Feasibility of D3He/ST fusion power reactor

The prospects of (DHe)-He-3/ST fusion power reactors are explored and the design window of the reactor is specified. The (DHe)-He-3 reactor needs no fuel-generating blanket and this permits a stabilizing wall to be located at a close distance from the core plasma for MHD stability; hence, the Troyon factor beta(N) limit parameterized by C.P.C. Wong is employed (e.g. beta(N) is 8.0-8.5 for kappa = 3 and the range of 1.5 less than or equal to A less than or equal to 1.8). The center column is fabricated from toroidal field (TF) coils without a center solenoid because of adopting a non-inductive current ramp-up scenario. The high temperature superconductor (Bi2212/Ag/Ag) is chosen for TF coils; the operation temperature is 20 K; the current density of the conductor of the TF coil is about 110 MA/m(2) at 18-23 T. The inboard radiation shield consists of low activation ferritic steel (F82H) and boric water, and its thickness is about 0.56 m for the lifetime (35 year) of the reactor. System analyses have indicated that the design window (which satisfies the constraints HHy2 less than or equal to 2, n(e)/n(GW) < 1.1, and sigma(TF) less than or equal to 800 MPa) is small and requires A > 1. 55, beta(1) less than or equal to 40%, and the first wall thermal loading P-w < 1.25 MW/m(2) to ensure the functional and structural reliabilities of the center column (i.e. TF coil system). Furthermore, HHy2 = 1.75-2.0, tau(p)/tau(E) = 2.0-2.5, and I-phi = 75-85 MA (in the first stability regime) and I-phi = 57 MA (in the second stability regime) are needed to keep the stationary power balance of the core plasma. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.