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Defense Intelligence Reference Document Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion

Defense Intelligence Agency · 72 pages · text from the file's own layer

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.

  • p. 5 …at 25mtorr, 20mA 31 Figure 4.1. Cross Section of the Experimental Layout of the PFX…
  • p. 6 …p- 11B Fusion Cross Section Energy Requirements ............................... 62 Figure 6.2. IEC System With Radio Frequency…
  • p. 8 …In practice however, the scattering cross section is larger than the fusion cross section. Thus many…
  • p. 9 …on the fuel via the selection of cross sections in the derivation. Magnetic confinement is generally…
  • p. 26 …near the peak energy of the fusion cross section. Thus this issue deserves more study to…
  • p. 27 …can provide valuable data regarding 3He fusion cross sections at "low" energies with better counting statistics…
  • p. 33 …the plasma to expand giving a broad cross section beam. Experimental Jet Design and Performance Figure…
  • p. 41 …it suffers from several Figure 4.1. Cross Section of the Experimental Layout of the PFX…
  • p. 52 …D2+ ions have a smaller CX cross section and it takes about 20 passes for most…
  • p. 65 …point, the vector direction they assume in crossing the null is random. The result then can…
  • p. 68 …the peak of the p- 11 B cross section. In contrast, in Maxwellian-type plasmas typical…
  • p. 69 …p- 11 B Fusion Cross Section Energy Requirements. The p-"B reaction rate approaches that of…
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Figure 4.3. Plot of the Q-value (including electron losses) as a Function of (a) Sma, and y with fe= 10·3 ,
(b) Smax and fe with y =5, (c) Sma. and fe with y =100, and (d) Smax and Eo with y= 5 and fe =10-3 • These
plots have been obtained for Eo =100 keV [except (d)], 9b =0.01, and E, =l.04. (Nomenclature is defined in
Reference 4.2).
The source to sink issue noted several times here can be explained as follows. Two
opposite limits of this kind of solution are depicted in Figure 4.4. The realization of
either of these limits depends on the equilibrium between two competing effects,
namely up-scattering of the Maxwellian ion component confined in the well (which
increases as the Maxwellian temperature increases and tends to empty the well), and
down-scattering of the beam (which tends to fill it). The relative importance of these
effects is directly related to the strength relatives of the source and the sink. They are
characterized here by Smax = maximum value of the ion source, and t = ion
replacement time, respectively. Thus, weak sinks and strong sources will result in a
large beam population, increasing the beam down-scattering rate and hence increasing
"effective" Maxwellian temperature, given in the dotted line profile in Figure 4.4.
Conversely, weak sources and strong sinks will result in a small beam population, thus
decreasing the beam down-scattering rate and resulting in lower Maxwellian
temperatures, leading to the solid line profile in Figure 4.4.
37
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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.