http://www.fusion.ucla.edu/abdou/abdou%20publications/2006/FED-v81-SawanPhysics.pdf

Physics and technology conditions for attaining tritium self-sufficiency for the DT fuel cycle

Recent progress in laser driven implosion is reviewed. Improvements in the uniformity of irradiation by laser beams on fuel pellets have achieved quantitative progress in implosion performance. The recent results of the direct drive–central ignition experiments give us confidence in achieving fusion ignition, burning and energy gain using a multi-beam megajoule laser with full implementation of beam smoothing techniques. Fast ignition research is also reviewed, which could give us a higher energy gain with lower laser energy. The science and technology of laser fusion power plants are beginning to attract wider attention, as forming the road map to achieve commercial power plants for cleaner, safer and abundant fusion energy.Corrections were made to this article on 28 April 2004

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/67/3/R04/pdf

Laser driven inertial fusion energy: present and prospective

http://www.ralphmoir.com/media/fur_icenes_2007.pdf

A Road Map for the Realization of Global-scale Thorium Breeding Fuel Cycle by Single Molten-Fluoride Flow

This paper reviews work on flashlamp-pumped solid state lasers and discusses diode-pumped solid state lasers, the Mercury laser in particular. It also discusses ICF lasers beyond Mercury.

/pdf/diode-pumped-solid-state-laser-drivers-for-inertial-fusion-2mdsvqa1zu.pdf

Diode-pumped solid-state laser drivers for inertial fusion energy

A comprehensive conceptual design for a diode pumped solid state laser (DPSSL) as a driver for an inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant is presented. This design is based on recent technical advances that offer potential solutions to difficulties previously associated with the use of a laser for IFE applications. The design was selected by using a systems analysis code that optimizes a DPSSL configuration by minimizing the calculated cost of electricity (COE). The code contains the significant physics relevant to the DPSSL driver, but treats the target chamber and balance of plant costs generically using scaling relations published for the Sombrero KrF laser concept. The authors describe the physics incorporated in the code, predict DPSSL performance and its variations with changes in the major parameters, discuss IFE economics and technical risk, and identify the high leverage development efforts that can make DPSSL driven IFE plants more economically competitive. It is believed that this study is a significant advance over previous conceptual studies of DPSSLs for IFE because it incorporates a new cost effective gain medium, applies a potential solution to the `final optics` problem, and considers the laser physics in substantially greater detail. The result is the introduction of an option for an IFE driver that has relatively low development costs and that builds upon the mature laser technology base already developed for Nova and being developed for the proposed National Ignition Facility. The baseline design of the paper has a product of laser efficiency and target gain of ηG~6.6 and a COE of 8.6 cents/kW.h for a 1 GW(e) plant with a target gain of 76 at 3.7 MJ. Higher ηG(11) and lower COEs (6.6 cents/kW.h) can be achieved with target gains twice as high

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0029-5515/36/1/I06/pdf

A diode pumped solid state laser driver for inertial fusion energy

Enhanced safety and performance improvements have been made to the liquid-wall HYLIFE reactor, yielding the current HYLIFE-II conceptual design. Liquid lithium has been replaced with a neutronically thick array of flowing molten-salt jets (Li[sub 2]BeF[sub 4] or Flibe), which will not burn, has a low tritium solubility and inventory, and protects the chamber walls, giving a robust design with a 30-yr lifetime. The tritium inventory is 0.5 g in the molten salt and 140 g in the metal of the tube walls, where it is less easily released. The 5-MJ driver is a recirculating induction accelerator estimated to cost $570 million (direct costs). Heavy-ion targets yield 350 MJ, six times per second, to produce 940 MW of electrical power for a cost of 6.5 cents/kW[center dot]h. Both larger and smaller yields are possible with correspondingly lower and higher pulse rates. When scaled up to 1934 MW (electric), the plant design has a calculated cost of electricity of 4.5 cents/kW[center dot]h. The design did not take into account potential improved plant availability and lower operations and maintenance costs compared with conventional power plant experience, resulting from the liquid wall protection. Such improvements would directly lower the electricity cost figures. For example,more » if the availability can be raised from the conservatively assumed 75% to 85% and the annual cost of component replacement, operations, and maintenance can be reduced from 6% to 3% of direct cost, the cost of electricity would drop to 5.0 and 3.9 cents/kW[center dot]h for 1- and 2-GW (electric) cases. 50 refs., 15 figs., 3 tabs.« less

HYLIFE-II: A Molten-Salt Inertial Fusion Energy Power Plant Design — Final Report

Flibe (Li{sub 2}BeF{sub 4}) is a candidate material for the liquid blanket in the HYLIFE-2 fusion reactor The thermodynamic properties of the material are important for the study of thermohydraulic behavior of the concept design, including the compressible analysis of the blanket isochoric heating problem and resulting jet breakup The equation of state provides the relationship between all the thermodynamic properties Previously, a soft sphere model of liquid equation of state was used for describing a number of liquid metals In this paper we have fitted the available experimental data for liquid Flibe with a modified soft sphere model 5 refs

The equation of state of liquid Flibe

In the HYLIFE-2 Inertial Confinement Fusion reactor, an array of Flibe (Li{sub 2}BeFe{sub 4}) jets is designed to protect the chamber from the fusion radiation. During the fusion pulse the Flibe jets sustain an instantaneous neutron and X-ray heating. The high energy neutrons from fusion can penetrate deep into the Flibe jets and the sudden increase in internal energy can induce a great pressure rise inside the jets. The subsequent relaxation of the jets is important for the reactor design, because the configuration of the jets will control the subsequent impact forces of vapor and liquid on the reactor chamber wall. The calculations for the lithium jets in the HYLIFE-1 reactor were done previously by using a compressible flow model with a soft sphere equation of state for lithium. A similar equation of state model for Flibe was recently developed. This model allows us to use the same compressible analysis code to calculate the pressure field in the Flibe jets and to estimate the upper bound of the Flibe tension limit. With these results we can analyze the mechanisms of jet relaxation and breakup. 4 refs., 1 fig.

Xiang M. Chen

Papers

HYLIFE-II: A Molten-Salt Inertial Fusion Energy Power Plant Design — Final Report

The equation of state of liquid Flibe

The analysis of the Flibe jets in HYLIFE-II