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Title: Technology of mirror machines: LLL facilities for magnetic mirror fusion experiments

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5366972

Significant progress in plasma confinement and temperature has been achieved in the 2XIIB facility at Livermore. These encouraging results, and their theoretical corroboration, have provided a firm basis for the design of a new generation of magnetic mirror experiments, adding support to the mirror concept of a fusion reactor. Two new mirror experiments have been proposed to succeed the currently operating 2XIIB facility. The first of these called TMX (Tandem Mirror Experiment) has been approved and is currently under construction. TMX is designed to utilize the intrinsic positive plasma potential of two strong, and relatively small, minimum B mirror cells to enhance the confinement of a much larger, magnetically weaker, centrally-located mirror cell. The second facility, MFTF (Mirror Fusion Test Facility), is currently in preliminary design with line item approval anticipated for FY 78. MFTF is designed primarily to exploit the experimental and theoretical results derived from 2XIIB. Beyond that, MFTF will develop the technology for the transition from the present small mirror experiments to large steady-state devices such as the mirror FERF/FTR. The sheer magnitude of the plasma volume, magnetic field, neutral beam power, and vacuum pumping capacity, particularly in the case of MFTF, has placed new and exciting demands on engineering technology. An engineering overview of MFTF, TMX, and associated MFE activities at Livermore will be presented.

Research Organization:
California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
5366972
Report Number(s):
UCRL-79605; CONF-771029-9; TRN: 78-003059
Resource Relation:
Conference: 7. symposium on fusion research project, Knoxville, TN, USA, 25 Oct 1977
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English