High pressure, energy, and impulse loading of the wall in a 1-GJ Laboratory Microfusion Facility
A proposed Laboratory Microfusion Facility (LMF) must be able to withstand repeated, low-repetition-rate fusion explosions at the 1-GJ (one-quarter ton) yield level. The energy release will occur at the center of a chamber only a few meters in radius, subjecting the interior or first wall to severe levels of temperature, pressure, and impulse. We show by theory and computation that the wall loading can be ameliorated by interposing a spherical shell of low-Z material between the fuel and the wall. This sacrificial shield converts the source energy components that are most damaging to the wall (soft x-rays and fast ions) to more benign plasma kinetic energy from the vaporized shield, and stretches the time duration over which this energy is delivered to the wall from nanoseconds to microseconds. Numerical calculations emphasize thin, volleyball-sized plastic shields, and much thicker ones of frozen nitrogen. Wall shielding criteria of small (or no) amount of surface ablation, low impulse and pressure loading, minimal shrapnel danger, small expense, and convenience in handling all favor the thin plastic shields. 7 refs., 4 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 5689255
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-101646; CONF-890812-44; ON: DE89017740
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: American Physical Society topical conference on shock compression of condensed matter, Albuquerque, NM, USA, 14-17 Aug 1989; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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