Fusion reactors based on colliding beams in a field reversed configuration plasma

A plasma consisting of large orbit non-adiabatic ions and adiabatic electrons is considered. For such plasma it is possible that the anomalous transport characteristics of tokamaks can be avoided. Experimental evidence in support of this possibility has been obtained with energetic beams injected into tokamaks for heating in DIII-D and TFTR and with energetic fusion products in JET. Energetic particles were observed to slow down and diffuse classically in the presence of anomalous transport of thermal particles. Assuming that classical transport theory is applicable, we have elected to investigate magnetic confinement for field reversed configurations (FRC's). The investigation begins with self-consistent equilibrium solutions of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations. The classical Fokker-Planck equation is employed to evaluate Coulomb collisions and transport. Reactor configurations based on D-T, D-He3 and H-B11 reactions are considered. Energy balance is investigated, considering the only losses to be bremsstrahlung. (author)