THERMAL AND CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF THE THERMONUCLEAR BLANKET PROBLEM.
Abstract
A theoretical study was made of the blanket that must surround a thermonuclear plasma to provide energy conversion and removal, neutron and gamma-ray shielding, and regeneration of the tritium burned in the D-T reaction. Power distributions and heat transfer were calculated and materials problems analyzed for blanket assemblies that A. J. Impink, Jr. has shown are capable of tritium regeneration. The blanket arrangement chosen as a model consisted of a molybdenum vacuum wall in the form of a long cylindrical shell, cooled by fused Li2BeF4 and surrounded by an annulus, 55 cm thick, consisting of fused Li2BeF4 and graphite to channel the flow of coolant. Nuclear heating was calculated on a digital computer for neutron flux distributions calculated by Impink. In vacuum walls of 1, 2, and 3 cm of molybdenum, 16, 25, and 31%, respectively, of the D-T neutron energy are absorbed. The total heat liberated in the inner blanket is 17.5 Mev per fusion. The absorption of secondary gamma rays accounts for half of the total heating and almost all of the heating of the vacuum wall. Heat transfer and thermal stress limit the thermonuclear power to 400-500 watts/sq. cm of neutron energy incident on the molybdenum first wall, which is 2 cm thick.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 29, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0619669
Entities
People
- William G. Homeyer
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology