A compact-toroid fusion reactor based on the field-reversed theta-pinch reactor scaling and optimization for CTOR

Early scoping studies based on approximate, analytic models are extended on the basis of a dynamic plasma model and an overall systems approach to examine a compact toroid reactor embodiment that uses a field-reversed theta pinch as a plasma source. The field-reversed plasmoid is formed and compressionally heated to ignition prior to injection into and translation through a linear burn chamber, thereby removing the plasmoid source from the reactor environment. Stabilization of the field-reversed plasmoid is provided by a passive conduction shell located outside the high temperature blanket but within the low-field superconducting magnets and associated radiation shielding. On the basis of this batch-burn but thermally steady-state approach a reactor concept emerges with a length below approximately 40 m that generates 300-400 MWe of net electrical power with a recirculating power fraction less than 0.15.