Documents / Report
This Defense Intelligence Agency reference document, dated 10 March 2010, covers inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion. It was produced in FY 2009 under the DIA's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) program. The report focuses on work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and reviews IEC basics, experiments, theory and applications such as neutron sources, explosives detection and space propulsion. It concludes by proposing a breakeven experiment for p-11B fusion that uses a hydrogen plasma simulation.
“BEAMS”43 pages
UNCLASSIFIED/ /P9Pl 8ffllil.t.k WE'lii ODIi X intense quasi-neutral ion jet. The configuration, low gas leakage, and good heat removal make it possible to scale the design to either low powers or high powers, covering a range of interest for present small satellites on to future medium and large satellites. In addition to maneuverable thrusting, the jet channel extraction technique enables directing and focusing the plasma stream down on an asteroid or other object for interrogation of it. Analysis of the plasma emission spectra would provide an identification of the materials and surface features of the object. With further development the IEC system potentially offers an attractive fusion power source. Another advantage of the IEC jet thruster is that it provides a step towards a future p- 11 B IEC power source and/or thruster for satellite operations. This possibility is also briefly discussed here. Relation to Other Prior Thrusters NASA and other laboratories have worked toward developing advanced Hall Thrusters for future satellite applications. Such thrusters, however, do not scale well to lower powers for small satellites, nor are exhaust plasma modifications possible to provide fast maneuverability. The IEC-jet thruster appears uniquely able to address both issues. Conventional plasma thrusters such as the Hall thruster have undergone much more experimental study than the IEC-jet thruster. However, the simplicity of the IEC-Jet thruster design and its thermal scalability makes it feasible to quickly develop and test, making the lack of data base less of a liability. In the jet thruster concept the plasma target at the center of the chamber, created by the intersection of the multiple ion beams, serves to deflect ions into the escaping jet plasma. The resulting virtual anode, in combination with curved potential lines created by the cathode grid diverts ions, forming a strong plasma jet. This is channeled out through an enlarged hole and guide structure in the grid (Figure 3.2). This design promises a good efficiency and thrust while providing a low weight, and due to the very open accelerator grid structure, a very long lifetime. Thus it provides a good thruster for basic satellite operations and with the added jet control/focusing also provides maneuverability. In addition the IEC jet offers two added features that increase its potential effectiveness for probing various space objects. The fact that the IEC jet can be controlled to form over multiple areas around the sphere would allow the platform to maneuver itself close to a target and then simply open a second jet offset 180 degrees from the propulsive one. The second jet would serve the integration purpose of the platform without having to expend time or additional resources such as fuel to reorient itself to direct the plume at the target. Other current systems, such as Hall thrusters, would first have to position itself close to the target, and then reorient such that the exhaust plume is properly oriented. Thus, the IEC jet thruster would not be subject to expending the resources of time and fuel that other platforms require. Another option for the IEC jet thruster is to operate as a pulsed device. This becomes especially important when considering how long it may take to disable a defensive target (the platform's impulse time to disable). The use of an intense pulsed jet could disable the target before it has time to maneuver or apply defensive layers. As discussed later, the basic IEC has been operated experimentally in a pulsed mode using a capacitive power unit. However, to date, formation of the jet has only been studied under steady-state operation. 23 UNCLASSIFIED,' }P8"1 8PPll!l"'I! l!l!il! 8111!¥
Not linked to a story yet.
Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 72 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.