Next Step Option (NSO) Program Advisory Committee Background Information


The NSO Program Advisory Committee held its first meeting July 20-21, 2000 at General Atomics, San Diego, CA. The meeting was held in Building 7, Room 120 and began at 8:30 am on July 20.


Introduction

We are posting background material and the presentations for the NSO PAC meeting on this page. This material will be updated as required. Please send suggestions for information or your comments for posting as an email attachment to Dale Meade. Additional background material on the FIRE Physics Program and Engineering Design, burning plasma experiments and fusion can be found at the FIRE home page.


Presentations to the NSO PAC

These talks are being prepared and will be posted prior to the PAC meeting as they become available . Background material is also provided in a following section. The recent EPS paper is a good quick summary.

  • Fusion Plasma Science and NSO Dale Meade. This is to stimulate a discussion of Scientific Benefits and Readiness for a Burning Plasma Experiment. (18 pages, 700kB, pdf)
  • Status of FIRE Dale Meade. These Vgs have been modified and reorganized to address the anticipated NSO PAC Charge. (38 pages, 1.4 MB, pdf)
  • Physics Regimes and Issues for FIRE Steve Jardin. Presentation for the PAC. (27 pages, 392 kB, pdf)
  • Physics Modeling of the FIRE Edge Plasma Michael Ulrickson. Presentation for the PAC. (21 pages, 570 kB, pdf)
  • Engineering Status Summary Richard Thome and the FIRE Engineering Team. Presentation for the PAC. (33 pages, 2.0 MB, pdf)
  • Design of the FIRE Plasma Facing Components Michael Ulrickson. Presentation for the PAC. (35 pages, 1.6 MB, pdf)
  • FIRE Engineering Design Report R.Thome, P Heitzenroeder et al. This report describes the engineering analysis done on FIRE over the past 20 months by the National FIRE Design Team. (3.8 MB, bookmarked pdf)

    Scientific Value of a Burning Plasma Experiment and Scientific Readiness to Proceed

    This topic is likely to be an important part of the NSO PAC discussions. This area will be used to collect papers and comments on this issue.

  • Physics of Burning Plasmas, Physics Inaccessible to Present Facilities F. Perkins (30 kB pdf) April 2000
  • Burning Plasma Physics Working Group Summary (130KB, pdf). The first three sections (29 pages) of the report describe the burning plasma science issues, the need for a burning plasma experiment to resolve these issues and the technical readiness to proceed.
  • The Performance Measures and Metrics to proceed to the Next Stage for conventional and advanced tokamaks developed at Snowmass (960 kB pdf) August 1999
  • FIRE Diagnostics Ken Young (144 kB pdf) April 2000

    FIRE and the Multi-Machine Strategy

    The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board(SEAB) Task Force on Fusion Energy review of the U. S. fusion program noted that "A necessary next major scientific step is the exploration of the physics of a burning plasma. At the present time only the tokamak is sufficiently advanced as to assure the necessary confinement in such an experiment." The National Research Council Assessment of Fusion Science(FuSAC) Interim Report identified several critical unresolved fusion science issues: (1) turbulence and transport, (2) energy density limits and (3) integrated physics of self-heated plasmas. The goal of FIRE is to address the critical scientific issues of a magnetically confined fusion plasma identified by SEAB and FuSAC within the next decade using the most cost-effective approach. Success in FIRE would serve as a "Stepping Stone" to provide the scientific foundation needed for an attractive fusion energy source as envisioned by the Advanced Reactor Innovation Evaluation Study (ARIES) .

    Advanced Tokamak Program Plan and Metrics


    Summary of Critical Issues and Action Session from the FIRE Physics Workshop May 1-3, 2000


    ITER-FEAT and the One Step to DEMO Strategy


    US Fusion Policy and Recent Reviews


    Snowmass Fusion Summer Study Summary Proceedings and Summary Presentations


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