A Portable Diagnostic Package For Spectroscopic Measurement of Key Plasma Parameters In Transformative Fusion Energy Devices

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Program:
Exploratory Topics
Award:
$1,602,742
Location:
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
10/01/2019 - 03/30/2024
Website:

Critical Need:

This topic would enable state-of-the-art diagnostic measurements to be made on potentially transformative, ARPA-E-supported fusion-energy concepts in order to validate their performance, uncover problems, and guide research priorities. The selections seek to develop plasma diagnostic systems that can be transported to and shared among different fusion experiments, leveraging the diagnostic expertise of the entire fusion R&D community, and to develop the teams and experience necessary to support an expanding role for public/private partnerships in fusion. Fusion technology has been pursued for decades as an ideal power source with abundant fuel, effectively zero emissions, no long-lived radioactive waste, and minimal proliferation risk. Early-stage fusion experiments like those supported by ARPA-E can broadly benefit from state-of-the-art diagnostic systems and measurements, which often cost as much as or more than the experiment itself, and thus typically such experiments and projects teams do not have access to the types of measurements this program will enable.

Project Innovation + Advantages:

Assemble a portable diagnostic package to make measurements of key plasma parameters from a variety of fusion energy devices. The package will provide time-resolved, radial profiles of electron density and temperature and time-resolved, radial profiles of ion density, temperature, and flow velocity.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Ahmed Diallo
Project Contact:
Dr. Theodore Biewer
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
biewertm@ornl.gov

Partners

University of Tennessee

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Release Date:
07/03/2019