Thrust enhancement of the gasdynamic mirror (GDM) fusion propulsion system
- Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan48109 (United States)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory MS K-551 Los Alamos, New Mexico87545 (United States)
The gasdynamic mirror propulsion system is a device that utilizes a magnetic mirror configuration to confine a hot plasma to allow fusion reactions to take place while ejecting a fraction of the energetic charged particles through one end to generate thrust. Because the fusion fuel is generally an isotope of hydrogen, e.g., deuterium or tritium, this propulsion device is capable of producing very large specific impulses (e.g., 200,000 seconds) but at modest thrusts. Since large thrusts are desirable, not only for reducing travel time but also for lifting sizable payloads, we have examined methods by which GDM{close_quote}s thrust could be enhanced. The first consists of utilizing the radiation generated by the plasma, namely bremsstrahlung and synchrotron radiation, to heat a hydrogen propellant which upon exhausting through a nozzle produces the additional thrust. We asses the performance in this case by using an ideal model that ignores heat transfer considerations of the chamber wall, and one that takes into account heat flow and wall temperature limitations. We find in the case of a DT burning plasma that although thrust enhancement is significant, it was more than offset by the large drop in the specific impulse and a concomitant increase in travel time. The second method consisted of not altering the original GDM operation, but simply increasing the density of the injected plasma to achieve higher thrust. It is shown that the latter approach is more effective since it is compatible with improved performance in that it reduces trip time but at the expense of larger vehicle mass. For a D-He{sup 3} burning device the use of hydrogen to enhance thrust appears to be more desirable since the radiated power that goes into heating the hydrogen propellant is quite large. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 627662
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970115-; ISSN 0094-243X; TRN: 98:006034
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 387, Issue 1; Conference: Space technology and applications international forum (STAIF - 97), Albuquerque, NM (United States), 26-30 Jan 1997; Other Information: PBD: Jan 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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