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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.
Peter S. Ebey, James M. Dole, Drew A. Geller, James K. Hoffer, Arthur Nobile, John D. Sheliak
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 48 | Number 3 | November 2005 | Pages 1292-1298
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A1078
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Beta-layering, the process of beta-decay heat-driven mass redistribution, has been demonstrated in a deuterium-tritium (D-T)-filled polymer sphere of the type required for fusion ignition experiments at the National Ignition Facility. This is the first report, to the best of the authors' knowledge, of a D-T layer formed in a permeation-filled sphere. The 2-mm-diam sphere was filled with D-T by permeation; cooled to cryogenic temperatures while in the high-pressure permeation vessel; and, while cold, removed to an optical axis where the D-T was frozen, melted, and beta-layered in a series of experiments over several weeks' time. This work was performed in the Los Alamos National Laboratory cryogenic pressure loader system. The beta-layering time constant was 24.0 ± 2.5 min, less than the theoretical value of 26.8 min, and not showing the significant increase due to build-up of 3He often observed in beta-layered samples. Supercooling of the liquid D-T was observed. Neither the polymer target nor its tenting material showed visual signs of degradation after 5 weeks of exposure to D-T. Small external thermal gradients were used to shift the D-T material back and forth within the sphere.