Systems and methods for forming and maintaining a high performance FRC

• US 10,440,806 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2017
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tae Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tae Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Binderbauer, Michl W., Garate, Eusebio, Putvinski, Sergei, Gota, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ferguson, Dion
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sathiraju, Srinivas
• Application Number:
  US15/582,426
• Publication Number:
  US 20170359886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G21B 1/052 reversed field configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H05H 1/08 Theta pinch devices , e.g. SCYLLA
• CPC Class Codes: H05H 1/14 wherein the containment vessel is straight and has magnetic mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 30/10 Nuclear fusion reactors

Abstract

A high performance field reversed configuration (FRC) system includes a central confinement vessel, two diametrically opposed reversed-field-theta-pinch formation sections coupled to the vessel, and two divertor chambers coupled to the formation sections. A magnetic system includes quasi-dc coils axially positioned along the FRC system components, quasi-dc mirror coils between the confinement chamber and the formation sections, and mirror plugs between the formation sections and the divertors. The formation sections include modular pulsed power formation systems enabling static and dynamic formation and acceleration of the FRCs. The FRC system further includes neutral atom beam injectors, pellet or CT injectors, gettering systems, axial plasma guns and flux surface biasing electrodes. The beam injectors are preferably angled toward the midplane of the chamber. In operation, FRC plasma parameters including plasma thermal energy, total particle numbers, radius and trapped magnetic flux, are sustainable at or about a constant value without decay during neutral beam injection.

Claims

1. A method for generating and maintaining a magnetic field with a field reversed configuration (FRC) comprising the steps of:

forming an FRC about a plasma in a confinement chamber, and

maintaining the FRC at or about a constant value without decay by injecting beams of fast neutral atoms from neutral beam injectors into the FRC plasma at an angle towards a mid-plane of the confinement chamber and injecting a compact toroid plasma into the FRC.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of generating a magnetic field within the chamber with quasi-dc coils extending about the chamber and a mirror magnetic field within opposing ends of the chamber with quasi-dc mirror coils extending about the opposing ends of the chamber.

3. The methods of claim 2 further comprising the step of generating a magnetic field within the formation sections and diverters with quasi-dc coils extending about the formation sections and diverters and a mirror magnetic field between the formation sections and the diverters with quasi-dc mirror coils.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the forming the FRC includes forming a first formation FRC in a formation section coupled to an end of the confinement chamber and accelerating the formation FRC towards the mid-plane of the chamber to form the FRC.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the step of the forming the FRC includes forming a second formation FRC in a second formation section coupled to a second end of the confinement chamber and accelerating the second formation FRC towards the mid-plane of the chamber where the two formation FRCs merge to form the FRC.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the step of forming the FRC includes one of forming a formation FRC while accelerating the formation FRC towards the mid-plane of the chamber and forming a formation FRC then accelerating the formation FRC towards the mid-plane of the chamber.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of guiding magnetic flux surfaces of the FRC into diverters coupled to the ends of the formation sections.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of conditioning the internal surfaces of the chamber, formation sections, and diverters with a gettering system.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the gettering system includes one of a Titanium deposition system and a Lithium deposition system.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of generating one of a magnetic dipole field and a magnetic quadrupole field within the chamber with saddle coils coupled to the chamber.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of axially injecting plasma into the FRC from axially mounted plasma guns.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of controlling the radial electric field profile in an edge layer of the FRC.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of controlling the radial electric field profile in an edge layer of the FRC includes applying a distribution of electric potential to a group of open flux surfaces of the FRC with biasing electrodes.

14. A system for generating and maintaining a magnetic field with a field reversed configuration (FRC) comprising

a confinement chamber,

first and second diametrically opposed FRC formation sections coupled to the confinement chamber,

first and second diverters coupled to the first and second formation sections,

one or more of a plurality of plasma guns, one or more biasing electrodes and first and second mirror plugs, wherein the plurality of plasma guns includes first and second axial plasma guns operably coupled to the first and second diverters, the first and second formation sections and the confinement chamber, wherein the one or more biasing electrodes being positioned within one or more of the confinement chamber, the first and second formation sections, and the first and second diverters, and wherein the first and second mirror plugs being position between the first and second formation sections and the first and second diverters,

a gettering system coupled to the confinement chamber and the first and second diverters,

a plurality of neutral atom beam injectors coupled to the confinement chamber and oriented normal to the axis of the confinement chamber,

a magnetic system comprising a plurality of quasi-dc coils positioned around the confinement chamber, the first and second formation sections, and the first and second diverters, first and second set of quasi-dc mirror coils positioned between the confinement chamber and the first and second formation sections, and

a CT injector coupled to the confinement chamber,

wherein the system is configured to generate an FRC and maintain the FRC without decay while the neutral beams are injected into the plasma.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the system is configured to generate an FRC and maintain the FRC at or about a constant value without decay while neutral atom beams are injected into the FRC.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the mirror plug comprises third and fourth sets of mirror coils between each of the first and second formation sections and the first and second diverters.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the mirror plug further comprises a set of mirror plug coils wrapped around a constriction in the passageway between each of the first and second formation sections and the first and second diverters.

18. The system of claim 14 further comprising first and second axial plasma guns operably coupled to the first and second diverters, the first and second formation sections and the confinement chamber.

19. The system of claim 14 further comprising two or more saddle coils coupled to the confinement chamber.

20. The system of claim 14 wherein the formation section comprises modularized formation systems for generating an FRC and translating it towards a midplane of the confinement chamber.

21. The system of claim 14 wherein biasing electrodes includes one or more of one or more point electrodes positioned within the containment chamber to contact open field lines, a set of annular electrodes between the confinement chamber and the first and second formation sections to charge far-edge flux layers in an azimuthally symmetric fashion, a plurality of concentric stacked electrodes positioned in the first and second diverters to charge multiple concentric flux layers, and anodes of the plasma guns to intercept open flux.