Nuclear fusion power reactor studies

Abstract

In 1978-88, the fusion scientists and engineers of the United States, USSR, Europe, and Japan collaborated through the International Atomic Energy Agency's INTOR Workshop [35,36,37] to (1) determine if magnetic confinement tokamak fusion was ready to move forward to the experimental power reactor (EPR) stage; (2) if so, identify a conceptual design of an EPR that combined reactor-relevant physics and technology; and (3) identify and prioritize additional required R&D. Based on the positive results of the INTOR Workshop, Sec. Gorbachev suggested to President Reagan at the 1985 Geneva Summit meeting that the two countries join together to construct and operate the INTOR EPR. This led to the restructuring of the INTOR Workshop into the ITER project [35], today involving the EU, Russia, United States, Japan, China, South Korea, and India, which, after years of negotiations, R&D, and detailed design, is building such a tokamak EPR in France to begin operation in the early 2020s. The design objectives of the superconducting ITER shown in Figure 13.1 are input energy multiplication Q ≥ ≈ 10, P fus = 400 MWth. The toroidal plasma chamber is indicated by the two D-shaped open yellow spaces in the central part of Figure 13.1, with the central solenoidal magnet that induces the plasma current between them. Successful ITER operation will lead to the introduction of fusion power reactors.