FPN03-52
FESAC Adopts Fusion Goals
August 14, 2003
In an August 8, 2003 letter to U.S. DOE Office of Science Director Ray
Orbach, the DOE's Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) chair
Richard Hazeltine (U. Texas) transmitted a "revised list" of "proposed
long-term measures and annual performance targets" for the U.S. fusion
program. Hazeltine said the list "defines ten-year measures that we
consider sensible, reflective of the FESAC's best scientific judgment, and
appropriately ambitious." He also said "Regarding the revised short-term
targets, FESAC considers operation time (of experimental devices) to be a
useful, but rather limited measure. While approving the present short-term
targets we recommend that future visions of the list be augmented to
include a target measuring scientific advance."
The list of measures and targets, approved by FESAC, is as follows;
Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (OFES) Targets and Measures
Ten Year Measures
Predictive Capability for Burning Plasmas
Develop a predictive capability for key aspects of burning plasmas using
advances in theory and simulation benchmarked against a comprehensive
experimental database of stability, transport, wave-particle interaction,
and edge effects.
-
Minimally Effective Outcome: Validate predictive models against the
database for selected aspects relevant to burning plasma physics (e.g.,
energetic particles, instabilities, control of impurities, etc.)
- Successful Outcome: Major aspects relevant to burning plasma behavior
observed in experiments before ITER are predicted with high accuracy and
are understood.
Configuration Optimization
Demonstrate enhanced fundamental understanding of magnetic confinement and
improved basis for future burning plasma experiments through research on
magnetic confinement configuration optimization.
- Minimally Effective Outcome: Provide understanding of the basic magnetic
confinement issues for a number of the magnetic confinement configurations
currently under investigation.
- Successful Outcome: Resolve key scientific issues and determine the
confinement characteristics of a range of attractive confinement
configurations.
Inertial Fusion Energy and High Energy Density Physics
Develop the fundamental understanding and predictability of high energy
density plasmas for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE)
- Minimally Effective Outcome: Develop and apply physical theories and
mathematical techniques to model the physical processes in high-energy
density plasmas and intense beams for inertial fusion energy.
- Successful Outcome: With the help of experimentally validated
theoretical and computer models, determine the physics limits that
constrain the use of IFE drivers in future key integrated experiments
needed to resolve the scientific issues for inertial fusion energy and high
energy density physics.
FY05 Targets
Facility Operations
Achieved operation time of the major national fusion facilities as a
percentage of the total planned annual operating time.
- Minimally effective outcome: More than 50% of planned operation
- Successful Outcome: More than 90% of planned operation
FY05 Construction
Cost-weighted mean percent variance from established cost and schedule
baselines for major construction, upgrade, or equipment procurement
projects.