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Latest News
General Atomics announces breeding blanket test facility
General Atomics announced it is developing design concepts in collaboration with the Department of Energy for the Fusion Blanket Component Test Facility (BCTF), which will test full-scale breeding blankets.
“No one has tested a fusion blanket at this scale. While there are more research and development challenges ahead, a BCTF brings us closer to turning fusion from proven science into practical, sustainable power,” said Anantha Krishnan, senior vice president of the General Atomics Energy Group.
T. R. Boehly, R. S. Craxton, T. H. Hinterman, P. A. Jaanimagi, J. H. Kelly, T. J. Kessler, R. L. Kremens, S. A. Kumpan, S. A. Letzring, R. L. McCrory, S. F. B. Morse, W. Seka, S. Skupsky, J. M. Soures, C. P. Verdon
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 26 | Number 3 | November 1994 | Pages 722-729
Future Inertial Confinement Fusion Facility | Proceedings of the Eleventh Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy New Orleans, Louisiana June 19-23, 1994 | doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A40242
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We report on fusion research at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics. We describe the configuration of the upgrade to the OMEGA laser system—a 30-kJ, 351-nm, 60-beam, Nd:glass, direct-drive laser-fusion system. The system utilizes rod and disk amplifiers and frequency-tripling to produce intense UV. Target irradiation uniformity is controlled using phase conversion and smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD). Dual driver lines will feed the propagation of two coaxial beams that have different pulse widths and occupy different portions of the laser aperture. Operation of the laser will begin in November 1994, and the target area will be completed in March 1995.