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Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
D. D. Ryutov, P. B. Parks
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 54 | Number 4 | November 2008 | Pages 978-988
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-A1913
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Dynamics of the compression of a magnetized plasma target by a heavy liner made of partially ionized high-Z material is discussed. A soft-landing (shockless) mode of the liner deceleration is analyzed. Conclusion is drawn that such mode is possible for the liners whose thickness at the time of the first contact with the target is smaller than ~10% of the initial (uncompressed) target radius. A combination of the plasma liner with one or two glide cones allows for direct access to the area near the center of the reactor chamber. One can then generate a plasma target inside the plasma liner at the optimum time. The other advantage of the glide cones is that they can be used to deliver additional fuel to the center of the target near the point of maximum compression and thereby increase the fusion yield.