Research on fusion neutron sources

Abstract

JET divertor diagnostic upgrade for neutral gas analysis Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 10D728 (2012) Fuel ion ratio measurements in reactor relevant neutral beam heated fusion plasmas Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 10D916 (2012) Full toroidal imaging of non-axisymmetric plasma material interaction in the National Spherical Torus Experiment divertor Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 10E532 (2012) Snowflake divertor configuration studies in National Spherical Torus Experiment Phys. Plasmas 19, 082504 (2012) Diagnostic options for radiative divertor feedback control on NSTX-U Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 10D716 (2012) Additional information on AIP Conf. Proc.Abstract. The use of fusion devices as powerful neutron sources has been discussed for decades. Whereas the successful route to a commercial fusion power reactor demands steady state stable operation combined with the high efficiency required to make electricity production economic, the alternative approach to advancing the use of fusion is free of many of complications connected with the requirements for economic power generation and uses the already achieved knowledge of Fusion physics and developed Fusion technologies. Fusion for Neutrons (F4N), has now been re-visited, inspired by recent progress achieved on comparably compact fusion devices, based on the Spherical Tokamak (ST) concept. Freed from the requirement to produce much more electricity than used to drive it, a fusion neutron source could be efficiently used for many commercial applications, and also to support the goal of producing energy by nuclear power. The possibility to use a small or medium size ST as a powerful or intense steady-state fusion neutron source (FNS) is discussed in this paper in comparison with the use of traditional high aspect ratio tokamaks. An overview of various conceptual designs of compact fusion neutron sources based on the ST concept is given and they are compared with a recently proposed Super Compact Fusion Neutron Source (SCFNS), with major radius as low as 0.5 metres but still able to produce several MW of neutrons in a steady-state regime.

Tenfold increase in the fusion triple product caused by doubling of toroidal magnetic field in the spherical tokamak Globus-M2

“…Significant improvement in plasma performance at B T above 1 T was observed in ohmic heated plasma at the ST-40 tokamak [16][17][18]. The results of recent NBI experiments on an ST-40 tokamak using 1 MW auxiliary power are expected to be quite intriguing due to the highest B T = 2 T [19].…”

Kinetic ballooning modes as a constraint on plasma triangularity in commercial spherical tokamaks

“…STs are thus receiving significant attention in the fusion community. Several devices have recently been built or upgraded, such as NSTX-U [5], ST40 [6] and MAST-U [7]. Others are currently being designed or built, such as SMART [8] and STEP [9].…”

Regarding the optimization of O1-mode ECRH and the feasibility of EBW startup on NSTX-U

“…Spherical tokamaks (STs) [1][2][3][4] are a promising fusion reactor design due to their reduced aspect ratio and increased plasma β, the ratio of plasma kinetic pressure to magnetic pressure. Compared to conventional tokamaks, STs feature improved MHD stability, and their projected higher neutron fluence makes them an attractive option for testing reactor components [5,6] or for use in fission-fusion hybrid schemes [7,8].…”