FIREBIRD - a conceptual design of a field reversed configuration compact torus fusion reactor (CTFR)

This paper is a summary of the work carried out by the Nuclear Engineering 512 design team at the University of Washington on a conceptual design study of a Compact-Torus (Field-Reversed) Fusion Reactor Configuration (CTFR). The primary objective of the study was to develop a reactor design that strived for high engineering power density, modest recirculating power and competitive cost of electrical power. A Conceptual design was developed for a translating field-reversed configuration reactor; based on the Physics developed by Tuszewski and Lindford at LANL and by Hoffman and Milroy at MSNW. Furthermore, it also appears possible to operate a simplified form of this reactor using a pure D-D fuel cycle after an initial D-T ignition ramp to reach the advanced fuel operating regime. One optimistic reactor so designed has a length of about 35 meters, producing a net electrical power of about 375 MWe