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Examination of the feasibility of a nuclear-pumped laser-driven inertial confinement fusion reactor with magnetically protected walls. Master's thesis

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5313837

A preliminary design study of a nuclear-pumped laser-driven inertial confinement fusion reactor with a magnetically protected first wall using an advanced DT-ignited, DD-fueled pellet demonstrated the feasibility of such a concept. This paper presents a parametric study of the required energy multiplication in the blanket, the pellet injection rate, and the net efficiency of this conceptual reactor for advanced pellet yields. A model of the reactor energy balance yields a required energy multiplication of 2.4. A cylindrical design for a helium-cooled blanket demonstrates that natural uranium micropellets in a laser pump region provide a multiplication of 2.9 with a sub-critical neutron multiplication factor of 0.14. A lithium-oxide layeroutside of the laser pump region provides a tritium breeding ratio of up to 0.4, which is more than sufficient to produce enough tritium for advanced DD-fueled, DT-ignited pellets to fuel the reactor. This paper presents the analysis behind these conclusions and presents avenues for further research on this concept. Nuclear-Pumped laser, Inertial confinement fusion reactor tritium breeding ratio, Fission, Criticality.

Research Organization:
Air Force Inst. of Tech., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (United States)
OSTI ID:
5313837
Report Number(s):
AD-A-248163/8/XAB; AFIT/GNE/ENP--92M-4
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700411* -- Inertial Confinement Devices-- (1992-)
ACTINIDES
BARYONS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BREEDING BLANKETS
CHALCOGENIDES
CONFINEMENT
DESIGN
EFFICIENCY
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FERMIONS
FISSION
FLUIDS
GASES
HADRONS
HELIUM
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
INJECTION
INTAKE
ISOTOPES
LASER FUSION REACTORS
LASERS
LIGHT NUCLEI
METALS
MULTIPLICATION FACTORS
NEUTRONS
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR PUMPING
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
NUCLEONS
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PELLETS
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
PUMPING
PUMPS
RADIOISOTOPES
RARE GASES
REACTOR COMPONENTS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
TRITIUM
URANIUM
WALLS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES