Plasma Confinement System and Methods for Use

Abstract

A plasma confinement system is provided that includes a confinement chamber that includes one or more enclosures of respective helicity injectors. The one or more enclosures are coupled to ports at an outer radius of the confinement chamber. The system further includes one or more conductive coils aligned substantially parallel to the one or more enclosures and a further set of one or more conductive coils respectively surrounding portions of the one or more enclosures. Currents may be provided to the sets of conductive coils to energize a gas within the confinement chamber into a plasma. Further, a heat-exchange system is provided that includes an inner wall, an intermediate wall, an outer wall, and pipe sections configured to carry coolant through cavities formed by the walls.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of maintaining a plasma in a confinement chamber, the method comprising:
 inserting a gas into the confinement chamber;   providing respective currents to at least two conductive coils of at least one helicity injector, wherein the at least one helicity injector is coupled to the confinement chamber at an outer radius of the confinement chamber;   energizing at least a portion of the gas into a plasma, thereby inducing toroidal and poloidal plasma currents within the plasma; and   confining the plasma within a substantially circular poloidal cross section by providing respective currents to at least one conductor that is (i) external to the confinement chamber, (ii) aligned substantially parallel to the outer radius, and (iii) centered upon a vertical axis of the confinement chamber that is perpendicular to the outer radius.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising inducing magnetic fluctuations within the plasma, thereby sustaining the plasma as a kink-stable plasma. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 detecting a distance of the plasma from an inner wall of the confinement chamber; and   based on the detected distance, providing the respective currents to the at least one conductor so that the plasma is kept a minimum distance from the inner wall.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising flowing a coolant through a heat-exchange system configured to remove heat from the confinement chamber by:
 flowing coolant inward through an inlet pipe and into an outer cavity of the heat-exchange system;   flowing the coolant inward from the outer cavity through a first pipe section toward an inner wall of the confinement chamber;   at the inner wall, flowing the coolant in at least a partially toroidal direction through a second pipe section, causing the coolant to receive heat from the inner wall of the confinement chamber;   flowing the coolant outward from the second pipe section through a third pipe section and into an inner cavity of the heat-exchange system; and   flowing the coolant out of the inner cavity through an outlet pipe.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the coolant is FLiBe. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising flowing the coolant in a poloidal direction toward the outlet pipe before flowing the coolant out of the inner cavity through the outlet pipe. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one helicity injector comprises a first helicity injector and a second helicity injector, the method further comprising providing respective currents to the first and second helicity injectors that are out of phase. 
     
     
         8 . The method  claim 1 , wherein the at least one helicity injector comprises a first helicity injector and a second helicity injector, the method further comprising:
 providing respective currents to the first and second helicity injectors; and   modulating respective amplitudes of the respective currents provided to the first and second helicity injectors such that the respective amplitudes are out of phase.   
     
     
         9 . The method  claim 1 , wherein the at least one helicity injector comprises a first helicity injector and a second helicity injector, the method further comprising causing a bulk plasma rotation in a toroidal or poloidal direction by driving the first and second helicity injectors with respective currents that are out of phase or are amplitude-modulated out of phase. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one conductor comprises first and second conductors, the method further comprising providing a current to the first conductor that deflects magnetic flux generated by the second conductor away from the at least one helicity injector.