Preliminary design study of the Tandem Mirror Reactor (TMR)

Technical Report · Sat Jul 15 04:00:00 EDT 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6729268· OSTI ID:6729268

Moir, R W; Barr, W L; Carlson, G A

This report describes work done in Fiscal Year 1977 by the Fusion Reactor Studies Group of LLL on the conceptual design of a 1000-MW(e) Tandem Mirror Reactor (TMR). The high Q (defined as the ratio of fusion power to injection power) predicted for the TMR (approximately 5) reduces the recirculating power to a nondominant problem and results in an attractive mirror fusion power plant. The fusion plasma of the TMR is contained in the 100-m-long central cell where the magnetic field strength is a modest 2 T. The blanket for neutron energy recovery and tritium breeding is cylindrical and, along with the solenoidal magnet, is divided into 3-m-long modules to facilitate maintenance. The central cell is fueled (but not heated) by the injection of low-energy neutral beams near its ends. Thus, the central cell is simple and of low technology. The end-cell plasmas must be of high density and high energy in order to plug and heat (via the electrons) the central-cell plasma. The present conceptual design uses 1.2-MeV neutral-beam injection for the end plugs and a cryogenic-aluminum, Yin-Yang magnet that produces an incremental field of about 1 T over a field of 16 T produced by a pair of Nb/sub 3/Sn superconducting solenoids. Important design problems remain in both the neutral-beam injector and in the end-plug magnet. Also remaining are important physics questions such as alpha-beam particle transport and end-plug stability. These questions are discussed at length in the report and suggestions for future work are given.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 6729268
• Report Number(s): UCRL-52302
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700200* -- Fusion Energy-- Fusion Power Plant Technology
BEAM INJECTION
CONFINEMENT
DESIGN
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
MAGNETIC MIRROR TYPE REACTORS
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
NEUTRAL ATOM BEAM INJECTION
NEUTRAL BEAM SOURCES
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
PLUGGING
POWER SUPPLIES
REACTOR START-UP
START-UP
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
TMR REACTORS