Review of impact fusion concepts

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1989 · IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Transactions on Magnetics; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/20.22498· OSTI ID:5537506

Ribe, F L ^[1]; Barnes, D C ^[2]

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1. Washington Univ., Seattle, WA (USA). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
2. Science Applications International Corp., Austin, TX (USA)

The authors review the main features of the impact fusion concept in which gram-sized metallic projectiles from electromagnetic launchers collide around heavy-hydrogen fusile gas to produce thermonuclear plasma whose pressure brings the projectiles to rest, providing a pulse of fusion power during the turnaround of the projectiles. A quasispherical implosion of the projectile metal about the gas cavity is necessary to achieve sufficient fusion energy gain. Hydrodynamic calculations show that initial projectile rectilinear motion can be converted to such an implosion. The required projectile velocity can be greatly reduced by means of magnetic insulation of the plasma. Here closed-line magnetic fields reduce the thermal conduction to the metallic cavity wall, allowing a longer heat-diffusion time to replace the inertial stagnation time of the projectiles against the fusion plasma. The linked poloidal and toroidal fields of the final magnetic configuration constitute magnetic helicity H which is approximately conserved during the entire impact. This allows magnetic fields in the initial struck configuration with convenient open magnetic geometry to be suitably linked during the plasma compression to produce the final closed magnetic configuration. Even when the initial open fields have no helicity, such helicity can be produced during the impact by mechanical injection of helicity from the moving contact circle of the projectiles at their interface.

• OSTI ID: 5537506
• Journal Information: IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Transactions on Magnetics; (USA), Vol. 25:1; ISSN 0018-9464
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
HYDRODYNAMICS
CALCULATION METHODS
IMPACT FUSION DRIVERS
REVIEWS
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
PLASMA PRODUCTION
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
HELICITY
HYDROGEN
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
MAGNETIC FIELDS
PROJECTILES
SIZE
CONFINEMENT
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELEMENTS
FLUID MECHANICS
MECHANICS
NONMETALS
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
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RADIATIONS
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