Tandem mirror reactor with thermal barriers

Abstract

The basic tandem mirror concept entails the improved axial confinement of a long cylindrical fusion plasma within a solenoid by means of strong elec trostatic potentials at the ends. In the original tandem mirror concept, the confining electrostatic potential was produced by mirror-confined, end-plug plasmas of considerably higher density than the fusion plasma in the solenoidal center cell. As shown in a conceptual reactor design study completed in 1977, the requirement for a high plasma density plug led to advanced techno logical requirements for plug magnets and neutral-beam injectors. Based on preliminary calculations, we set as the goal for the new re actor design a 500-MWe output from a high Q (±10) fusion plasma confined in a central cell about 60 m in length. Although our progress toward this goal has been significant, additional work must be done to achieve a self-consistent reactor design which satisifes all of the known physics constraints. The pre sent magnet design has proved inadequate against the criterion for MHD bal looning stability at our assumed value for central cell 8. Ongoing work em phasizes the redesign of the magnet system to increase the 8 limit for sta bility.

Mirror fusion test facility magnet system. Final design report

“…Other project parameters listed in Table 1 show that the MFTF will traverse much of the distance in magnet technology towards the reac tor regime. 3 Authorized to start construction in FY 1978. the MFTF project is close to its schedule for com pletion in October 1981. Following a change in geometry at the end of the preliminary design stage.…”

Physics basis for the Wisconsin HTS Axisymmetric Mirror (WHAM)

“…We use It is worth noting that the effect here is precisely the concept conceived of to pump out ions in thermal barrier plasmas (Carlson et al. 1981) that rely upon a sloshing ion distribution and prevent buildup of plasma in the Yushmanov potential (Yushmanov 1966; Kesner 1973) by pumping out the weakly confined particles.…”