Confinement Projections For The Burning Plasma Experiment (BPX) Design

The mission of the Burning Plasma Experiment (PBX, previously CIT) is to determine the physics behavior of self-heated fusion plasmas and demonstrate the production of substantial amounts of fusion power. Four specific objectives support this overall mission: 1. Demonstrate the production of fusion power in excess of 100 MW, at fusion-reactor-level power density. 2. Determine the confinement physics, operational limits, and α-particle dynamics of self-heated fusion plasmas, with α power greater than auxiliary-heating power. 3. Demonstrate heating, fueling, and plasma handling techniques necessary to produce reactor-level power-density, self-heated fusion plasmas. 4. Optimize plasma performance in the range of Q = 5 to ignition, with fusion power up to 500 MW.