Systems and methods for forming and maintaining a high performance FRC

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11337294-B2
Application number	US-202016918716-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 1, 2020
Priority date	Oct 30, 2014
Publication date	May 17, 2022
Grant date	May 17, 2022

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 or CT 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 a field reversed configuration (FRC) plasma with a confinement chamber comprising the steps of:
forming one or more formation FRC plasmas in one or more formation tubes coupled to an end of a confinement chamber,
accelerating the one or more formation FRC plasmas towards a mid-plane of the confinement chamber to form an FRC plasma within the confinement chamber, the FRC plasma having a plurality of properties,
injecting compact toroid plasmas from one or more compact toroid injectors into the FRC plasma within the confinement chamber, and
injecting beams of fast neutral atoms from a plurality of neutral beam injectors into the FRC plasma at an angle towards the mid-plane of the confinement chamber, wherein the plurality of properties of the FRC plasma being maintainable at or about a constant value without decay during the injection of the beams of fast neutral atoms from a plurality of neutral beam injectors.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the 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 confinement chamber with quasi-dc mirror coils extending about the opposing ends of the chamber.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of guiding magnetic flux surfaces of the FRC plasma into diverters coupled to the ends of the formation tubes.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of generating a magnetic field within the formation tubes and diverters with quasi-dc coils extending about the formation tubes and diverters and a mirror magnetic field between the formation tubes and the diverters with quasi-dc mirror coils.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of conditioning the internal surfaces of the confinement chamber, formation sections, and diverters with a gettering system.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the gettering system includes one of a Titanium deposition system and a Lithium deposition system.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the formation FRC plasma is formed while accelerating the formation FRC plasma towards the mid-plane of the confinement chamber.

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

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

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

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of controlling the radial electric field profile in an edge layer of the FRC plasma includes applying a distribution of electric potential to a group of open flux surfaces of the FRC plasma with biasing electrodes.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of injecting compact toroid plasmas into the FRC plasma includes injecting compact toroid plasmas from one or more compact toroid injectors oriented 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.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of injecting compact toroid plasmas into the FRC plasma includes injecting compact toroid plasmas from one or more compact toroid injectors configured to inject compact toroid plasmas into the FRC plasma in rep-rate mode.

Assignees

• Tae Tech Inc

Inventors

• Binderbauer Michl W
• Garate Eusebio
• Putvinski Sergei
• Gota Hiroshi

Classifications

• Y02E30/10

  Nuclear fusion reactors · CPC title

• H05H3/00

  Production or acceleration of neutral particle beams, e.g. molecular or atomic beams · CPC title

• H05H1/16

  using externally-applied electric and magnetic fields · CPC title

• H05H1/14 Primary

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

• H05H1/08 Primary

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