Fusion–fission hybrids for nuclear waste transmutation: A synergistic step between Gen-IV fission and fusion reactors

Mehlhorn, T. A.; Cipiti, Benjamin B.; Olson, Craig; Rochau, Gary E

doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2008.05.003

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…However, in contrast to laser-driven ICF, large gains may not be needed for fusion energy via MTF, due to the high efficiency of pulsed-power drivers and magnetically driven implosions. In addition, gains less than unity could be useful for a hybrid fission/fusion scheme 12 where fusion neutrons are used to burn actinides. It is also possible that higher gains could be possible with some variation in this approach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulsed-power-driven cylindrical liner implosions of laser preheated fuel magnetized with an axial field

Slutz¹,

Herrmann²,

Vesey³

et al. 2010

Physics of Plasmas

535

328

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The radial convergence required to reach fusion conditions is considerably higher for cylindrical than for spherical implosions since the volume is proportional to r2 versus r3, respectively. Fuel magnetization and preheat significantly lowers the required radial convergence enabling cylindrical implosions to become an attractive path toward generating fusion conditions. Numerical simulations are presented indicating that significant fusion yields may be obtained by pulsed-power-driven implosions of cylindrical metal liners onto magnetized (>10 T) and preheated (100–500 eV) deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel. Yields exceeding 100 kJ could be possible on Z at 25 MA, while yields exceeding 50 MJ could be possible with a more advanced pulsed power machine delivering 60 MA. These implosions occur on a much shorter time scale than previously proposed implosions, about 100 ns as compared to about 10 μs for magnetic target fusion (MTF) [I. R. Lindemuth and R. C. Kirkpatrick, Nucl. Fusion 23, 263 (1983)]. Consequently the optimal initial fuel density (1–5 mg/cc) is considerably higher than for MTF (∼1 μg/cc). Thus the final fuel density is high enough to axially trap most of the α-particles for cylinders of approximately 1 cm in length with a purely axial magnetic field, i.e., no closed field configuration is required for ignition. According to the simulations, an initial axial magnetic field is partially frozen into the highly conducting preheated fuel and is compressed to more than 100 MG. This final field is strong enough to inhibit both electron thermal conduction and the escape of α-particles in the radial direction. Analytical and numerical calculations indicate that the DT can be heated to 200–500 eV with 5–10 kJ of green laser light, which could be provided by the Z-Beamlet laser. The magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability poses the greatest threat to this approach to fusion. Two-dimensional Lasnex simulations indicate that the liner walls must have a substantial initial thickness (10–20% of the radius) so that they maintain integrity throughout the implosion. The Z and Z-Beamlet experiments are now being planned to test the various components of this concept, e.g., the laser heating of the fuel and the robustness of liner implosions to the MRT instability.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulsed-power-driven cylindrical liner implosions of laser preheated fuel magnetized with an axial field

Slutz¹,

Herrmann²,

Vesey³

et al. 2010

Physics of Plasmas

535

328

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In addition to the f ast r eactors w ithin the G IF f ramework, subcritical s ystems w ith external sources, a lso c alled h ybrid s ystems, de monstrate s ignificant pr omise f or e nergy generation a s well as a n eutron excess w hich c ould b e us ed for nuc lear w aste t ransmutation [8][9][10][11][12]. H ybrid systems are generally separated into two general concepts that are relevant to the approach used to generate t he ex ternal s ource of ne utrons.…”

Section: Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiativementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The input variable for the AP1000 fuel enrichment has 7 breakpoints set at: [3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0] weight percent. The lag time variable for the AP1000 i ncludes 4 br eakpoints a t: [ 5,10,15,20] years. T he p acking f raction for T RISO particles in the VHTR represents the third input variable and its corresponding breakpoint set is: [20,30,40 ] percent.…”

Section: Integrated System Model For the Nuclear Energy Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…T he p acking f raction for T RISO particles in the VHTR represents the third input variable and its corresponding breakpoint set is: [20,30,40 ] percent. T he final input variable is the lag time associated with the VHTR, which has the breakpoint set of: [5,10,15,20] years.…”

Section: Integrated System Model For the Nuclear Energy Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At BOC, the burnable poisons are at full strength, but as time evolves the powerful thermal energy neutron absorber 10 B is depleted and consequently less thermal energy neutrons are r emoved f rom t he s ystem. T he de pletion o f B urnable P oison ( BP) ha ppens e arly i n t he core's lifetime and only a small fraction of the 10 B remains at a fuel burnup level of 15 G Wd/ tIHM.…”

Section: Ap1000mentioning

confidence: 99%

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High fidelity nuclear energy system optimization towards an environmentally benign, sustainable, and secure energy source.

Tsvetkov

Rodríguez²,

Ames

et al. 2009

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Approved for public release; further dissemination unlimited. 2Issued by S andia N ational Laboratories, operated for the U nited States D epartment o f E nergy b y Sandia Corporation. NOTICE:This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. N either t he U nited S tates Government, n or an y a gency t hereof, n or an y o f their e mployees, nor a ny of t heir c ontractors, s ubcontractors, or t heir e mployees, m ake an y warranty, e xpress or i mplied, or a ssume a ny l egal l iability or responsibility for t he a ccuracy, completeness, or us efulness of a ny i nformation, a pparatus, pr oduct, or process di sclosed, or represent t hat its us e would not infringe pr ivately owned r ights. R eference h erein t o an y s pecific commercial p roduct, p rocess, o r s ervice b y t rade n ame, t rademark, m anufacturer, o r o therwise, does not ne cessarily c onstitute or i mply i ts e ndorsement, r ecommendation, or f avoring b y t he United States Government, any agency thereof, or any of their contractors or subcontractors. T he views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government, any agency thereof, or any of their contractors.Printed i n the U nited S tates o f America. This r eport has b een r eproduced d irectly from t he b est available copy. AbstractA new hi gh-fidelity i ntegrated s ystem m ethod a nd a nalysis approach w as de veloped a nd implemented f or c onsistent a nd c omprehensive evaluations of a dvanced f uel c ycles l eading t o minimized T ransuranic ( TRU) inventories. T he method ha s be en i mplemented i n a de veloped code system integrating capabilities of Monte Carlo N -Particle Extended (MCNPX) for highfidelity fuel cycle component simulations.In this report, a Nuclear Energy System (NES) configuration was developed to take advantage of used fuel r ecycling and t ransmutation capabilities i n waste m anagement s cenarios l eading t o minimized TRU waste inventories, long-term activities, and radiotoxicities. The reactor systems and f uel cycle components t hat m ake up the NES w ere s elected f or t heir abi lity t o perform i n tandem to produce clean, safe, and dependable energy in an environmentally conscious manner. The di versity i n performance and spectral ch aracteristics w ere us ed to enhance T RU w aste elimination while e fficiently ut ilizing ur anium resources a nd p roviding a n a bundant energy source.A computational modeling approach was developed for integrating the individual models of the NES. A general approach was ut ilized allowing for t he Integrated S ystem M odel ( ISM) t o be modified in order to provide s imulation for ot her s ystems w ith similar a ttributes. B y ut ilizing this approach, the ISM is capable of performing system evaluations under many different design parameter opt ions. A dditionally, t he p redictive capabilities of the ISM a nd its c omputational time e fficiency a llow f or s ystem s ensitivity/uncertainty a nalysis a nd the impl...

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Evaluation of the radiation damage parameters of ODS steel alloys in the first wall of deuterium-tritium fusion-fission (hybrid) reactors

Tunç

Şahi̇n

2017

Int J Energy Res

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Summary One of the most important parameters in the design of the fusion‐fission hybrid reactor is the selection of the first wall material. Because the oxide dispersion‐strengthened (ODS) steel alloys have high temperature oxidation, high radiation resistance, good hardness, and corrosion resistance properties, they are thought first wall candidate materials for fusion and fission applications. The objective of this paper is to determine the best radiation damage parameters of various experimental and commercial ODS steels (namely, 12Y1, 12YWT, 1DS, IDK, Eurofer97, MA956, MA957, and PM 2000). Neutron spectrum and average neutron energy throughout blanket, displacement per atom, hydrogen and helium production, nuclear heating, and tritium breeding ratio were calculated by using Monte Carlo methods with Monte Carlo neutron‐photon transport code and nuclear libraries named as ENDF/B‐VI and CLAW‐IV. It is assumed that calculated reactor has been operated full power during a year and neutron wall load is 2.25 MW/m2 (1014 n/s). All investigated first wall materials should be replaced between 3.5 and 4 years. All investigated materials provide minimum required tritium breeding ratio value, and when considering all the calculations performed in this work, 1DS ODS steel is the most suitable first wall materials with respect to other investigated ODS steels.

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Fusion–fission hybrids for nuclear waste transmutation: A synergistic step between Gen-IV fission and fusion reactors

Cited by 17 publications

References 23 publications

Pulsed-power-driven cylindrical liner implosions of laser preheated fuel magnetized with an axial field

Pulsed-power-driven cylindrical liner implosions of laser preheated fuel magnetized with an axial field

High fidelity nuclear energy system optimization towards an environmentally benign, sustainable, and secure energy source.

Evaluation of the radiation damage parameters of ODS steel alloys in the first wall of deuterium-tritium fusion-fission (hybrid) reactors

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