Reversed-Field Pinch Reactor (RFPR) concept
A conceptual engineering design of a fusion reactor based on plasma confinement in a Reversed-Field Pinch (FRP) configuration is presented. A 50% atomic mixture of deuterium and tritium (DT) is ohmically heated to ignition by currents flowing in the toroidal plasma; this plasma current also inherently produces the confining magnetic fields in a toroidal chamber having a major and minor radii of 12.7 and 1.5 m, respectively. The DT plasma ignites in 2 to 3 s and burns at 10 to 20 keV for approx. 20 s to give a fuel burnup of approx. 50%. Tritium breeding occurs in a granular Li/sub 2/O blanket which is packed around an array of radially oriented coolant tubes carrying a mixture of high-pressure steam and water. The slightly superheated steam emerging from this blanket would be used to drive a turbine directly. Low-pressure helium containing trace amounts of oxygen is circulated through the packed Li/sub 2/O bed to extract the tritium. A 20-mm-thick copper first wall serves as a neutron multiplier, acts as a tritium barrier, and supports image currents to provide plasma stabilization on a 0.1-s timescale; external windings provide stability for longer times.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 5872618
- Report Number(s):
- LA-7973-MS; TRN: 79-020645
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Physics considerations of the Reversed-Field Pinch fusion reactor
Engineering design of a direct-cycle steam-generating blanket for a long-pulse fusion reactor
Related Subjects
REVERSE-FIELD PINCH
DESIGN
BREEDING
BREEDING BLANKETS
DEUTERIUM
ENGINEERING
LITHIUM OXIDES
THERMODYNAMIC CYCLES
THERMONUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
TRITIUM
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHALCOGENIDES
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
LITHIUM COMPOUNDS
NUCLEAR FUEL CONVERSION
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PINCH EFFECT
POWER PLANTS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR COMPONENTS
STABLE ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
700200* - Fusion Energy- Fusion Power Plant Technology