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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
Vogtle-3 shuts down for valve issue
One of the new Vogtle units in Georgia was shut down unexpectedly on Monday last week for a valve issue that has been investigated and repaired. According to multiple local news outlets, Georgia Power reported on July 17 that unit 3 was back in service.
Southern Company spokesperson Jacob Hawkins confirmed that Vogtle-3 went off line at 9:25 p.m. on July 8 “due to lowering water levels in the steam generators caused by a valve issue on one of the three main feedwater pumps.”
James P. Blanchard, René Raffray
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 3 | October 2007 | Pages 440-444
Technical Paper | The Technology of Fusion Energy - Inertial Fusion Technology: Targets and Chambers | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1527
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A laser fusion chamber must absorb the energy emitted by the target in such a way that the plant can achieve a commercially viable power conversion efficiency. This must be accomplished with a design that can reliably withstand on the order of a billion shots. For a dry chamber wall, the key lifetime issues are thermo-mechanical effects resulting from the rapid heating, ion effects, such as blistering and sputtering, and radiation effects. These issues define the chamber size by providing flux limits for the various threats. In cases where a dry, unprotected wall cannot provide an adequate lifetime, measures must be taken to reduce the threat to the wall. Previously proposed approaches include filling the chamber with sufficient gas to stop the majority of the ions before they reach the wall or redirection of the ions by a cusp field. Other design trade-offs that must be addressed include the need to reduce heating of the target during injection and the need for adequate clearing of the chamber between shots. In this paper we provide a review of the chamber design approaches required for commercially viable laser fusion power plants, the issues driving those designs, and some system-level analyses that provide insight into the implications of these design issues for the overall economics of a commercial plant.