New Horizons for Fusion – Advanced

Fuels for the 21st Century

New Horizons for Fusion – Advanced

Fuels for the 21st Century

G.L. Kulcinski

J.F. Santarius

G.L. Kulcinski

J.F. Santarius

Fusion Technology Institute

University of Wisconsin

Fusion Technology Institute

University of Wisconsin

• Fusion fuels that emit few or no neutrons

• Not the DT or DD cycle (first generation)

• Most promising fuel cycle (second generation): D3He

• Future fusion fuel cycles-p11B, 3He3He (thirdgeneration)

What Do We Mean by Advanced Fuels?

Key Fusion Reactions and the Formin Which the Energy is Released

1st Generation D + T �! n + 4He 17.6 MeV

D + D

% n + 3He 3.65 MeV

& p + T (ave.)

2nd Generation D + 3He �! p + 4He 18.4 MeV

3rd Generation p + 11B �! 3 4He 8.7 MeV

3He + 3He �! 2p + 4He 12.9 MeV

9=;

10 -23

10 -22

10 -21

1 10 100

Ion Temperature (keV)

Rea

ctio

n R

ate

(m

3 /s)

50010 -22

Maxwellian Fusion Reaction Rates

D3HeD3He

3He3He3He3He

DTDT

p11Bp11BDDDD

• FRC's

• Spheromaks

• High Power DensityTokamaks

• RFP's

• Inertial ElectrostaticDevices

• Colliding Beams

• ICF/DT "Spark-plug"

• Inertial ElectrostaticDevices

• Colliding Beams

Where Might We Economically Burn the Advanced Fuels?

• Inertial ElectrostaticDevices

• Colliding Beams

D3He p11B 3He3He, p6Li

Reactivities (ΣEfus

σv) versus IEC Well Depth

10-23

10-22

10-21

10-20

10-19

1 10 100

IEF Well Depth (kV)

Rea

ctiv

ity

(MeV

-m

3 /s)

50010-24

DT

D3He

p-11B

3He-3HeDD

IEC Well Depth (kV)

Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Devices Have

Already Been Operated With Non-DT Fuel

Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Devices Have

Already Been Operated With Non-DT Fuel

• Previous IEC devices produced steady state DD fusion plasmas

• Recent tests at the Univ. of Wisconsin with advanced fuels have

produced steady state D3He plasmas.

• Previous IEC devices produced steady state DD fusion plasmas

• Recent tests at the Univ. of Wisconsin with advanced fuels have

produced steady state D3He plasmas.

Illinois Inst. Tech. 5 x 107 n/s @ 150 kV

Univ. of Wisconsin 1 x 107 n/s @ 50 kV

Daimler-Benz 5 x 106 n/s @ 80 kV

Kyoto Univ. 5 x 106 n/s @ 55 kV

Univ. of Illinois 1 x 106 n/s @ 70 kV

INEL 3 x 105 n/s @ 40 kV

Illinois Inst. Tech. 5 x 107 n/s @ 150 kV

Univ. of Wisconsin 1 x 107 n/s @ 50 kV

Daimler-Benz 5 x 106 n/s @ 80 kV

Kyoto Univ. 5 x 106 n/s @ 55 kV

Univ. of Illinois 1 x 106 n/s @ 70 kV

INEL 3 x 105 n/s @ 40 kV

Preliminary Data > 106 p/s @ 45 kVPreliminary Data > 106 p/s @ 45 kV

The Form of Energy Release is Quite Different in DT,DD, D3He and 3He-3He Fuel Cycles

The Form of Energy Release is Quite Different in DT,DD, D3He and 3He-3He Fuel Cycles

Apollo-L3Apollo-L3

Fractionof TotalEnergyReleased

Fractionof TotalEnergyReleased

ARIES-IARIES-I

DTDT D3HeD3HePOLYWELL™POLYWELL™

3He-3He3He-3He

00

2020

4040

6060

8080

100100

TransportTransport

TransportTransport

NeutronsNeutrons

BremsstrahlungBremsstrahlung

SynchrotronSynchrotron

SynchrotronSynchrotron

TransportTransport

BremsstrahlungBremsstrahlungBremsstrahlungBremsstrahlung

WILDCATWILDCAT

DDDD

NeutronsNeutrons

TransportTransport

NeutronsNeutrons

BremsstrahlungBremsstrahlung

SynchrotronSynchrotron

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Relative Amount of Fusion Reactions to

Make the Same Electrical Power

ARIES-I Wildcat APOLLO-L POLYWELL

The Amount and Form of Energy Required to Make Fusion Power is Quite Dependent on the Fusion Fuel Cycle

neutrons

transport

synchrotron

bremsstrahlung

DTD3He

DD

3He3He

Major Advantages Major Disadvantages

• Significant reduction in radiation

damage (permanent first wall life)

• Greatly reduced radioactivity

(low level waste)

• Potential for direct conversion

(higher efficiency and lower waste

heat)

Why Consider the Advanced Fuels for Power Production?

• Higher operating "temperature"

(requires higher nτ values)

• Lower plasma power density or

yield (requires higher beta or ρr)

• Fuel source - 3He

(requires NASA collaboration)

0

2 0 0

4 0 0

6 0 0

8 0 0

1000

1200

0 5 0 0 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

Maximum

Structural

Temperature,oC

Maximum dpa per 30 Full Power YearsMaximum dpa per 30 Full Power Years

TITAN (V)

ARIES-I (SiC)

UWMAK-I (AS)

ARIES-II (V)

STARFIRE (AS)

UWTOR-M (FS)

ASRA-6C (AS)

HSR (AS)

Apollo-L3Apollo-L3

Apollo-LApollo-L

ARIES-IIIARIES-III

ARIES-RS (V)

"Permanent"Life Regimefor Steel

The Low Radiation Damage in D3He Reactors AllowsPermanent First Walls to be Designed

ARIES-IV (SiC)

UWMAK-II (AS)

UWMAK-III (Mo)

NUWMAK (Ti)

WITAMIR-I (FS)

MINIMARS (FS)

ARIES-ST (FS)

MARS (FS)

DT FuelD3He Fuel

Class of Relative LWR Fission DT D3He p11BWaste Cost of (Once Through) (SiC) (SiC) 3He3He,

Disposal p6Li

Class A 1

Class C ≈10

Deep ≈1000Geological(Yucca Mtn.)

The Use of 2nd and 3rd Generation Fusion Fuels Can GreatlyReduce or Even Eliminate Radioactive Waste Storage Problems

Relative Volume of Operation Waste/GWe-y

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500

1000

D-T

3He:D=1:1

D-3He Fuel Requires High b, nt, and T

2 5 10 20 50 100Ion temperature HkeVL

0.001

0.005

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0.05

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D-T

3He:D=1:1

D-D

• Power density in the plasmamust be increased to take ad-vantage of b2B4 scaling.

• T and nt must each be 4 to 5times higher for D-3He com-pared to D-T

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n Fusion power density scales as b2 B4.

n Superconducting magnets can reach 20 T.

n Potential power-density improvement by increasing B-field tolimits is ~2000!

D-3He, Unlike D-T, Fuel Could Use the High PowerDensity Capability of Innovative Fusion Concepts

• Promising high-power-density concepts are under investigation;e.g., FRC, spheromak, ST, RFP, IEC.

• D-T fueled innovative concepts become limited by first-wallneutron or surface heat loads well before they reach b or B-fieldlimits.

• D-T fueled, high-b innovative concepts optimze at B~3 T.

• D-3He needs a factor of ~ 80 above D-T fusion power densities.

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D-3He Fuel Allows High-Power-DensityInnovative Concepts to Use Their Full Capabilities

D-TTokamak

D-TFRC

D-3HeFRC

Beta 0.05 0.67 0.67

Magnetic field on coil, T 18 2.3 8.2

First-wall radius, m 1.4 2 1.5

2pR0 or Length, m 36 25 20

Fusion power, MW 2000 2000 2000

Neutron wall load, MW/m25 5 0.2

Surface heat load, MW/m21.3 0.09 2.9

• Helium-3 concentrationverified from Apollo 11, 12,14, 15, 16, 17 and U.S.S.R.Luna 16, 20 samples.

• Current analyses indicatethat there are at least1,000,000 tonnes of helium-3imbedded in the lunarsurface.

• Helium-3 concentrationverified from Apollo 11, 12,14, 15, 16, 17 and U.S.S.R.Luna 16, 20 samples.

• Current analyses indicatethat there are at least1,000,000 tonnes of helium-3imbedded in the lunarsurface.

Lunar Helium-3 Is

Well Documented

Lunar Helium-3 Is

Well Documented

% Titanium Dioxide2 4 6 8 10 12

10

20

30

40

50

AvAv

AvAv

He

Co

nte

nt

– w

pp

m

Mare Regolith

Highland Regolith

The Association of Helium with Ti in the Lunar Regolith

Enables Us to Pick the First Potential Mining Site

Physics Easiest Harder Hardest

(10 keV) (50 keV) (≥ 200 keV)

First Wall Life 3–4 FPY's Full Lifetime Full Lifetime

(Matls. Dev. Prog.) (extensive) (small) (off-the-shelf)

Radioactivity (vs. Fission)

after 1 day ≈ same 3% 'None'

after 100 years 0.1% 0.003% 'None'

Electrical Efficiency ≈ same 1.5–2 times ≈ 1–1.5 times

(vs. fission) higher higher

Key Technological Features of Fusion Fuels

1st Generation 2nd Generation 3rd Generation DT D3He 3He3He, p11B

1) eliminating one of the greatest barriers to public acceptance

of nuclear power – the concern over radioactive waste and

radioactivity releases

2) allowing off-the-shelf structural materials to be used, thus

eliminating expensive neutron test facilities & long

development times

3) eliminating T2 breeding blankets and complicated secondary

coolant loops

4) allowing high efficiency operation and inter-city siting of

electrical power plants

Conclusions

The use of advanced fusion fuels could revolutionize the Public's

view of fusion power by:

• These compelling attractive features can only be

achieved by a vigorous research program on

magnetic, inertial electrostatic, and/or inertial

fusion concepts specifically suitable for the burning

of advanced fusion fuels.

• One of the metrics used to determine the

attractiveness of fusion confinement concepts

should be the ability to burn the advanced fusion

fuels.

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