IEC fusion: The future power and propulsion system for space

Hammond, Walter E.; Coventry, M. D.; Hanson, John M.; Hrbud, Ivana; Miley, George H.; Nadler, J.

doi:10.1063/1.1290982

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…= capacitance between electrodes i and j C iQ = capacitance between electrode i and an ion bunch F USION-powered space propulsion has been studied as a possible means of lowering the cost of interplanetary space travel and increasing the accessibility of destinations throughout the solar system [1]. Aneutronic fusion reactions (such as D- 3 He and p-11 B) for in-space propulsion are of particular interest because the energy of the charged-particle fusion products may be converted directly into electric power [2].…”

Section: Ijmentioning

confidence: 99%

One-Dimensional Semianalytical Model for Optimizing the Standing-Wave Direct Energy Converter

Chap

Sedwick

2015

Journal of Propulsion and Power

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A method to optimize the spacing of decelerator electrodes in the standing-wave direct energy converter has been developed. The standing-wave direct energy converter is introduced as a simplified version of, and possible milestone toward, the traveling-wave direct energy converter to facilitate a general understanding of the physics of the traveling-wave direct energy converter, as well as to simplify the modeling and results. The standing-wave direct energy converter may also stand alone as an alternative to the traveling-wave direct energy converter. The method developed takes advantage of analytical simplifications in capacitance calculations to avoid the use of a computational mesh, thereby modeling the standing-wave direct energy converter system with low simulation runtimes while using explicit numerical methods to advance groups of ions, referred to as ion bunches. The optimization scheme returns the optimal electrode spacing and circuit resistance value given the inputs of the initial ion energy, ion bunch density, operating frequency, decelerator electrode radius, and number of decelerator electrodes. The method approximates the ion bunches as point charges on the axis of the device, and the limitations of this approximation are considered. The expansion of the ion bunch is treated analytically and imposes a limiting tradeoff between the density of the ion bunches and the duration of ion deceleration. Performance trends and other tradeoffs are also presented.

show abstract

Section: Ijmentioning

confidence: 99%

One-Dimensional Semianalytical Model for Optimizing the Standing-Wave Direct Energy Converter

Chap

Sedwick

2015

Journal of Propulsion and Power

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Due to their simple structure, IEC fusion devices are expected to be applied as compact, low‐cost, long‐life fusion devices. In fact, IEC fusion devices are being considered for use as power sources and thrusters 5–9 for satellites, spacecraft, and rockets. Currently, the scientific community is looking to IEC fusion devices as fusion neutron sources, nondestructive activation analyzers that detect explosives, 10–12 including antipersonnel mines 10 and nuclear materials, 11–13 and medical applications such as the generation of radioisotopes to be used in positron emission tomography (PET) 12 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anode shape dependency of discharge characteristics and neutron yield of a linear type inertial electrostatic confinement fusion neutron source

Itagaki

Hotta

Hasegawa

et al. 2020

Elect Comm in Japan

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A linear inertial electrostatic confinement fusion neutron source equipped with a cooling system for high power operation was developed and its discharge characteristics and neutron production performance were tested under a wide range of discharge conditions. Four different types of discharge anodes were prepared and the dependencies of the device performance on the anode shape were precisely investigated. A maximum neutron production rate of 3.4×106 n/s was achieved when the device was operated with single‐cylinder‐type anodes under a discharge voltage of 94 kV, a current of 20 mA, and a deuterium gas pressure of 0.5 Pa. By comparing the discharge characteristics and neutron generation rates under different anode shapes, we found that the larger inner diameter of the anode leads to longer effective gap length and lower operating pressure, which may result in relatively high fusion reaction rate observed with the single‐cylinder‐type anodes.

show abstract

IEC fusion: The future power and propulsion system for space

Cited by 2 publications

References 9 publications

One-Dimensional Semianalytical Model for Optimizing the Standing-Wave Direct Energy Converter

One-Dimensional Semianalytical Model for Optimizing the Standing-Wave Direct Energy Converter

Anode shape dependency of discharge characteristics and neutron yield of a linear type inertial electrostatic confinement fusion neutron source

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About