Advances in implosion physics, alternative targets design, and neutron effects on heavy ion fusion reactors

Abstract

The coupling of a new radiation transport (RT) solver with an existing multimaterial fluid dynamics code (ARWEN) using Adaptive Mesh Refinement named DAFNE, has been completed. In addition, improvements were made to ARWEN in order to work properly with the RT code, and to make it user-friendlier, including new treatment of Equations of State, and graphical tools for visualization. The evaluation of the code has been performed, comparing it with other existing RT codes (including the one used in DAFNE, but in the single-grid version). These comparisons consist in problems with real input parameters (mainly opacities and geometry parameters). Important advances in Atomic Physics, Opacity calculations and NLTE atomic physics calculations, with participation in significant experiments in this area, have been obtained. Early published calculations showed that a DTx fuel with a small tritium initial content (x<3%) could work in a catalytic regime in Inertial Fusion Targets, at very high burning temperatures (⪢100 keV). Otherwise, the cross-section of DT remains much higher than that of DD and no internal breeding of tritium can take place. Improvements in the calculation model allow to properly simulate the effect of inverse Compton scattering which tends to lower Te and to enhance radiation losses, reducing the plasma temperature, Ti. The neutron activation of all natural elements in First Structural Wall (FSW) component of an Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) reactor for waste management, and the analysis of activation of target debris in NIF-type facilities has been completed. Using an original efficient modeling for pulse activation, the FSW behavior in inertial fusion has been studied. A radiological dose library coupled to the ACAB code is being generated for assessing impact of environmental releases, and atmospheric dispersion analysis from HIF reactors indicate the uncertainty in tritium release parameters. The first recognition of recombination barriers in SiC, modify the understanding of the calculation of displacement per atom, dpa, to quantify the collisional damage. An important analysis has been the confirmation, using Molecular Dynamics (MD) with an astonishing agreement, of the experimental evidence of low-temperature amorphization by damage accumulation in SiC, which could modify extensively its viability as a candidate material for IFE (fusion in general) applications. The radiation damage pulse effect has also been assessed using MD and Kinetic Monte Carlo diffusion of defects, showing the dose and driver frequency dependences.