Fuel cycle characteristics of D-T fusion reactor and base-satellite system.

Abstract

The fuel-cycle characteristics are presented for the D-T fusion reactor and for the base-satellite fusion reactor system. The latter is a combination consisting of D-T base reactor and D-3He satellite reactors, which offers the potential advantage of considerable flexibility in meeting our expanding energy needs. For the D-T fusion reactor, the fuel-self-sufficiency condition and doubling time are determined with account taken of fuel separation efficiencies. It is found that differences in the fuel separation efficiency for the plasma waste gas, in particular, appreciably influence the conditions of fuel-self-sufficiency and the doubling time. To satisfy the fuel-self-sufficiency condition, the efficiency must attain 97–99.% or so. For the base-satellite system, calculations are presented for various combinations of this system and for different system parameters such as critical support ratio (maximum allowable ratio between base and satellite reactor power outputs), tritium stockpile inventory, neutron generation rate and 3He fuel doubling time (time required to accumulate the initial 3He inventory for D-3Hereactor). The critical support ratios are found to be about 0.5–1.2 for the system considered, and the D-3He-T reactor is shown to deserve priority consideration as candidate for the satellite reactor. A fairly high value of separation efficiency is required for plasma waste gas, in order to bring out to best effect the economical advantage of the base-satellite system.