Tandem Mirror Experiment for Basic Fusion Science
- 1 Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
- 2 National Instruments Corporation, Austin, USA
- 3 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, USA
- 4 Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
Abstract
Research on controlled nuclear fusion has been largely concentrated on plasma confinement using toroidal magnetic fields. Toroidal systems are complex. A simpler magnetic confinement system may provide a valuable platform for understanding fusion plasmas. The linear mirror machine has delivered good performance with the potential of giving a direct conversion of nuclear energy into electric power. The GAMMA-10 (G-10) linear mirror confinement system at Tsukuba University demonstrated the principle of the direct conversion of plasma energy into electric power on a small scale from the exhaust plasma in the exterior divertor chamber. The tokamak fusion system has to prove that the 10 to 15 MA of plasma current can be sustained continuously with acceptable efficiency. Plasma confinement is due to the magnetic field from the plasma current in tokamaks. There is room for creative new solutions in the magnetic confinement of fusion plasmas, and consideration is given for the alternative approach of using a linear machine with high magnetic mirror fields and the direct conversion of the high temperature escaping plasma to electric power.
- Ryutov, D.D., Baldwin, D.E., Hooper, E.B. and Thomassen, K.I. (1998) A High-Flux Source of Fusion Neutrons for Material and Component Testing. Journal of Fusion Energy, 17, 253-257. http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?id=doi:10.1023/A:1021870631838 http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1021870631838
- Ryutov, D.D., Berk, H.L., Cohen, B.I., Molvik, A.W. and Simonen, T.C. (2011) Magneto-Hydrodynamically Stable Axisymmetric Mirrors. Physics of Plasmas, 18, Article ID: 092301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3624763
- Giannone, L., Wenzel, L., et al. (2009) Data Acquisition and Real Time Signal Processing of Plasma Diagnostics on ASDEX Upgrade Using LabVIEW RT. International Atomic Energy Agency, Wien.
- Cho, T., et al. (2006) Progress in Potential Formation and Radial-Transport-Barrier Production for Turbulence Suppression and Improved Confinement in GAMMA-10. Annual Report National Institute for Fusion Science. University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba.
- Cho, T., et al. (2008) Active Control of Internal Transport Barrier Formation Due to Off-Axis Electron-Cyclotron Heating in GAMMA-10 Experiments. Physics of Plasmas, 15, Article ID: 056120. http://link.aip.org/link/?PHPAEN/15/056120/1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2906262
- Yoshikawa, M., Nagasu, K., Shimamura, Y., Shima, Y., Kohagura, J., Kitagawa, K., Morishita, M., Sakamoto, M., Nakashima, Y., Imai, T., Ichimura, M., Kawarazaki, R., Yamada, I., Yasuhara, R., Funaba, H. and Minami, T. (2006) Electron Temperature and Density Measurements by Using the Thomson Scattering System in the Tandem Mirror GAMMA-10. 16th International Conference on Laser-Aided Plasma Diagnostics (26th LAPD), Madison, 22-26 September 2013. http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.055001
- LeBlanc, B.P., Bell, R.E., Johnson, D.W., et al. (2003) Operation of the NSTX Thomson Scattering system. Review of Scientific Instruments, 74, 1659-1662. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1532763
- Solomahin, A., Bagryansky, P., et al. (2014) Enigorod International Conference Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. Zvenigorod, Russia.
- Horton, W., Goniche, M., Peysson, Y., Decker, J., Ekedahl, A. and Litaudo, X. (2013) Penetration of Lower Hybrid Current Drive Waves in Tokamaks. Physics of Plasmas, 20, Article ID: 112508. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4831981
- Post, R.F. (2002) The Kinetic Stabilizer: Further Calculations and Options, Transactions of Fusion Science and Technology, American Nuclear Society. The 4th International Conference on Open Magnetic Systems for Plasma Confinement, Jeju Island, 1-4 July 2002, 195-202.