Jet extraction and characterization in an inertial. Ions are accelerated within one mean free path to high fusion relevant energies. Pdf inertial electrostatic confinement as a power source. An optical signal of iec plasma using different gases has been registered by means of an optical fiber and photomultiplier pmt. This book provides readers with an introductory understanding of inertial electrostatic confinement iec, a type of fusion meant to retain plasma using an electrostatic field.
Electric fields can do work on charged particles either ions or electrons, heating them to fusion conditions. Fusion technology physe0463 inertial confinement fusion, aalto university the basic principle of inertial confinement fusion is the rocket principle 6 surface heating by intense radiation e. The discharge current of plasma discharge has been recorded using current probe. Operation of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion iecf. The field accelerates charged particles either ions or electrons radially inward, usually in a spherical but sometimes in a cylindrical geometry. It was first conceived in the mid twentieth century, but received little serious attention until about two decades ago.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Even the charge exchanged neutrals will continue to cause fusion reactions. Inertial electrostatic confinement fusion research at the university of wisconsin a demo fusor that demonstrates plasma at a lower temperature and higher pressure than a real fusion device but with no actual fusion reactions has become a popular science project for students and hobbyists and you can find a plan for making one at make magazine. Full text of inertial electrostatic confinement todays. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec is a concept from the early days of fusion research. Inertial electrostatic confinement has been studied by. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec based compact x. In this study, a cylindrical inertial electrostatic confinement iec device, designed and constructed at the saraykoy nuclear research and training center snrtc, is introduced and the initial results are presented.
Inertial electrostatic confinement from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia inertial electrostatic confinement often abbreviated as iec is a concept for retaining a plasma using an electrostatic field. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec involves the cre ation of deep electrostatic potential wells within a plasma in order to accelerate ions to energies sufficient for fusion reac tions to occur and to keep the ions confined. Inertial electrostatic confinement fusion how is inertial. The effects of different materials on the electrostatic features are found. Inertial electrostatic confinement fusion how is inertial electrostatic confinement fusion abbreviated. Schilling department of aerospace engineering, university of maryland, united states abstract inertial electrostatic confinement iec as a concept for. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec based compact xray source dr. Finite element method is used in a 3d media in order to identify the potential and electrical fields inside the device.
Inertialelectrostatic confinement devices possess another key feature. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec is a fusion concept proposed in the 1950s. Operation of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion iecf device using different gases article pdf available in journal of fusion energy january 2018 with 514 reads how we measure reads. On this page you will find a variety of resources relating to our work with iec over the last decade. A general critique of inertialelectrostatic confinement fusion systems. Approximate modeling of cylindrical inertial electrostatic. Brian wang september 29, 2017 video starts at about 26 minutes. To the home of inertial electrostatic confinement iec at the university of wisconsinmadison. Coulomb collisions maxwelliandistribution on the ionion. Inertialelectrostatic confinement iec involves the cre ation of deep electrostatic potential wells within a plasma in order to accelerate ions to energies sufficient. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion springerlink. Finite element method fem was applied to the unit in order to identify the potential and electrical fields inside the spherical reaction chamber. In addition, different geometric arrangements for cathode sphere i. Lindl, development of the indirectdrive approach to inertial confinement fusion and the target physics basis for ignition and gain, physics of plasmas, vol.
Most iec devices directly accelerate their fuel to fusion conditions, thereby avoiding energy losses seen during the longer heating stages of mfe devices. Inertial electrostatic confinement devices possess another key feature. Cbiec offers a number of innovative features that make it an attractive pathway toward resolving. Inertial electrostatic confinement fusion listed as iecf. The second instance is more useful because it is a pdf file. An innovative acceleratordriven inertial electrostatic. Can inertial electrostatic confinement work beyond the ion. Pdf operation of inertial electrostatic confinement. Confinement is imposed only by the neutral density. Pdf operation of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion iecf. Numerous past experiments have produced data that warrants further 14 sved, j.
Inertial electrostatic confinement iec, which originates from a fusion reactor concept, could offer both plasma generation and confinement at the same time within a strong electric field 2,3. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec the proposed power source is a fusion system, based on the principles of the iec, a method of electrostatically confining a fusion plasma first proposed by salisbury cz3and farnsworth. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion. Inertial electrostatic confinement, or iec, is a class of fusion power devices that use electric fields to confine the plasma rather than the more common approach using magnetic fields found in magnetic fusion energy mfe designs. Investigations of ion confinement by direct current coaxial.
Abstract a new inertial electrostatic confinement reactor iec based fusion ash impact propulsion faip unit devoid of magnetic fields is proposed in this paper. The light passing through the fiber is directed to the entrance window of a photomultiplier pmt, hamamatsu r955, connected to the digital scope. Experimental study of the iranian inertial electrostatic. Key physics and engineering issues that remain to be resolved for inertialelectrostaticconfinement fusion devices are. Sep 30, 2019 of, relating to, or depending on inertia. At handable scale, nuclear fusion reactions can be produced by inertial electrostatic confinement iec in difference to the large scale and very expensive research for energy production by billion dollar facilities with magnetic confinement or using lasers. Effects of grid structures and dielectric materials of the. Theoretically, this system yields extremely high specific impulse 5. Inertial electrostatic confinement todays simplest. The iec fusion reactor confines plasma via a strong electrostatic potential between two concentric grids as ions stream towards the. Inertial electrostatic confinement or iec, is a technology for practical nuclear plasma fusion. Iec provides a unique approach for plasma confinement, as it offers a number of spinoff applications, such as a small neutron source for neutron activity analysis naa.
It has been proposed to create and maintain thesepotential wells by a. Inertial electrostatic confinement is a branch of fusion research which uses an electric field to heat a plasma to fusion conditions. Inertialelectrostatic confinement iec involves the cre ation of deep electrostatic potential wells within a plasma in order to accelerate ions to energies sufficient for fusion reac tions to occur and to keep the ions confined. Inertial electrostatic confinement fusion reactor mk. Continuous electrode inertial electrostatic confinement. The inertial electrostatic confinement iec cylindrical fusion neutron generator device c device is an elongated insulated vacuum chamber with an alternating series of hollow cylindrical cathodes and anodes spaced axially apart on a common longitudinal axis with solid end plates. He referred to as inertial electrostatic confinement, a term that continues to be used to this day. Introduction f usion energy is arguably the holy grail of energy research. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec is an attractive fusion concept because the particle energy and confinement are both easily controlled. Investigations of ion confinement by direct current.
An iecf inertial electrostatic confinement fusion device is a very simple and safe neutron source using the glow discharge in deuterium gas and deuterium deuterium fusion. The second instance is more useful because it is a pdf file, but it lacks the full bibliographical information. The purpose of this project is to utilize fusion energy the energy source of the sun in a controlled fashion here on earth. On the inertialelectrostatic confinement of a plasma. At the university of rochesters laboratory for laser energetics, a few of the many approaches to inertial con. A simplified grid geometry is studied, consisting of two negativelybiased coaxial currentcarrying rings, oriented such that their opposing magnetic fields produce a spindle cusp.
Inertialelectrostatic confinement offers several possible advantages for the confinement of a q 1 fusion plasma. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec plasma systems were investigated experimentally at the university of kentucky with air and argon as working gas at pressure levels between 10 and 100 mtorr and at electrical powers up to 60 w clearly aiming at non fusion iec operation. Tutorial on the physics of inertial confinement fusion. Inertial electrostatic confinement project university of. The most primitive iecf device consists of a spherical grounded anode and a grid cathode which are set concentrically as shown in fig. Work on magnetic confine ment fusion in the soviet union was begun by sakharov and others in response to a suggestion from lavrent ev that con trolled fusion of deuterium could be achieved in an iec device. Possible applications include not only electricity production, but also highenergy 15 mev. Current study of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion. Schilling department of aerospace engineering, university of maryland, united states abstract inertial electrostatic confinement iec as a concept for fusion power generation has been around since the mid 1960s. Professor sudarshan loyalka professor mark prelas professor edbertho lealquiros professor scott kovaleski. Theoretical and experimental studies of spherical devices presented by ryan meyer, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance.
However, the detail ed ionization and confinement mechanism are still under discussion, which limited the development of iec. Continuous grid inertial electrostatic confinement fusion. Study of fusion regimes in an inertial electrostatic. Abstract a system in which electrons are projected radially inwards from a spherical surface, has been proposed for the confinement of a plasma at thermonuclear temperatures. Electrostatic pressure from the positively charge electrodes would keep the fuel as a whole off of the walls of the chamber, and impacts from new ions would keep the hottest plasma in the center. Study of fusion regimes in an inertial electrostatic confinement device using the new eclipse disk diagnostic. Jan 19, 2018 an optical signal of iec plasma using different gases has been registered by means of an optical fiber and photomultiplier pmt. The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the graduate school, have examined the dissertation entitled. Theory for a gridded inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion system is presented that shows a net energy gain is possible if the grid is magnetically shielded from ion impact. Our efforts are focused on the investigation of advanced fuels and the development of nearterm uses for fusion devices. The inertial electrostatic confinement fusion reactor iec fusion is a potential method for controlled fusion power.
An inertial electrostatic confinement fusion device modeling has been carried out. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec based compact xray. Electric fsl422 inertial electrostatic confinement as a. Operation of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion. Fusion in a magneticallyshieldedgrid inertial electrostatic. Oct 07, 2015 theory for a gridded inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion system is presented that shows a net energy gain is possible if the grid is magnetically shielded from ion impact.
Pdf an optical signal of iec plasma using different gases has been registered by means of an optical fiber and photomultiplier pmt. Fundamental physics issues facing development of fusion power on a smallscale are assessed with emphasis on the idea of inertial electrostatic confinement iec. Brian wang is a prolific businessoriented writer of emerging and disruptive technologies. A new inertial electrostatic confinement iec fusion unit was designed via finite elementanalysis fea in a 3d electrostatic frame. Most iec devices directly accelerate their fuel to fusion conditions, thereby avoiding energy losses seen during.
Fundamentals and applications kindle edition by miley, george h. This is typically done in a sphere, with material moving radially inward, but can also be done in a cylindrical or beam geometry. Inertial electrostatic confinement as a power source for electric propulsion conference paper pdf available march 1993 with 467 reads how we measure reads. Pdf operation of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion. The authors propose a new concept of acceleratordriven iec fusion, termed converging beam inertial electrostatic confinement cbiec. Confinement of ions in an inertial electrostatic confinement.
A general critique of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion systems. How icf works lawrence livermore national laboratory. The entire dissertationthesis text is included in the research. We are a research group affiliated with the fusion technology institute in the department of engineering physics. The extraction of electron beam or plasma, both of which depend on the. This device is designed for neutronic fusion studies. Current study of inertial electrostatic confinement fusion neutron source in tokyo tech. Inertial electrostatic confinement iec devices for propulsion of. Iec provides a unique approach for plasma confinement, as it offers a number of spinoff applications, such as a small neutron source for neutron activity analysis naa, that all work towards creating fusion power. Pdf inertial electrostatic confinement iec is a fusion concept proposed in the. A general critique of inertialelectrostatic confinement. Rider, a general critique of inertialelectrostatic confinement fusion systems. Inertial electrostatic confinement ions confined via inertia and electrostatics concentric grids of decreasing potential cause ions to.
A strong negative charge bias is applied between a pair of concentric spherical electrodes. Continuous electrode inertial electrostatic confinement fusion. The equilibrium, economics, and stability of such a system are discussed theoretically. An inertial electrostatic confinement fusion iecf is a simple device which can cause fusion reaction, and is expected to be used as a compact neutronbeam generator.