Pulsed deuterium lithium nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor that burns hydrogen bomb material 6-lithium deuterotritide to helium in successive microexplosions which are ignited electrically and enclosed by this same molten material, and that permits the conversion of the reaction heat into useful electrical power. A specially-constructed high-current pulse machine is discharged via a thermally-preformed highly conducting path through a mass of the molten salt 6lid1-xtx (0<1). In the resulting dense, hot plasma filament primary nucleons are formed by field-accelerated fusion collisions. These hot particles initiate suprathermal multistepped propagating fission-fusion avalanches that heat the plasma by their own released energy up to thermonuclear temperature. The plasma is confined inertially and magnetically. Neutrons escaping sideways are utilized to breed tritium in the surrounding liquid blanket material, for participation in the next pulse. At the end of the current pulse and magnetic confinement the filament desintegrates and the nuclear fire is extinguished in the surrounding cold matter. The energy set free is insufficient to convert the blanket into a hot plasma in which chain reactions could propagate and escalate. The liquid blanket also serves as a neutron radiation shield. The shock wave is attenuated in it by a curtain of rising deuterium bubbles. The heat shock is buffered by partial melting of the external solid crust. The reaction heat is carried by the liquid metal of the external cooling jacket to the heat exchanger of the associated turbo-generator. Every few seconds, a new pulse can take place.
- Assignee:
- IFI; EDB-82-068771
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4182651
- Application Number:
- TRN: 82-006471
- OSTI ID:
- 5540317
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: Filed date 10 Jun 1974; Other Information: PAT-APPL-478170
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
FUSION HEAT
HEAT EXCHANGERS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS
TURBOGENERATORS
ELECTRIC POWER
ELECTRODES
HELIUM
HOT PLASMA
LITHIUM 6
LITHIUM DEUTERIDES
LITHIUM TRITIDES
PLASMA FILAMENT
PULSED NEUTRON TECHNIQUES
REACTORS
TRITIUM
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
DEUTERIDES
DEUTERIUM COMPOUNDS
ELECTRIC GENERATORS
ELEMENTS
ENTHALPY
FLUIDS
GASES
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LIGHT NUCLEI
LITHIUM COMPOUNDS
LITHIUM HYDRIDES
LITHIUM ISOTOPES
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLASMA
POWER
RADIOISOTOPES
RARE GASES
STABLE ISOTOPES
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRANSITION HEAT
TRITIUM COMPOUNDS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
700106* - Fusion Energy- Plasma Research- Plasma Production- (-1987)
700201 - Fusion Power Plant Technology- Blanket Engineering
700209 - Fusion Power Plant Technology- Component Development & Materials Testing