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A Compact Torus Fusion Reactor Utilizing a Continuously Generated String of CT’s. The CT String Reactor, CTSR

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Abstract

A fusion reactor is described in which a moving string of mutually repelling compact toruses (alternating helicity, unidirectional Btheta) is generated by repetitive injection using a magnetized coaxial gun driven by continuous gun current with alternating poloidal field. An injected CT relaxes to a minimum magnetic energy equilibrium, moves into a compression cone, and enters a conducting cylinder where the plasma is heated to fusion-producing temperature. The CT then passes into a blanketed region where fusion energy is produced and, on emergence from the fusion region, the CT undergoes controlled expansion in an exit cone where an alternating poloidal field opens the flux surfaces to directly recover the CT magnetic energy as current which is returned to the formation gun. The CT String Reactor (CTSTR) reactor satisfies all the necessary MHD stability requirements and is based on extrapolation of experimentally achieved formation, stability, and plasma confinement. It is supported by extensive 2D, MHD calculations. CTSTR employs minimal external fields supplied by normal conductors, and can produce high fusion power density with uniform wall loading. The geometric simplicity of CTSTR acts to minimize initial and maintenance costs, including periodic replacement of the reactor first wall.

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Acknowledgements

This work has benefited greatly from the code Trac2 (2D, ring acceleration code) written by James Eddleman, now deceased, during the development of the Compact Torus Accelerator. We wish to thank Dmitri Ryutov for encouragement and useful discussions. Work performed under the auspices of the US DOE by University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract W-7405-ENG-48.

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Correspondence to Charles W. Hartman.

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Charles W. Hartman—LLNL retired; John Thomas—Privately employed.

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Hartman, C.W., Reisman, D.B., McLean, H.S. et al. A Compact Torus Fusion Reactor Utilizing a Continuously Generated String of CT’s. The CT String Reactor, CTSR. J Fusion Energ 27, 44–48 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10894-007-9098-x

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