Systems and methods for improved sustainment of a high performance FRC with multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11211172-B2
Application number	US-201916399396-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2019
Priority date	Nov 4, 2016
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for generating and maintaining a magnetic field with a field reversed configuration (FRC) comprising
a confinement chamber,
first and second diametrically opposed FRC formation sections,
first and second divertors coupled to the first and second formation sections, wherein the first and second divertors include first and second capture vacuum pumps positioned within the first and second divertors, respectively, and each comprising an open sided chamber including an end plate having a surface and two or more sides plates with surfaces facing each other, the two or more side plates being coupled to the end plate at a first end of the two or more side plates and extending to an opening defined by a second end of the two or more side plates, wherein the opening defining an area equivalent to the surface of the end plate, wherein the first and second capture vacuum pumps having a sticking factor more than four (4) times greater than a sticking factor of a surface of a flat plate defining an area equivalent to the opening of the first and second capture vacuum pumps,
wherein at least one of the two or more side plates of the first and second capture vacuum pumps comprising an array of individual capture vacuum pumps,
wherein each of the individual capture vacuum pumps comprising an end plate having a surface and two or more side plates with surfaces facing each other and each coupled to the end plate at a first end of the two or more side plates and extending to an opening defined by a second end of the two or more side plates, wherein the opening defining an area equivalent to the surface of the end plate, wherein each of the individual capture vacuum pumps having a sticking factor greater than a sticking factor of a surface of a flat plate defining an area equivalent to the opening of each of the individual capture vacuum pumps,
one or more of a plurality of plasma guns, one or more biasing electrodes and first and second mirror plugs, wherein the plurality of plasma guns includes first and second axial plasma guns operably coupled to the first and second divertors, the first and second formation sections and the confinement chamber, wherein 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, and wherein the first and second mirror plugs being positioned between the first and second formation sections and the first and second divertors,
a gettering system coupled to the confinement chamber and the first and second divertors,
a plurality of neutral atom beam injectors coupled to the confinement chamber and angled toward a mid-plane of the confinement chamber, and
a magnetic system comprising a plurality of quasi-dc coils positioned around the confinement chamber, the first and second formation sections, and the first and second divertors, and first and second set of quasi-dc mirror coils positioned between the first and second formation sections and the first and second divertors.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second capture vacuum pumps having a sticking factor that is N times greater than a sticking factor of a surface of a flat plate defining an area equivalent to the opening of the first and second capture pumps, wherein N is 4<N<16.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the surfaces of the first and second vacuum pumps includes a film of titanium deposited thereon.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to generate an FRC plasma and maintain the FRC plasma without decay while the neutral beams are injected into the FRC plasma.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the formation section comprises modularized formation systems for generating an FRC plasma and translating the FRC plasma toward a midplane of the confinement chamber, and wherein biasing electrodes includes one or more of one or more point electrodes positioned within the containment chamber to contact open field lines, a set of annular electrodes between the confinement chamber and the first and second formation sections to charge far-edge flux layers in an azimuthally symmetric fashion, a plurality of concentric stacked electrodes positioned in the first and second divertors to charge multiple concentric flux layers, and anodes of the plasma guns to intercept open flux.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the two or more sides of each of the individual capture vacuum pumps comprising a second array of individual capture vacuum pumps.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein each of the individual capture vacuum pumps of the second array comprising an end plate having a surface and two or more side plates with surfaces facing each other and each coupled to the end plate at a first end of the two or more side plates and extending to an opening defined by a second end of the two or more side plates, wherein the opening defining an area equivalent to the surface of the end plate, wherein each of the individual capture vacuum pumps of the second array having a sticking factor greater than a sticking factor of a surface of a flat plate defining an area equivalent to the opening of each of the individual capture vacuum pumps of the second array.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second divertors comprise first and second inner divertors interposing the first and second formation sections and the confinement chamber, and further comprising first and second outer divertors coupled to the first and second formation sections, wherein the first and second formation sections interposing the first and second inner divertors and the first and second outer divertors.

9. The system of claim 8 , further comprising one or more of first and second axial plasma guns operably coupled to the first and second inner and outer divertors, the first and second formation sections and the confinement chamber and two or more saddle coils coupled to the confinement chamber.

Assignees

• Tae Tech Inc

Inventors

• Van Drie Alan

Classifications

• Y02E30/10

  Nuclear fusion reactors · CPC title

• H05H1/08

  Theta pinch devices {, e.g. SCYLLA} · CPC title

• F04B37/08

  by condensing or freezing, e.g. cryogenic pumps · CPC title

• H05H1/14

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

• F04B41/06

  Combinations of two or more pumps · CPC title