F. Najmabadi

Internal structure and expansion dynamics of laser ablation plumes into ambient gases

The effect of ambient gas on the expansion dynamics of the plasma generated by laser ablation of an aluminum target has been investigated using frequency doubled radiation from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The diagnostic tools include fast photography of overall visible plume emission using a 2 ns gated intensified charged coupled device and space and time resolved emission spectroscopy using a 50 cm monochromator/spectrograph and photomultiplier tube. The expansion behavior of the plasma was studied with ambient air pressure ranging from 10−6 to 100 Torr. Free expansion, plume splitting and sharpening, hydrodynamic instability, and stagnation of the plume were observed at different pressure levels. Space and time resolved emission spectroscopic studies showed a twin peak distribution for Al and Al+ species at farther distances illustrating plume splitting at pressures higher than 100 mTorr. Combining imaging together with time resolved emission diagnostics, a triple structure of the plume was observed. The...

Overview of the ARIES-RS reversed-shear tokamak power plant study

The ARIES-RS tokamak is a conceptual, D‐T-burning 1000 MWe power plant. As with earlier ARIES design studies, the final design of ARIES-RS was obtained in a self-consistent manner using the best available physics and engineering models. Detailed analyses of individual systems together with system interfaces and interactions were incorporated into the ARIES systems code in order to assure self-consistency and to optimize towards the lowest cost system. The ARIES-RS design operates with a reversed-shear plasma and employs a moderate aspect ratio (A4.0). The plasma current is relatively low (Ip11.32 MA) and bootstrap current fraction is high ( fBC 0.88). Consequently, the auxiliary power required for RF current drive is relatively low ( 80 MW). At the same time, the average

Plume splitting and sharpening in laser-produced aluminium plasma

Plume splitting and sharpening were observed in laser-produced aluminium plasma created using 532 nm, 8 ns pulses from a frequency doubled Nd : YAG laser. Measurements were made using 2 ns gated fast photography as well as space and time resolved optical emission spectroscopy. The motion of the leading edge of the plume was studied with several background air pressures and the expansion of the plume front was compared with various expansion models. Combining imaging together with time resolved emission diagnostics, a triple structure of the plume was observed.

Spherical torus concept as power plants*/the ARIES-ST study

Recent experimental achievements and theoretical studies have generated substantial interest in the spherical torus concept. The ARIES-ST study was undertaken as a national US effort to investigate the potential of the spherical tokamak concept as a fusion power plant. This 1000 MWe fusion power plant conceptual design has an aspect ratio of 1.6, a major radius of 3.2 m, a plasma elongation (at 95% flux surface) of 3.4 and triangularity of 0.64. This configuration attains a plasma bT of 50% (which is 90% of theoretical limit). While the plasma current is 28 MA, the almost perfect alignment of bootstrap and equilibrium current density profiles results in a current-drive power of only 28 MW. The on-axis toroidal field of 2.1 T and the peak field at the TF coil of 7.4 T led to 329 MW of Joule losses in the normal-conducting TF system. The power core uses an advanced ‘dual-cooled’ breeding blanket with flowing PbLi breeder and He-cooled ferritic steel structures that can achieve a thermal conversion efficiency of � /45%. The ARIESST study has highlighted many areas where trade-off among physics and engineering systems are critical in determining the optimum regime of operation for ST power plants. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The ARIES-I Tokamak Reactor Study †

The ARIES research program is a multi-institutional effort to develop several visions of tokamak reactors with enhanced economic, safety, and environmental features. Three ARIES visions are currently planned for the ARIES program. The ARIES-I design is a DT-burning reactor based on modest extrapolation from the present tokamak physics data base; ARIES-II is a DT-burning reactor which will employ potential advances in physics; and ARIES-III is a conceptual D-3He reactor. The first design to be completed is ARIES-I, a 1000 MWe power reactor. The key features of ARIES-I are: (1) a passively safe and low environmental impact design because of choice of low activation material throughout the fusion power core, (2) an acceptable cost of electricity, (3) a plasma with performance as close as possible to present-day experimental achievements, (4) a high performance, low activation, SiC composite blanket cooled by He, and (5) an advanced Rankine power cycle as planned for near term coal-fired plants. The ARIES-I research has also identified key physics and technology areas with the highest leverage for achieving attractive fusion power system.

High performance blanket for ARIES-AT power plant

The ARIES-AT blanket has been developed with the overall objective of achieving high performance while maintaining attractive safety features, simple design geometry, credible maintenance and fabrication processes, and reasonable design margins as an indication of reliability. The design is based on Pb–17Li as breeder and coolant and SiCf/SiC composite as structural material. This paper summarizes the results of the design study of this blanket.

THE ARIES-CS COMPACT STELLARATOR FUSION POWER PLANT

Abstract An integrated study of compact stellarator power plants, ARIES-CS, has been conducted to explore attractive compact stellarator configurations and to define key research and development (R&D) areas. The large size and mass predicted by earlier stellarator power plant studies had led to cost projections much higher than those of the advanced tokamak power plant. As such, the first major goal of the ARIES-CS research was to investigate if stellarator power plants can be made to be comparable in size to advanced tokamak variants while maintaining desirable stellarator properties. As stellarator fusion core components would have complex shapes and geometry, the second major goal of the ARIES-CS study was to understand and quantify, as much as possible, the impact of the complex shape and geometry of fusion core components. This paper focuses on the directions we pursued to optimize the compact stellarator as a fusion power plant, summarizes the major findings from the study, highlights the key design aspects and constraints associated with a compact stellarator, and identifies the major issues to help guide future R&D.

Overview of ARIES-RS tokamak fusion power plant

In order for fusion power to be widely accepted in the next century, it should offer advantages compared to available sources of energy. The Starlite study has examined the ability of tokamak-based power plants to compete with other energy sources. A set of top-level system requirements and goals for system economics, safety and waste disposal, and reliability and availability were established during extensive consultations with US electric utilities and industry representatives. Five different tokamak plasma operation modes were considered and different technology options (e.g. choice of structural material, coolant, breeder) were developed and assessed. Based on this assessment, the ARIES-RS design study was initiated to examine a power plant based on the reversed-shear mode of plasma operation, coupled to a fusion power core which uses high-performance lithium-cooled vanadium components. An overview of the ARIES-RS design is presented in this paper.

Investigation of the interaction of a laser pulse with a preformed Gaussian Sn plume for an extreme ultraviolet lithography source

The interaction of a laser pulse with a Sn preplasma formed by a low energy prepulse was investigated for an extreme ultraviolet EUV lithography light source. A much lower ion kinetic energy and nearly the same conversion efficiency from laser to in-band 2% bandwidth 13.5 nm EUV light were simultaneously observed as compared with those from the direct interaction with a solid surface. The reason comes from the interaction of the laser pulse with a smooth preplume induced by the prepulse. The density profile of the preplume was measured with time-resolved shadowgraphy and could be fitted with a Gaussian function. The energy of the ions located at the flux peak Ep scales with the length of the preplume ls as Ep1/ls. Laser absorption in the low-density preplume and ion acceleration during plasma expansion are discussed. This result provides a general way to control particle energy from a laser plasma interaction.

Physics basis for a reversed shear tokamak power plant

The reversed shear plasma configuration is examined as the basis for a tokamak fusion power plant. Analysis of plasma equilibrium and ideal MHD stability, bootstrap current and current drive, plasma vertical stability and position control, divertor physics and plasma power balance are used to determine the operating point parameters that maximize fusion power density and minimize the recirculating power fraction. The final plasma configuration for the ARIES-RS power plant obtains b of 4.96%, plasma driven current fraction of 91%, plasma current of 11.3 MA, toroidal field of 8.0 T and major and minor radius of 5.5 and 1.4 m. The current drive system utilizes fast wave, lower hybrid and high frequency fast wave current drive to obtain maximum current profile flexibility, requiring 5 80 MW of power. A divertor solution is found which employs neon impurity injection to enhance the radiation in the scrape-off layer (SOL) and divertor and results in a combined particle and heat load in the divertor of5 6M W m 2 . The plasma is driven with a Q of 25 and is at a thermally stable operating point. The plasma is assumed to be in an ELMy H-mode, with low amplitude and high frequency ELMs.