Final Report of the Committee on a Strategic Plan for U.S. Burning Plasma Research (2019) / Chapter Skim
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6 Comments on Organizational Structure and Program Balance
6 Comments on Organizational Structure and Program Balance
Pages 153-172
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with more deliberate planning, regular opportunities for input from the research communities, coordination of research efforts in burning plasma science, materials science, fusion nuclear science and technology, and the engineering sciences needed to realize an economical pathway to fusion electricity for the nation. Three primary organizational and program changes are described below: (1)
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the importance of public outreach to better communicate the long-term potential for economical fusion energy and to better engage students and educational institutions in the integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at the foundation of fusion energy science. This chapter concludes with six findings and seven recommendations aimed to guide the implementation of an expanded DOE/FES research program and strengthen community participation in the burning plasma science, materials science, fusion nuclear sciences, and engineering sciences needed to realize an economical pathway to fusion electricity for the nation ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT The pathway ahead for fusion development requires augmentation of ongoing burning plasma research with the technology and engineering research required to enable fusion power systems.
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As discussed in Chapter 3, data and modeling/simulation associated with ITER experiments will provide critical information to design the future pilot plant. Thus, the research division should be re-organized with an explicit focus on burning plasma research as a centerpiece of the division.
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Implementation of the strategic expansion recommended in this report will result in a research program that combines burning plasma science, materials science, fusion nuclear science, and the engineering science needed for guiding, designing, and ultimately constructing a compact pilot plant and generating elec tricity from fusion. The resulting research program in the United States begins with a current focus on burning plasma science and adds research elements that will fully enable a fusion power system.
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Strengthening Community Organization and Input An expansion in the DOE/FES to support fusion science and technology beyond the burning plasma science will require coordination among multiple research communities and may include scientific experts from U.S. industry and utilities.
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A strong consensus emerged from the workshops that the science of magnetically confined plasmas has advanced sufficiently that a broadened national effort encompassing the science of fusion energy technologies in addition to burning plasma science is now appropriate.
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the importance of public outreach to better communicate the long-term potential for economical fusion energy and to better engage students and educational institutions in the integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at the foundation of fusion energy science. Setting Safety and Licensing Standards for Fusion Energy Research Facilities The pathway toward a compact fusion pilot plant requires one or more research facilities that are capable of safely handling tritium and fusion neutrons, as well as other recognized fusion hazards such as neutron-activated materials, high magnetic fields, and significant thermal, mechanical loads.
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These and many other areas are likely to change dramatically in the decades of the burning plasma experiment. Thus, the basic training of fusion scientists and engineers in broad areas of physical science and engineering must continue to be an integral part of the fusion program.
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Future construction of domestic fusion nuclear facilities involving burning plasmas and the safe handling of tritium will be sited at federally funded laboratories due to their larger scale and required specialized safety infrastructure. A unified research effort will require an organizational structure that enables involvement of both laboratory and university personnel in the use and operations of major national facilities.
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ITER addresses questions about burning plasma science and reactor scale confinement that are essential to progressing toward the goal of fusion power. International collaboration on ITER is a means for the United States to gain answers to these questions as an engaged partner while sharing costs with other participants.
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Companies respond to market needs and typically focus their research and development on near-term solutions or the integration of multiple technologies. National laboratories have a particular capability to tackle multi-disciplinary problems with longtime horizons, often coupling fundamental discovery research, technology development, and demonstration projects.
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MIT scientists and engineers are key partners in the Commonwealth effort. Their first technical milestone is successful construction of an HTS fusion magnet, with proposed construction of a compact fusion research device able to explore burning plasma science should that technology development succeed.
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• Opportunities for DOE-supported efforts to operate and exploit the science (diagnostics) on future private venture burning plasma machines.
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Linkages to Other Science and Technology Disciplines Fusion energy science research is interdisciplinary and has resulted in techno logical and scientific achievements that touch many aspects of everyday life and lead to new insights in related fields such as optics, fluid mechanics, and astro hysics. p Fusion research has a long history of "spin-offs" contributing to an impressive assort ent of science and technology fields.18 Strong linkages between fusion m energy science and related research areas is anticipated in the burning plasma era.
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Low-Temperature Plasma Science For the most part, laboratory plasmas for a wide variety of practical applications operate in a vastly different regime from those approaching the burning plasma state. Some naturally occurring plasmas can, along with technological plasmas, also be described as "low-temperature" plasmas, to contrast them with their much hotter magnetically confined cousins in fusion experiments.
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Plasma Astrophysics Burning plasma and natural plasma research are mutually beneficial. As f usion plasmas become hotter, they more closely approach the very low levels of collisionality characteristic of many astrophysical plasmas.
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Consideration should also be given to systematic inclusion of fusion in energy-related instructional materials used in schools across the nation. SUMMARY This chapter describes an expanded organizational structure for the DOE/FES that implements a research program evolving toward a long-term plan for fusion energy and strengthens community participation in the burning plasma science, materials science, fusion nuclear science and technology, and the engineering sciences needed to realize an economical pathway to fusion electricity for the nation.
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Based on these findings, the committee makes the following recommendations: Recommendation: The committee recommends a new division within the U.S. DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences to manage and organize research devel ping technologies needed to improve and fully enable the fusion o power system.
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DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences should conduct outreach initiatives that engage the fusion research community and inform the nation that the realization of fusion an energy source is a united effort involving many disciplines, including advanced technologies, and contributes broadly to national science and technology goals. Public awareness is a critical element in maintaining support for the fusion effort and associated expenditures, and for inspiring young students to consider pursuing careers in fusion energy and the fusion research community.
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Team Formation and Participation," U.S. Burning Plasma Organization, http://www.burningplasma.org.
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