Cascade ICF power reactor
The double-cone-shaped Cascade reaction chamber rotates at 50 rpm to keep a blanket of ceramic granules in place against the wall as they slide from the poles to the exit slots at the equator. The 1 m-thick blanket consists of layers of carbon, beryllium oxide, and lithium aluminate granules about 1 mm in diameter. The x rays and debris are stopped in the carbon granules; the neutrons are multiplied and moderated in the BeO and breed tritium in the LiAlO/sub 2/. The chamber wall is made up of SiO tiles held in compression by a network of composite SiC/Al tendons. Cascade operates at a 5 Hz pulse rate with 300 MJ in each pulse. The temperature in the blanket reaches 1600 K on the inner surface and 1350 K at the outer edge. The granules are automatically thrown into three separate vacuum heat exchangers where they give up their energy to high pressure helium. The helium is used in a Brayton cycle to obtain a thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency of 55%. Studies have been done on neutron activation, debris recovery, vaporization and recondensation of blanket material, tritium control and recovery, fire safety, and cost. These studies indicate that Cascade appears to be a promising ICF reactor candidate from all standpoints. At the 1000 MWe size, electricity could be made for about the same cost as in a future fission reactor.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 5628179
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-94323; CONF-860551-4; ON: DE86010947
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Technical meeting and workshop on fusion reactor design and technology, Yalta, USSR, 26 May 1986; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Recondensation of vaporized material in the Cascade ICF reactor
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Related Subjects
CASCADE REACTORS
BREEDING BLANKETS
POWER GENERATION
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
BERYLLIUM OXIDES
BRAYTON CYCLE
CERAMICS
COST
EVAPORATION
HELIUM
LITHIUM OXIDES
NEUTRON REACTIONS
RADIOACTIVATION
ROTATION
SILICON OXIDES
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
BARYON REACTIONS
BERYLLIUM COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
GASES
HADRON REACTIONS
LASER FUSION REACTORS
LITHIUM COMPOUNDS
MOTION
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEON REACTIONS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
RARE GASES
REACTOR COMPONENTS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
THERMODYNAMIC CYCLES
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
700208* - Fusion Power Plant Technology- Inertial Confinement Technology