Hypervelocity impact fusion reconsidered in the light of developments made in Naval Railgun research
Author: Simon Woodruff
Requested Type: Poster Only
Submitted: 2007-02-01 18:20:59
Co-authors: U. Shumlak
Contact Info:
Woodruff Scientific, LLC
301 Minor Avenue North #429
Seattle, WA 98109
USA
Abstract Text:
Hypervelocity impact fusion concerns the acceleration of small masses to velocities of ~10km/s to reach energies of ~10MJ that then impact a fusion target and compress the fuel to ignition conditions. As such, this method is a variation of ICF in which there is no attempt to confine the resulting hot plasma. Developments in the last 20 years in electromagnetic launchers for the US Navy [1-3] cause us to consider the possibility of using a projectile accelerated on a rail as a driver for a fusion plasma. We will present a short historical review of hypervelocity impact fusion and current status of rail gun research (and pulsed power technology). We will present a summary of possible concepts where such a driver could be of use in fusion energy sciences, particularly to access regimes of high energy density. Two specific scenarios are considered analytically: use of a magnetized target for partial and full compression.
[1] H. D. Fair “Electromagnetic Launch Science and Technology in the United States Enters a New Era” Proc. IEEE Conference on EML (2004)
[2] I. R. McNab, F. Stefani, M. T. Crawford, M. Erengil, C. Persad, S. Satapathy, H. Vaniecek, T. Watt, and C. Dampier “Development of a Naval Railgun” Proc. IEEE Conference on EML (2004)
[3] R. L. Ellis, J.C. Poynor, B.T. McGlasson, A. N. Smith “Influence of Bore and Rail Geometry on an Electromagnetic Naval Railgun System” Proc. IEEE Conference on EML (2004)
Characterization: D
Comments:
No special instructions
