The feasibility study of ion driven shock ignition of reactor-size targets in inertial confinement fusion

Abstract

In this paper, we are intending to investigate the shock ignition approach to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) by using an ion beam driver to examine energy gain performance in reactor-size targets filled by cryogenic deuterium-tritium hydrogen isotopes. Here, pressure dynamics across the fuel layer affected by ignition beam parameters have been analyzed by using the DEIRA-4 simulation code, for the two targets that we chose for the case study. By choosing the proper pulse shaping and evaluation of finding the appropriate time and position of the inter-collision time between two compression and ignition pulses, it has been found that shock ignition can create the pressure more than 104 Gbar at the fuel center and therefore increase gain by 18% and 25% for Case 1 and Case 2, respectively. Ionic shock ignition can also decrease the ignition threshold; hence, it causes 19% reduction for Case 1 and 39% reduction for Case 2 of the internal beam energy. It has been shown that besides the lower implosion velocities relative to traditional central ignition, which are now maintained, the fuel pressure at stagnation becomes much higher than it is. In addition, the stable stagnation stage, ignition condition, and high-energy gain are achieved when the optimum configuration of the ignition beam has been derived. Our results show that we can attain pressures level of 200 Gbar < P < 500 Gbar and implosion velocities of 170 km s−1 < Uimp < 291 km s−1 which are in agreement with laser-driven shock ignition alternatives. The pressure range is more than the Standard ICF, laser-driven shock ignition, and impact fast ignition (IFI), and the implosion velocity range is less than Standard ICF and IFI.