The Fusion Energy Program: The Role of TPX and Alternate Concepts Page: 71
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Chapter 4 Alternate Concepts for Fusion Energy 71
disappointing results for the mirror concept gener-
ally. MFTF-B would also have been expensive to
operate, costing tens of millions of dollars annual-
ly. However, as it was never operated, MFTF-B
did not provide experimental evidence either sup-
porting or rejecting the mirror concept. As shown
in table 4-4, several other major facilities were
built during the 1980s to test a variety of alternate
concepts, most of which were retired early or pur-
sued a limited course of experimental studies.
Some alternate MFE concepts previously in-
vestigated and found less promising than the toka-
mak may warrant reconsideration, based on
improvements in technology and theoretical un-
derstanding. For example, one of the major chal-
lenges with the stellarator concept was designing
and fabricating the relatively intricate magnets re-
quired. However, advanced computer-based ana-
lytical capabilities continue to improve the ability
to design and manufacture magnets. Some of
these techniques were developed and used in pro-
ducing the now prematurely retired Advanced
Toroidal Facility (ATF), the most recent stellara-
tor.14 While the stellarator may not ultimately
prove more attractive than the tokamak, improv-
ing magnet technology continues to reduce one of
its principal drawbacks. Advantages relative to
the tokamak include that they are inherently
steady state, have no plasma current, and thus do
not suffer from disruptions and instabilities of the
plasma. The approximately $1-billion Large Heli-
cal Device (LHD), under construction in Japan, is
a superconducting stellarator similar to ATF in
concept, but closer to TPX in scope and cost. A
similar scale stellarator has been proposed in Ger-
many. A much smaller stellarator with a cost of
about $3 million is under construction at the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin as part of DOE's small pro-
gram for alternate fusion concepts.End magnets for the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF-B)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
DOE last sponsored a detailed examination of
the prospects for tokamaks and alternate magnetic
confinement concepts in the mid- 1980s, which re-
sulted in a January 1987 report, "Technical Plan-
ning Activity: Final Report" (TPA).~ While that
document remains a useful source of information,
there has been considerable change since it was
produced. For example, there have been major
advances in tokamak performance, some limited
experimental efforts on some alternate MFE con-
cepts, and a continuing improvement in the broad
base of physics and technology related to fusion.
Thus, the TPA does not provide an entirely up-to-
date foundation for evaluating the current merits
of alternate fusion research efforts. More recently,
DOE's FEAC panel on concept improvement
(FEAC panel #3) has provided a substantially less
detailed review of alternate concepts, which
makes note of the advances in MFE.
Reviews of MFE concepts have classified the
concepts according to their status or level of de-
velopment. 16 For example, FEAC panel #3 di-14Following completion of construction in 1988, ATF was held to a limited operational schedule and retired prematurely for budgetary
reasons rather than poor technical performance.
1 Argonne National Laboratory, op. cit., footnote 10.
1 Ibid.; Office of Technology Assessment, op. cit., footnote 1; and Fusion Energy Advisory Committee, op. cit.. footnote 3.
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United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment. The Fusion Energy Program: The Role of TPX and Alternate Concepts, report, Date Unknown; [Washington D.C.]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc39807/m1/77/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.