Engineering Architecture of the Stochastic Adaptive Spheromak Reactor (SASR)

Engineering Architecture of the Stochastic Adaptive Spheromak Reactor (SASR) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Engineering Architecture of the Stochastic Adaptive Spheromak Reactor (SASR) Oleg Agamalov This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9515420/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The commercial viability of magnetic confinement fusion is currently bottlenecked by the engineering complexities of legacy Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) tokamak architectures, specifically their reliance on massive superconducting coils, tritium-breeding blankets, and inefficient thermal steam cycles. This paper presents the comprehensive engineering architecture for the Stochastic Adaptive Spheromak Reactor (SASR), a compact, high-field (>12 T) system optimized for the aneutronic proton-boron (p-11B) fuel cycle. Operating in a severe thermodynamic disequilibrium (Ti >> Te)driven by an active Alfvénic Hammer, the SASR sustains a 5 GW thermal output. While the topological stability and kinetic viability of this non-equilibrium “Cooling Race” were established in preceding works, translating this pulsed micro-chronology into a continuous commercial power cycle presents unique engineering challenges. By calculating the kinetic margin thresholds for the Alfvénic heating pulse (τH) across D-T, D-3He, and p-11B fuels, we establish the rigid operational boundaries required to guarantee collisionless ion-heating via magnetic reconnection events and sustain the“Cooling Race”. We mathematically define the macroscopic fueling requirements (1.43 g/s) and establish a strict > 2.9 km/s velocity threshold for macroscopic cryogenic decaborane pellet injection to bypass the 70 μs active reconnection pulse at SASR’s radius a = 0.9 m. Exhaust is managed volumetrically via an Active Helicity Edge Divertor (AHED), which utilizes Coaxial Helicity Injection (CHI) and real-time embedded RF diagnostic feedback to actively maintain a sub-critical stochastic boundary layer (Chirikov parameter S ≈ 0.9). The expanding exhaust is decelerated through a 1.45 MV Venetian-Blind Direct Energy Conversion (DEC) array, capturing the 8.7 MeV alpha-particle yield directly as grid-ready High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC). A Capillary Porous System(CPS) flowing liquid lithium first wall mitigates Bremsstrahlung radiation damage and high-Z impurity sputtering, while thermally shielding a highly conductive oxygen-free copper flux conserver that provides critical passive Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stabilization against macroscopic tilt and shift modes. By eliminating the steam island and massive external magnetic coils, the SASR achieves a projected Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) of $4.5 Billion for a 3 GWe baseload plant, yielding a highly disruptive 4.6-year Return on Investment (ROI). Direct Energy Conversion (DEC) Cryogenic Pellet Injection Spheromak Engineering Aneutronic Fusion (p-11B) Active Helicity Edge Divertor (AHED) Stochastic Control Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) Fusion Economics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 04 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 01 May, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 25 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 24 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9515420","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":629318585,"identity":"2c7a3b7c-6c45-4b68-81ea-e50d118b57ae","order_by":0,"name":"Oleg Agamalov","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACdmTGByBmY8etGAKYkRiMM0BamPGoxtDCzIMiggPwMzMffvHjl100fzPzMWmbX9vk+ZgZGD98zMGtRbKZLc2yty85d8ZhtjTp3L7bhm3MDMySM7fh1mJwmMfMgLeHObfhMI+xcW7PbUagFjZmXrxa+L8Z/u2pz50P0mLZc9ueCC08zI95fhzO3XCYx/Axw4/biQS1AP1ixizbcDx342G2xIe9DbeT25gZm/H6hZ+9+fHHN3+qc+cdbz5w4Mef27bz25sPfviIRwsQsEkwtkGZEAZjA171QMD8geEPjP0Hn8JRMApGwSgYqQAAPRFPmhb8MkYAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Oleg","middleName":"","lastName":"Agamalov","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-24 09:53:40","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9515420/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9515420/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107961762,"identity":"b7aa30de-412d-4af4-b091-0b5acb8495bc","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-28 04:40:36","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1115889,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SASRTECH2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9515420/v1_covered_9aa8068e-0954-4752-86b0-23053262de40.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Engineering Architecture of the Stochastic Adaptive Spheromak Reactor (SASR)","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-fusion-energy","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"jofe","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Fusion Energy](http://link.springer.com/journal/10894)","snPcode":"10894","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10894/3","title":"Journal of Fusion Energy","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Direct Energy Conversion (DEC), Cryogenic Pellet Injection, Spheromak Engineering, Aneutronic Fusion (p-11B), Active Helicity Edge Divertor (AHED), Stochastic Control, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) Fusion Economics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9515420/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9515420/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe commercial viability of magnetic confinement fusion is currently bottlenecked by the engineering complexities of legacy Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) tokamak architectures, specifically their reliance on massive superconducting coils, tritium-breeding blankets, and inefficient thermal steam cycles. This paper presents the comprehensive engineering architecture for the Stochastic Adaptive Spheromak Reactor (SASR), a compact, high-field (\u0026gt;12 T) system optimized for the aneutronic proton-boron (p-11B) fuel cycle. Operating in a severe thermodynamic disequilibrium (Ti \u0026gt;\u0026gt; Te)driven by an active Alfvénic Hammer, the SASR sustains a 5 GW thermal output. While the topological stability and kinetic viability of this non-equilibrium “Cooling Race” were established in preceding works, translating this pulsed micro-chronology into a continuous commercial power cycle presents unique engineering challenges. By calculating the kinetic margin thresholds for the Alfvénic heating pulse (τH) across D-T, D-3He, and p-11B fuels, we establish the rigid operational boundaries required to guarantee collisionless ion-heating via magnetic reconnection events and sustain the“Cooling Race”. We mathematically define the macroscopic fueling requirements (1.43 g/s) and establish a strict \u0026gt; 2.9 km/s velocity threshold for macroscopic cryogenic decaborane pellet injection to bypass the 70 μs active reconnection pulse at SASR’s radius a = 0.9 m. Exhaust is managed volumetrically via an Active Helicity Edge Divertor (AHED), which utilizes Coaxial Helicity Injection (CHI) and real-time embedded RF diagnostic feedback to actively maintain a sub-critical stochastic boundary layer (Chirikov parameter S ≈ 0.9). The expanding exhaust is decelerated through a 1.45 MV Venetian-Blind Direct Energy Conversion (DEC) array, capturing the 8.7 MeV alpha-particle yield directly as grid-ready High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC). A Capillary Porous System(CPS) flowing liquid lithium first wall mitigates Bremsstrahlung radiation damage and high-Z impurity sputtering, while thermally shielding a highly conductive oxygen-free copper flux conserver that provides critical passive Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stabilization against macroscopic tilt and shift modes. 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