Disruption Mitigation

Systems that soften an unavoidable disruption to protect the machine.

When a disruption cannot be avoided, mitigation systems — massive gas or shattered-pellet injection — radiate the energy away quickly and controllably, limiting heat loads, forces and runaway electrons. Linear mirrors like the burner avoid this failure mode altogether.

When a disruption cannot be avoided, mitigation systems flood the plasma with impurity gas or a shattered pellet so its energy radiates uniformly rather than striking one spot, limiting heat loads, forces and runaway electrons. The linear tandem-mirror burner avoids this failure mode entirely, which is one of its architectural safety advantages.