Open this publication in new window or tab >>2010 (English)In: Fusion science and technology, ISSN 1536-1055, E-ISSN 1943-7641, Vol. 57, no 4, p. 326-334Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The straight field line mirror (SFLM) field with magnetic expanders beyond the confinement region is proposed as a compact device for transmutation of nuclear waste and power production. A design with reactor safety and a large fission-to-fusion energy multiplication is analyzed. Power production is predicted with a fusion Q = 0.15 and an electron temperature of [approximately]500 eV. A fusion power of 10 MW may be amplified to 1.5 GW of fission power in a compact hybrid mirror machine. In the SFLM proposal, quadrupolar coils provide stabilization of the interchange mode, radio-frequency heating is aimed to produce a hot sloshing ion plasma, and magnetic coils are computed with an emphasis on minimizing holes in the fission blanket through which fusion neutrons could escape. Neutron calculations for the fission mantle show that nearly all fusion neutrons penetrate into the fission mantle. A scenario to increase the electron temperature with a strong ambipolar potential suggests that an electron temperature exceeding 1 keV could be reached with a modest density depletion by two orders in the expander. Such a density depletion is consistent with stabilization of the drift cyclotron loss cone mode.
Keywords
hybrid reactor, fusion-fission reactor, mirror machine
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-122199 (URN)000277533900004 ()
2010-04-072010-04-072017-12-12Bibliographically approved