Reducing neutron emission from small fusion rocket engines
- Paper number
IAC-15,C4,7-C3.5,9,x28852
- Author
Prof. Samuel Cohen, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, United States
- Year
2015
- Abstract
The mainstream fusion efforts to generate electrical power, represented by the ITER and NIF projects, would use D-T fuel to produce energy and their neutrons to breed the needed tritium. Such approaches to fusion power are predicted to result in extremely large, massive, and high power (GW) reactors, ill suited for spacecraft missions envisaged for the next century. We have been investigating a different fusion reactor concept based on an advanced-fuel, RF-heated, field-reversed configuration (FRC) and find that small, relatively low power (1-10 MW) reactors with high specific power are possible. Herein we describe the methods to reduce neutron emission to below 1% of the fusion power, thereby increasing the longevity of the components and reducing the mass of shielding required.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-15,C4,7-C3.5,9,x28852.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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