Comparative assessment of world research efforts on magnetic confinement fusion

Technical Report · Thu Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6860799· OSTI ID:6860799

McKenney, B L; McGrain, M ^[1]; Davidson, R C ^[2]; Hazeltine, R D ^[3]; Abdou, M A ^[4]

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1. eds.; Science Applications International Corp., McLean, VA (USA). Foreign Applied Sciences Assessment Center
2. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge, MA (USA). Plasma Fusion Center
3. Texas Univ., Austin, TX (USA). Inst. for Fusion Studies
4. California Univ., Los Angeles, CA (USA). Dept. of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nucle

This report presents a comparative assessment of the world's four major research efforts on magnetic confinement fusion, including a comparison of the capabilities in the Soviet Union, the European Community (Western Europe), Japan, and the United States. A comparative evaluation is provided in six areas: tokamak confinement; alternate confinement approaches; plasma technology and engineering; and fusion computations. The panel members are involved actively in fusion-related research, and have extensive experience in previous assessments and reviews of the world's four major fusion programs. Although the world's four major fusion efforts are roughly comparable in overall capabilities, two conclusions of this report are inescapable. First, the Soviet fusion effort is presently the weakest of the four programs in most areas of the assessment. Second, if present trends continue, the United States, once unambiguously the world leader in fusion research, will soon lose its position of leadership to the West European and Japanese fusion programs. Indeed, before the middle 1990s, the upgraded large-tokamak facilities, JT-60U (Japan) and JET (Western Europe), are likely to explore plasma conditions and operating regimes well beyond the capabilities of the TFTR tokamak (United States). In addition, if present trends continue in the areas of fusion nuclear technology and materials, and plasma technology and materials, and plasma technology development, the capabilities of Japan and Western Europe in these areas (both with regard to test facilities and fusion-specific industrial capabilities) will surpass those of the United States by a substantial margin before the middle 1990s.

• Research Organization: Science Applications International Corp., McLean, VA (USA). Foreign Applied Sciences Assessment Center
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: AI01-88ER30143
• OSTI ID: 6860799
• Report Number(s): FASAC-TAR-90013227; ON: DE90013227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700100 -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research
700200* -- Fusion Energy-- Fusion Power Plant Technology
ASIA
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONFINEMENT
EASTERN EUROPE
EUROPE
JAPAN
MAGNETIC CONFINEMENT
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR MATERIALS
TOKAMAK DEVICES
USA
USSR