Technology

ITER: The Giant Fusion Reactor is the first book to present an insider's view on the ITER fusion reactor project in southern France. Aimed at bringing the “energy of the stars” to earth, ITER - funded by the major economic powers China, the EU, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the US - sees its budget grow as delays continue to accumulate. The writer, Michel Claessens, head of communication and external relations of the ITER project from 2011 to 2016, offers readers a unique behind-the-scenes look at this controversial project and introduces them to a world of superlatives: with the largest magnets in the world, the biggest cryogenic plant and tremendous computing power, ITER is one of the most fascinating, international, scientific and technological endeavours of our time.

The worldwide fusion community continues its research efforts on magnetic confinement as the most promising, long-term, environmentally-friendly power source. Despite the ongoing fusion research efforts in many countries, the technology and materials-related challenges remain formidable and will hinder and delay the first fusion demonstration plant for decades. In this book, the current understanding of technology-related challenges facing fusion research are explored. Advances in fusion neutronics integral experiments in the benchmark mock assemblies for the blanket of a fusion-fission hybrid energy reactor are also described in brief. Cold Fusion (CF) is examined as well, with the authors' argument backed by evidence that cold fusion (CF) can become more understandable. The final chapter details the Force Free Helical Reactor (FFHR) and its implications on fusion power. Contents:  Overview of Fusion Neutronics Experiments for Blanket of a Hybrid Energy Reactor  (Rong Liu, Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Neutron Physics, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, Sichuan, China)  Technology-Related Challenges Facing Fusion Power Plants  (Laila A. El-Guebaly, Lorenzo V. Boccaccini, Richard J. Kurtz, and Lester M. Waganer, University of Wisconsin, Fusion Technology Institute, Madison, WI, USA, and others)  Old Math and Renewed Physics: Keys to Engineering Cold Fusion  (Cynthia Kolb Whitney, Editor, Galilean Electrodynamics)  Control Concept for the High Density and Low Temperature Ignition in the FFHR Helical Reactor  (O. Mitarai, A. Sagara and R. Sakamoto, Kumamoto Liberal Arts Education Center, Tokai University, Toroku, Higashi-ku, Kumamoto, Japan, and others)

This textbook covers the core subjects of nuclear engineering. Developed to meet the needs of today's students and nuclear power plant operators, the text establishes a framework for the various areas of knowledge that comprise the field and explains rather than just defines the relevant physical phenomena. For today's engineer the principal analytical design tool is the personal computer. The text takes advantage of this recent development. PC programs are provided which either expand the computational range accessible to the student, or serve to illustrate the relevant physical phenomena. Some of the included programs are simplified versions of computational procedures used in the field and can be used as training tool for design calculations. The text devotes special attention to subjects which have an impact on the safe operation of nuclear power reactors. This includes the design of safety optimized core configurations, the physical mechanisms underlying the various reactivity coefficients, and the calibration procedures for control rods. A final chapter is devoted to the licensing and safety evaluation of power reactors.

This book provides readers with an introductory understanding of Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC), a type of fusion meant to retain plasma using an electrostatic field. IEC provides a unique approach for plasma confinement, as it offers a number of spin-off applications, such as a small neutron source for Neutron Activity Analysis (NAA), that all work towards creating fusion power. The IEC has been identified in recent times as an ideal fusion power unit because of its ability to burn aneutronic fuels like p-B11 as a result of its non-Maxwellian plasma dominated by beam-like ions. This type of fusion also takes place in a simple mechanical structure small in size, which also contributes to its viability as a source of power. This book posits that the ability to study the physics of IEC in very small volume plasmas makes it possible to rapidly investigate a design to create a power-producing device on a much larger scale. Along with this hypothesis the book also includes a conceptual experiment proposed for demonstrating breakeven conditions for using p-B11 in a hydrogen plasma simulation.This book also:Offers an in-depth look, from introductory basics to experimental simulation, of Inertial Electrostatic Confinement, an emerging method for generating fusion powerDiscusses how the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement method can be applied to other applications besides fusion through theoretical experiments in the textDetails the study of the physics of Inertial Electrostatic Confinement in small-volume plasmas and suggests that their rapid reproduction could lead to the creation of a large-scale power-producing devicePerfect for researchers and students working with nuclear fusion, Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) Fusion: Fundamentals and Applications also offers the current experimental status of IEC research, details supporting theories in the field and introduces other potential applications that stem from IEC.

This second edition of a popular textbook is thoroughly revised with around 25% new and updated content. It provides an introduction to both plasma physics and fusion technology at a level that can be understood by advanced undergraduates and graduate students in the physical sciences and related engineering disciplines.As such, the contents cover various plasma confinement concepts, the support technologies needed to confine the plasma, and the designs of ITER as well as future fusion reactors. With end of chapter problems for use in courses.