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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. 8 …hence a good probability of fusing before being lost from the fusion reaction chamber. In the…
  • p. 11 …If it can, the device would be simpler and smaller than a Tokamak, making it an…
  • p. 14 …However, they showed that grid deformation could be very harmful. This deserves several comments. First, the…
  • p. 15 …Again, this issue will be addressed further later. While earlier workers sought small grid openings designed…
  • p. 17 …More insights will be provided throughout this report, but the reader is encouraged to study the…
  • p. 19 …Upscattering out of the well must be minimized while electron 12 UNCLASSIFIED//EOAt OFFIQI.«1k 11181…
  • p. 29 …It operates by convergence of ions created between the grid and wall onto a small volume…
  • p. 30 …Such thrusters, however, do not scale well to lower powers for small satellites, nor are exhaust…
  • p. 33 …first, the channel grid will be separately hinged with a small servo motor such that its…
  • p. 35 …Thus, the mass of the IEC jet thruster system can potentially be reduced compared to a…
  • p. 43 …More insight into this can be obtained from the distribution functions for trapped ions, sketched in…
  • p. 44 …The source to sink issue noted several times here can be explained as follows. Two opposite…
  • p. 47 …However, since the fusion core radius in these calculations is very small on the order of…
  • p. 49 …instability in finite spherical systems may be excited for small beam velocities compared to those of…
  • p. 50 …However, an experimental study should be performed to verify this result. RIDER - ENERGY BALANCE STUDY Todd…
  • p. 53 …In addition, since both D-D and D- 3He reactions can be used for proton production…
  • p. 54 …This can be viewed as a small scale soft source for individual laboratory studies such as…
  • p. 55 …The 14.1-MeV neutrons from the D-T reaction will be the primary source for…
  • p. 59 …Due to their small size, they can be used in a large array along with TOF…
  • p. 65 …If vis large compared to v11, the effective scattering angle will be large, resulting in retrapping…
  • p. 67 …Fortunately, the IEC can be scaled up in energy gain while keeping a small size since…
  • p. 68 …The small size of the IEC is a key characteristic. If rapid development is to be…
  • p. 71 …In other words, this could also be thought of as a Q=100 DT equivalent breakeven…
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Detector Array and Analysis System
The final imaging quality is determined by neutron source yield integrated over the area
of coverage by the number of detectors, the detector configuration, the collimated
beam size, the acquisition time, and other scan-related parameters. Scintillators such
as NaI, Csl, and BGO as well as Plastic Nal (Tl) are candidates for gamma and x-ray
detectors. Due to their small size, they can be used in a large array along with TOF
spectrometry to provide detailed special information. Recently, UIUC staff has studied
use of an advanced thick Hgb detector which appears to be particularly advantageous
for this application. Hgb is a room temperature semiconductor material with an
excellent stopping power and a relatively large photo-fraction for detecting high energy
gamma rays. Assuming successful development, Hgb detectors would provide superior
array performance.
With the combined sources, the detector array receives a vast amount of information in
a short scan time. To handle this flow of data most efficiently, a fuzzy logic system is
employed. The development of this advanced fuzzy logic system is patterned after a
methodology developed for the diagnosis of abnormal situations in nuclear reactor
safety analysis. The knowledge box employs a goal tree (and/or decision tree) for
representation. This system will use learning-based rules that evolve from extensive
simulation tests to provide training about the simultaneous occurrence of specific
elements and embedded object shapes. It will also learn to differentiate between
positive and negative data by creating rules from these test runs. Materials listed early
in the simulation study discussion would be employed. The advantage of this system is
twofold. The broad area scan analysis is optimized for fast through-put of objects while
the multiple neutron/x-ray identification reduces the probability of false identification.
The fuzzy logic system will pass the integrated item or sound an alert (suspicious object
in the container) automatically without human involvement. Humans will only be
involved when an alert is sounded. An alert occurs for a range of positive identification
of materials on to suspected identification. The multiple source detector array concept
is designed to minimize items that fall into the category of "in-between" positive
identification and clearance.
The overall concept described here is illustrated for an airplane luggage scan in Figure
5.3. Data from the detection system (TNA, PFNA and x-ray) is processed through fuzzy
logic system. If the item undergoing inspection passes this test, it continues on its way
to baggage claim. If an alert is sounded, the item can either be passed through the
machine for a second scan or be manually inspected, depending on the confidence level
of the alert.
Since the integrated system is modular, the basic components can easily be assembled
in a variety of configurations for use at different facilities. An example is the extension
to inspection of container ships being unloaded in port as illustrated in Figure 5.4.
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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.