A laser-driven pellet accelerator for CTR fuel injection.
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Authors
Hoy, Jeffrey Craig
Subjects
laser
injection
pellet
accelerator
injection
pellet
accelerator
Advisors
Politzer, Peter A.
Date of Issue
1977-08-12
Date
August 12, 1977
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
The high-speed ballistic injection of a solid spherical pellet of deuterium-tritium ice into a magnetically confined thermonuclear reactor plasma has been suggested as a technique of controlled thermonuclear reactor fueling. This experiment is intended to be a preliminary test of the feasibility of accelerating macroscopic fuel pellets using a pulsed ruby laser operating in the conventional mode. Pellet velocities in the range of 1,000-10,000 m/sec are required to enable the pellets to penetrate and effectively refuel the reactor plasma. In this study, cellulose acetate pellets were used to simulate deuterium-tritium fuel. When placed in a vacuum enclosed tube, they were accelerated by the reaction to the laser induced ablation cloud from the exposed half of the pellet. Pellet velocities of over 200 m/sec were achieved. The velocities were measured by stroboscopic photography, and the pellets were weighed to determine the fraction ablated.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Nuclear Engineering
Organization
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
United States Energy Research and Development Administration (Contract No. FY-76-S-02-2431)
Funding
United States Energy Research and Development Administration (Contract No. FY-76-S-02-2431)
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.