Systems and methods for forming and maintaining a high performance FRC

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10438702-B2
Application number	US-201816035843-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2018
Priority date	Sep 24, 2013
Publication date	Oct 8, 2019
Grant date	Oct 8, 2019

Abstract

A high performance field reversed configuration (FRC) system includes a central confinement vessel, two diametrically opposed reversed-field-theta-pinch formation sections coupled to the vessel, and two divertor chambers coupled to the formation sections. A magnetic system includes quasi-dc coils axially positioned along the FRC system components, quasi-dc mirror coils between the confinement chamber and the formation sections, and mirror plugs between the formation sections and the divertors. The formation sections include modular pulsed power formation systems enabling static and dynamic formation and acceleration of the FRCs. The FRC system further includes neutral atom beam injectors, pellet injectors, gettering systems, axial plasma guns and flux surface biasing electrodes. The beam injectors are preferably angled toward the midplane of the chamber. In operation, FRC plasma parameters including plasma thermal energy, total particle numbers, radius and trapped magnetic flux, are sustainable at or about a constant value without decay during neutral beam injection.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for generating and maintaining field reversed configuration (FRC) plasma comprising steps of:
forming an FRC about a plasma in a confinement chamber, and
maintaining the FRC at or about a constant value without decay by injecting beams of fast neutral atoms from neutral beam injectors into the FRC plasma at an angle of about 15° to 25° less than normal to a longitudinal axis of the confinement chamber and towards a mid-plane of the confinement chamber.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of generating a magnetic field within the chamber with quasi-dc coils extending about the confinement chamber and a mirror magnetic field within opposing ends of the chamber with quasi-dc mirror coils extending about the opposing ends of the chamber.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the forming the FRC includes forming a formation FRC in opposing first and second formation sections coupled to opposite ends of the confinement chamber and accelerating the formation FRC from the first and second formation sections towards the mid-plane of the chamber where the two formation FRCs merge to form the FRC.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of forming the FRC includes one of forming a formation FRC while accelerating the formation FRC towards the mid-plane of the chamber and forming a formation FRC then accelerating the formation FRC towards the mid-plane of the chamber.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising a step of guiding magnetic flux surfaces of the FRC into diverters coupled to the ends of the formation sections.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising a step of generating a magnetic field within the formation sections and diverters with quasi-dc coils extending about the formation sections and diverters.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising a step of generating a mirror magnetic field between the formation sections and the diverters with quasi-dc mirror coils.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising a step of generating a mirror plug magnetic field within a constriction between the formation sections and the diverters with quasi-dc mirror plug coils extending about the constriction between the formation sections and the diverters.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of maintaining the FRC further comprising the step of injecting pellets of neutral atoms into the FRC.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of generating one of a magnetic dipole field and a magnetic quadrupole field within the chamber with saddle coils coupled to the chamber.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of conditioning the internal surfaces of the chamber, formation sections, and diverters with a gettering system.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the gettering system includes one of a Titanium deposition system and a Lithium deposition system.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of axially injecting plasma into the FRC from axially mounted plasma guns.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of controlling a radial electric field profile in an edge layer of the FRC.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of controlling the radial electric field profile in an edge layer of the FRC includes applying a distribution of electric potential to a group of open flux surfaces of the FRC with biasing electrodes.

16. A system for generating and maintaining a field reversed configuration (FRC) plasma comprising
a confinement chamber,
first and second diametrically opposed FRC formation sections coupled to the confinement chamber,
first and second divertors coupled to the first and second formation sections,
first and second axial plasma guns operably coupled to the first and second divertors, the first and second formation sections and the confinement chamber,
a plurality of neutral atom beam injectors coupled to the confinement chamber and oriented to inject neutral atom beams toward a mid-plane of the confinement chamber at an angle of about 15° to 25° less than normal to a longitudinal axis of the confinement, and
a magnetic system coupled to the confinement chamber, the first and second formation sections, and the first and second divertors, the magnetic system including first and second mirror plugs position between the first and second formation sections and the first and second divertors,
wherein upon formation by the system of an FRC within the confinement chamber of the system, the FRC being maintainable by the system in spaced relation to the wall of the confinement chamber and at or about a constant value without decay while neutral atom beams are injected from the plurality of neutral atom beam injectors into the FRC at an angle of about 15° to 25° less than normal to the longitudinal axis of the confinement chamber and towards the mid-plane of the confinement chamber.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the magnetic system includes a plurality of quasi-dc coils axially spaced in positions along the confinement chamber, the first and second formation sections, and the first and second divertors.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the magnetic system further comprises a first set of mirror coils positioned between the ends of the confinement chamber and the first and second formation sections.

19. The system of claim 16 wherein the first and second mirror plugs further comprise a set of mirror plug coils wrapped around a constriction in the passageway between each of the first and second formation sections and the first and second divertors.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the mirror plug coils are compact pulsed mirror coils.

21. The system of claim 16 further comprising a gettering system coupled to the confinement chamber and the first and second divertors.

22. The system of claim 16 further comprising one or more biasing electrodes for electrically biasing open flux surface of a generated FRC, the one or more biasing electrodes being positioned within one or more of the confinement chamber, the first and second formation sections, and the first and second divertors.

23. The system of claim 16 further comprising two or more saddle coils coupled to the confinement chamber.

24. The system of claim 16 further comprising an ion pellet injector coupled to the confinement chamber.

Assignees

• Tae Tech Inc

Inventors

• Tuszewski Michel
• Binderbauer Michl W
• Putvinski Sergei
• Smirnov Artem N

Classifications

• H05H1/14

  wherein the containment vessel is straight and has magnetic mirrors · CPC title

• H05H1/10

  using externally-applied magnetic fields only {, e.g. Q-machines, Yin-Yang, base-ball} · CPC title

• G21B1/15

  Particle injectors for producing thermonuclear fusion reactions, e.g. pellet injectors · CPC title

• G21B1/052 Primary

  reversed field configuration · CPC title

• Y02E30/122

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic