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RIC panel discusses pathway to fusion commercialization
Fusion leaders at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference discussed the path forward for regulating the burgeoning fusion industry. The speakers discussed government and private industry initiatives in the United States and United Kingdom, with a focus on efforts shaping the near-term deployment of commercial fusion machines.
A recurring theme was the need to explain the difference between fission and fusion. Representatives from the Department of Energy and Type One Energy highlighted this as an important distinction for regulators, as it will allow fusion to undergo its own independent maturation process for developing standards and regulations in the same way that fission has. Lea Perlas, Fusion Program director at the Virginia Department of Health, said that confusion between fission and fusion has been a common cause for misplaced concerns among community members surrounding Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ proposed fusion plant site near Richmond, Va.
G. Miley, J. Stubbins, M. Ragheb, C. Choi, B. Adams, G. Magelssen, R. Martin
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 889-894
Inertial Confinement Fusion | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A22973
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Alternate fuel configurations which enable tritium to be bred within the target itself could provide a significant advantage for ICF reactors. The present work considers a D-fueled target (termed the “AFLINT” concept) for this purpose. A target design is proposed that provides recycle of tritium for manufacture of subsequent targets in a “closed cycle” fashion. 3He is also recycled to obtain optimum burn conditions. For reactor studies, a Hg+1 heavy ion beam driver and a dual liquid-fall reactor chamber are considered. The chamber concept employs a thin inner liquid-fall to absorb the x-rays and target debris while a second outer fall serves to recondense the vaporized liquid, protect the first structural wall against neutron damage, and absorb the radial momentum transfer from the disintegrating inner fall. This design allows a compact geometry (i.e. high power density) while avoiding excessive pumping power requirements for the liquid metal falls.