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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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Retrapping of Axial-Loss Particles
Axial plasma particle loss escaping out through the end cone (spindle cone) of the first
MCSA unit should be retrapped in the second unit because of "KAM effective
scattering". This KAM scattering occurs as particles move into the null-field region
within each SIEC unit. Figure 5.9 illustrates the axial magnetic field component along
the centerline of a two-unit MCSA. Particles escaping from the low field region of one
unit pass into the neighboring unit through the high magnetic field region between the
two-units. Upon entering the IEC region, the direction of the particle is effectively
randomized (i.e. Kam Scatter) when it loses adiabatic invariance in the field null region.
Although particles with high velocities parallel to the magnetic field will not experience
as much effective scattering, a majority of the particles entering the null field region
should experience scattering and retrapping.
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100
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Low-Field
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Axial Position (m)
Figure 5.9. Axial Magnetic Field Strength Along Two-Unit MCSA Centerline
1
This KAM scattering process is illustrated conceptually in Figure 5.10. Before entering
the null-field region, particles have a gyroradius that depends on their perpendicular
velocity. If vis large compared to v11, the effective scattering angle will be large,
resulting in retrapping in the case of the MCSA. In the high-field region, the gyro-radius
of the particle is small. When the low-field region is reached, the particle moves in a
straight-line path along the vector direction at the edge of the null region. Since the
phase of the gyro motion of the particles is random at this point, the vector direction
they assume in crossing the null is random. The result then can be viewed, as a
random, collisionless, scattering process. Particles that stream along the axis and enter
a neighboring IEC scatter in this way and become confined in the neighboring IEC
(termed axial-loss "re-trapping"). This re-trapping greatly increases the confinement
time of a MCSA fusion device.
58
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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.