A steady-state L-mode tokamak fusion reactor : large scale and minimum scale

We perform extensive analysis on the physics of L-mode tokamak fusion reactors to identify (1) a favorable parameter space for a large scale steady-state reactor and (2) an operating point for a minimum scale steady-state reactor. The identification of the large scale parameter space is part of the 2008 MIT Nuclear Systems Design Project, which also includes sustainability and economic optimizations to identify a plausible operating point for a large scale (a 14 m major radius) hydrogen production reactor dubbed HYPERION. Due to the potentially prohibitive capital cost (a $50 billion) and exorbitant thermal power (a 35 GWth) of HYPERION, we identify a conservative estimate for the minimum scale of a similar steady-state L-mode reactor of approximately 7.5 meters, half the size of HYPERION and only 20% larger than ITER. This minimum scale reactor would require an on-coil magnetic field of a 16 T and a blanket power density of ~ 5 MW/m 2 . It would produce 7 GWth of power with a power gain of 30, and it would operate far from all stability and confinement limits. To confirm the viability of this operating point, we perform various 1-D calculations. The crucial advantage of a steady-state (or fully non-inductive) reactor is that it is not limited by flux swing and can operate continuously, recharging its solenoid during operation. The crucial advantages of L-mode are that it avoids instabilities associated with edge localized modes (ELMs) and that it allows volumetric heating in the mantle due to the absence of a pedestal. Steady-state L-mode tokamak reactors could be the future of controlled fusion research and even play an important role in meeting the world's clean energy needs.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Reed, Mark W. (Mark Wilbert)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dennis Whyte.

• Physics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/58088

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/58088