomplishment of M2 is to optimize and understand operation with a conventional PFC (water-cooled, metallic armor, Eurofer heatsink) but, in parallel, an aggressive program to develop alternative solutions is necessary.1
Metrology Feasibility Study in Support of the National Direct-Drive Program
Published in Fusion Science and Technology, 2018
H. Huang, K. Engelhorn, K. Sequoia, A. Greenwood, W. Sweet, L. Carlson, F. Elsner, M. Farrell
Controlled nuclear fusion offers tremendous promise for an inexhaustible and clean energy supply, but it is also tremendously difficult to achieve. The inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program has evolved into three complementary research thrusts: laser indirect drive (LID), laser direct drive (LDD), and magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF). Regardless of the approach, imperfections on the ablator capsule grow exponentially during the implosion to potentially quench the ignition. Accordingly, strict specifications have been placed on the allowable target defects.1 In LID (Ref. 2), the optical laser beams heat up the interior of a hohlraum to generate an X-ray blackbody–radiation “baking oven” that uniformly heats the ablator. This method has the benefit of mitigating the effects of imperfections in the laser beams and the target, but this comes at the expense of lower overall energy coupling efficiency. Historically, the LID approach has accumulated the largest database to guide the design of major experimental facilities, yet Rayleigh-Taylor instability remains a major concern.1 In LDD (Ref. 3), laser beams in spherically symmetrical geometry ablate the capsule directly to drive the implosion. This process is much more sensitive to imperfections in the laser illumination and capsule but returns higher coupling efficiency. In MagLIF, a strong axial magnetic field from 10 to 50 T enhances the confinement of fusion fuel, which is expected to produce more relaxed specification.4,5