An Overview of Inertial Fusion Reactor Design

Monsler, M.J.; Hovingh, J.; Cook, D.L.; Frank, T.G.; Moses, G.A.

doi:10.13182/fst81-a19936

Cited by 61 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The uncertainty in / results from a discrepancy between two recent experimental determinations of the in elastic neutron-scattering cross section for osmium-187.' 6 The effect of the measurements is in one case to suggest an increase and in the other a decrease in the value of / used here, each by about 20%. Resolution of this uncer tainty awaits a better measurement of the inelastic neutron-scattering cross section of osmium-187 at 30 keV.…”

Section: The Duration Of Nucleosynthesismentioning

confidence: 78%

“…1), there is a shower-like set of fluid jets of liquid lithium between the exploding target and the first wall. 6 The fluid layer, 0.5 to 1 m thick, protects the first wall from the pulse of radiation and hot plasma. It also reduces by ;: factor of about 10 to 100 the activation and neutron damage in the first wall.…”

Section: A Three-part Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1), beams come to the target from drivers that are of about 100 m from the reac tion chamber, which has a characteristic dimension about 5 m. The average product of density and thickness through the pattern of lithium jets is about 40 g/cm 2 . Figure 6 shows the life time of a first wall made of lowchromium, nickel-free steel as a func tion of the thickness of the lithium, 6 In fusion reactors, at least two neutronic effects reduce the lifetime of the first wall: atomic displacements and the generation of helium. For a lithium thickness of 0.5 m, the first wall's life time is about 30 years, so it would not have to be changed during the lifetime of the reactor.…”

Section: A Three-part Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy and Technology Review

1982

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The Veil Nebula, a supernova remna.it (pho tograph courtesy of the Hale Observatory). Cur rent theory holds that the universe began with a Big Bang and the galaxies formed shortly t> ireafter. The age of our solsr system is knoivn well, but the age of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is not. However, the heavier elements in the Milky Way originated in supcrnovae such as the one that produced the Veil. Therefore, we may estimate the age of the universe by determining the dura tion of nucleosynthesis, i.e., the length of the pe riod during which the matter of which our solar system is composed was being processed in the stars. This determination is provided by nucleardating techniques based upon the knowledge of the relative isotopic abundances and the decay rates of the nuclear species used in dating. How ever, the use of such a technique depends criti cally upon the knowledge of the cross section for the neutron-capture reactions which create and destroy these key nuclear species in a stellar environment. Yor information about a new mea surement of the key cross sec'ums which are nec-ess&iv for determining the age of the inverse, see the article beginning on p. I.

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Section: The Duration Of Nucleosynthesismentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: A Three-part Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Three-part Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Energy and Technology Review

1982

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“…Several studies [15] of reactor systems show that the cost of electricity is fairly insensitive to the capsule gain as long as the fraction of the energy produced that is required to run the plant is less than a quarter. This fraction is the inverse of the product qD(driver efficiency) x G(capsu1e gain)…”

Section: E-4mentioning

confidence: 99%

What is the role of tritium-poor fuels in ICF?

Tabak¹

1996

Nucl. Fusion

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The role of alternative fuels for ICF is studied by replacing some of the tritium with deuterium or helium-3, either homogeneously or heterogeneously, in a compressed fuel configuration with an ignited hotspot, allowing it to burn, and studying the correlations among gain, initial internal energy, escaped energy and tritium utilization. The compressed configurations satisfy pressure balance and the optimized proportions of the Meyerter-Vehn-Rosen model. There are significant gain penalties for improvements in tritium utilization or neutron loading. Estimates for the hydrodynamic efficiency of capsules directly driven by lasers are folded into these gain curves to obtain the minimum laser energies required for acceptable gains. Implications for reactor designs and system costs are discussed.

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“…2. The reaction chamber includes components for energy recovery, tritium breeding and radiation shielding [33,34]. The differences between IFE and MFE power reactors make some technological issues easier and others more difficult to solve.…”

Section: Ife Reactor Technology and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic, safety and environmental prospects of fusion reactors

Conn¹,

Holdren²,

Sharafat³

et al. 1990

Nucl. Fusion

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Controlled fusion energy is one of the long term, non-fossil energy sources available to mankind. It has the potential of significant advantages over fission nuclear power in that the consequences of severe accidents are predicted to be less and the radioactive waste burden is calculated to be smaller. Fusion can be an important ingredient in the future world energy mix and can be part of an 'insurance policy' energy strategy to develop new sources as a hedge against environmental, supply or political difficulties connected with the use of fossil fuel and present-day nuclear power. Progress in fusion reactor technology and design is described for both magnetic and inertial fusion energy systems. The projected economic prospects show that fusion will be capital intensive, and the historical trend is towards greater mass utilization efficiency and more competitive costs. Recent studies emphasizing safety and environmental advantages show that the competitive potential of fusion can be further enhanced by specific choices of materials and design. The safety and environmental prospects of fusion appear to exceed substantially those of advanced fission and coal. For example, the level of radioactivity in a low activation fusion reactor at 1 year and at 100 years after shutdown is calculated to be about one-millionth of the radioactivity in a fission reactor of the same power. Likewise, the maximum plausible dose predicted at the site boundary in the case of a low activation fusion reactor is estimated to be between 100 and 500 times smaller than that estimated for a fission power plant. Clearly, a significant and directed technology effort is necessary to achieve these advantages. Typical parameters have been established for magnetic fusion energy reactors, and a tokamak at moderately high magnetic field (about 7 T on axis) in the first regime of MHD stability (|8 s 3.5 I/aB) is closest to present experimental achievement. Further improvements of the economic and technological performance of the tokamak are possible through the following achievements: higher magnetic fields to lower the required plasma current and reactor size; higher values of the plasma beta, including reaching the second stable MHD regime, to lower the requirements on field and plasma current; and more efficient techniques to drive the plasma current. In addition, alternative, non-tokamak magnetic fusion approaches may offer substantive economic and operational benefits, although at present these concepts must be projected from a less developed physics base. For inertial fusion energy, reactor studies are at an earlier stage, but the essential requirements are a high efficiency ( ^ 10%) repetitively pulsed pellet driver capable of delivering up to 10 MJ of energy on target, targets capable of an energy gain (ratio of energy produced to energy on target) of about 100, reactor chambers capable of absorbing the energy released per shot at conditions consistent with power generation, and effective means of isolating the target chamber and driver system.

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An Overview of Inertial Fusion Reactor Design

Cited by 61 publications

References 39 publications

Energy and Technology Review

Energy and Technology Review

What is the role of tritium-poor fuels in ICF?

Economic, safety and environmental prospects of fusion reactors

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