Projects

The High Beta Toroidal Experiment-1 (HBTX-1) was a reversed field pinch (RFP) plasma machine at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in the 1970s. HBTX-1 was a successor to ZETA . However, The machine focused on the physics of reversed field pinch (RFP) plasmas and its advantages over tokamaks at lower toroidal magnetic fields. The experiment demonstrated higher beta values, temperatures and longer pulse durations than ZETA. Due to its successful results, the HBTX experiment continued to develop in the form of HBTX-1A, HBTX-1B, HBTX-1C.

The High Beta Toroidal Experiment-1A (HBTX-1A) was a reversed field pinch machine at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in the 1980s. HBTX-1A was a evolution of HBTX-1 but with a thick, conducting shell. The machine was designed to study the effect of flux that penetrates the plasma-facing material in reversed field pinch plasma machines.

The High Beta Toroidal Experiment-1B (HBTX-1B) was a reversed field pinch (RFP) machine at Culham Centre for Fusion energy in the 1980s. HBTX-1B removed the limiters from HBTX-1A and as a result demonstrated improved plasma performance.

The High Beta Toroidal Experiment-1C (HBTX-1C) was a reversed field pinch machine at Culham Centre for Fusion energy in the 1980s. The primary aim of HBTX-1C was to investigate the stability of RFPs utilizing a thin resistive shell made of copper encapsulated in epoxy resin.