[en] The reference granular-blanket concept for Cascade features an inner multiplier layer of BeO followed by a tritium breeding layer of LiAlO₂. The authors performed neutronics calculations to determine the energy-deposition profile in the blanket. This information was used by Ga Technologies to calculate the temperature profile in the blanket, the blanket flow requirements, and, based on the outlet temperatures and flow rates, the expected energy conversion efficiency for the plant. Three different effective thicknesses for the multiplier - 4, 12, and 30 cm - were evaluated. (The effective thickness is the product of the geometric thickness and the 40% packing fraction of the BeO granules.)

[en] In 1984 the authors performed blanket optimization studies for the Cascade reactor concept. The authors investigated a Cascade chamber that uses a LiAlO₂ breeding blanket and a beryllium oxide (BeO) neutron multiplier. The Cascade chamber can be designed with a LiAlO₂ breeding blanket if a BeO neutron multiplier is used. The configuration that minimized the total blanket thickness is 0.042 m of BeO followed by 0.424 m of LiAlO₂. The lithium must be enriched to at least 34.2% in ⁶Li. Because the blanket is a granular bed, the actual thickness is equal to the effective thickness divided by the granule packing fraction. If they assume a 50% packing fraction, the result is a total blanket thickness of 0.93 m

[en] In 1999, the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (OFES) added an inertial fusion energy (IFE) element to its Virtual Laboratory for Technology (VLT). The scope of the element of the VLT includes the fusion chamber, chamber/driver interface, target fabrication and injection, and safety and environmental assessments for IFE. Critical issues have been identified and an integrated R and D plan for the next 4-5 years has been written to coordinate the research in these areas. This paper provides an overview of the U.S, research activities addressing the critical issues

[en] Response to questions on the presentation 'Overview to Chamber and Power Plant Designs for IFE' made at the 1/29-31 meeting of the National Academies Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems.

[en] A standard method for calculating the total capital cost and the cost of electricity for a typical inertial confinement fusion electric power plant has been developed. A standard code of accounts at the two-digit level is given for the factors making up the total capital cost of the power plant. Equations are given for calculating the indirect capital costs, the project contingency, and the time-related costs. Expressions for calculating the fixed charge rate, which is necessary to determine the cost of electricity, are also described. Default parameters are given to define a reference case for comparative economic analyses

[en] The optimization problem consists of four key elements: a figure of merit for the reactor, a technique for estimating the neutronic performance of the blanket as a function of the design variables, constraints on the design variables and neutronic performance, and a method for optimizing the figure of merit subject to the constraints. The first reactor concept investigated uses a liquid lithium blanket for breeding tritium and a steel blanket to increase the fusion energy multiplication factor. The capital cost per unit of net electric power produced is minimized subject to constraints on the tritium breeding ratio and radiation damage rate. The optimal design has a 91-cm-thick lithium blanket denatured to 0.1% ⁶Li. The second reactor concept investigated uses a BeO neutron multiplier and a LiAlO₂ breeding blanket. The total blanket thickness is minimized subject to constraints on the tritium breeding ratio, the total neutron leakage, and the heat generation rate in aluminum support tendons. The optimal design consists of a 4.2-cm-thick BeO multiplier and 42-cm-thick LiAlO₂ breeding blanket enriched to 34% ⁶Li

[en] The neutronic aspects of an inertial fusion reactor concept that relies on asymmetrical neutronic effects to enhance the tritium production in the breeding zones have been studied. We find that it is possible to obtain a tritium breeding ratio greater than 1.0 with a chamber configuration in which the breeding zones subtend only a fraction of the total solid angle. This is the origin of the name SEBREZ which stands for SEgregated BREeding Zones. It should be emphasized that this is not a reactor design study; rather this study illustrates certain neutronic effects in the context of a particular reactor concept. An understanding of these effects forms the basis of a design technique which has broader application than just the SEBREZ concept

[en] In this study we investigate how the design of the neutron blanket effects the displacement damage rate in the first structural wall (FSW) of an Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) reactor. Two generic configurations are examined; in the first, the steel wall is directly exposed to the fusion neutrons, whereas in the second, the steel wall is protected by inner blanket of lithium with an effective thickness of 1-m. The latter represents a HYLIFE-type design, which has been shown to have displacement damage rates an order of magnitude lower than unprotected wall designs. The two basic configurations were varied to show how the dpa rate changes as the result of (1) adding a Li blanket outside the FSW, (2) adding a neutron reflector (graphite) outside the FSW, and (3) changing the position of the inner lithium blanket relative to the FSW. The effects of neutron moderation in the compressed DT-target are also shown, and the unprotected and protected configurations compared

[en] Optimal blanket design is a key element in effective fusion reactor design. They have developed a methodology for optimizing the blanket design as a function of several variables. In this article, they apply this methodology to a modified version of the HYLIFE chamber as a function of two variables: x₁ (the ⁶Li fraction in lithium) and x₂ (the effective lithium blanket thickness)

[en] Lead-lithium alloys have been proposed for use in several conceptual blanket designs for both inertial and magnetic confinement fusion reactors. In most cases, Pb₈₃Li₁₇, a eutectic with a melting point of 235⁰C, is the chosen composition. The primary reasons for using Pb₈₃Li₁₇ instead of Li as the tritium breeding material are the perceived safety advantages, low tritium solubility, and favorable neutronic characteristics. This paper describes the neutronic characteristics of Pb₈₃Li₁₇ blankets with emphasis on the enhanced neutron leakage through chamber ports and the degradation in blanket performance parameters that occurs as a result of the enhanced leakage