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US 11,482,343 B2Granted
Systems and methods for improved sustainment of a high performance FRC with multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping
AssigneeTae Technologies, Inc.
InventorAlan Van Drie
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with superior stability as well as particle, energy and flux confinement and, more particularly, systems and methods that facilitate forming and maintaining FRCs with elevated system energies and improved sustainment utilizing multi-scaled capture type vacuum pumping.
Claims20
A method for generating and maintaining a magnetic field with a field reversed configuration (FRC) comprising the steps of:
- forming an FRC about a plasma in a confinement chamber to form an FRC plasma,
- injecting a plurality of neutral beams into the FRC plasma at an angle toward the mid-plane of the confinement chamber, and
- pumping neutralized gas molecules accumulating in first and second diametrically opposed divertors coupled to the confinement chamber with first and second capture vacuum pumps positioned in the first and second divertors and comprising an open sided chamber including an end plate having a surface, two or more side plates with surfaces facing each other and an open side, the two or more side plates being coupled to the end plate at a first end of the two or more side plates and extending to an opening defined by a second end of the two or more side plates, wherein the opening defining an area equivalent to the surface of the end plate, wherein the first and second capture vacuum pumps having a sticking factor more than four (4) times greater than a sticking factor of a flat plate defining an area equivalent to the opening of the first and second capture pumps, wherein at least one of the two or more sides of the first and second capture vacuum pumps comprising an array of individual capture vacuum pumps,
- wherein each of the individual capture vacuum pumps comprising an end plate having a surface and two or more side plates with surfaces facing each other and coupled to the end plate at a first end of the two or more side plates and extending to an opening defined by a second end of the two or more side plates, wherein the opening defining an area equivalent to the surface of the end plate, wherein each of the individual capture vacuum pumps having a sticking factor greater than a sticking factor of a surface of a flat plate defining an area equivalent to the opening of each of the individual capture vacuum pumps.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.