Pellet acceleration study with a railgun for magnetic fusion reactor refueling

Journal Article · Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1984 · J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.572416· OSTI ID:7092541

Honig, J; Kim, K

Design, construction, and preliminary testing of a two-stage pellet injection system capable of achieving hydrogen pellet velocities of 5--10 km/s are described. The system, which is intended for the refueling of magnetic fusion devices, combines a gas gun with a small-bore, plasma-arc-driven electromagnetic railgun. The gas gun uses hydrogen gas as the propellant and injects a medium-velocity pellet into the railgun. Once inside the railgun, the propellant gas following the pellet is electrically broken down forming a plasma arc armature. The propulsive force of this plasma arc armature further accelerates the pellet to higher velocities.

• Research Organization: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801
• OSTI ID: 7092541
• Journal Information: J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A; (United States), Vol. 2:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
FUEL PELLETS
PELLET INJECTION
RAILGUN ACCELERATORS
DESIGN
FABRICATION
PERFORMANCE TESTING
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
FUEL SYSTEMS
HYDROGEN
ACCELERATORS
ELEMENTS
NONMETALS
PELLETS
TESTING
700205* - Fusion Power Plant Technology- Fuel
Heating
& Injection Systems