An inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) device modeling and the effects of different cathode structures to the fields

A 3D electrostatic modeling of an inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion device has been realized. Finite element method is considered in order to identify the potential and electrical fields inside the spherical device. Two different material types are examined for the holder part of the cathode by comparing the field results. The different structures of cathode spheres are investigated for the determination of minimal and maximal field values; thereby the effect of structures on the fields and confinement process has been estimated. Parallel to our previous study, the porcelain holder presents better homogeneous field and at the center of the inner sphere. In addition, an increase of vertical rings on the inner grid affects the bottom corner of electrical potential, thereby ions are scattered to the entire region of the inner grid. According to the analyzes, there should be an optimal number vertical rings for the cathode grid structures so that one can achieve a better ion core at the middle of the grid for the confinement process. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.