Physics of fusion power

Lecture 2: Lawson criterion /

Approaches to fusion.

Key problem of fusion

. Is the Coulomb barrier

Cross section

The cross section is

the effective area
connected with the
likelihood of
occurrence of a
reaction
For snooker balls the
cross section is r2
(with r the radius of the
ball)

1 barn = 10-28 m2

The cross section of various

fusion reactions as a function of
the energy. (Note logarithmic
scale)

Averaged reaction rate

One particle (B) colliding

with many particles (A)
Number of reactions in t is

Both as well as v depend

on the energy which is not
the same for all particles.
One builds the average

The cross section

Schematic picture of the number

of reactions in a time interval t

Averaged reaction rate ..

The cross section

must be averaged over
the energies of the
particles. Assume a
Maxwellian

Averaged reaction rates for

various fusion reactions as a
function of the temperature (in
keV)

Sizeable number of fusion reactions

even at relatively low temperatures

Even for temperatures

below the energy at
which the cross
section reaches its
maximum, there is a
sufficient amount of
fusion reactions due to
the number of particles
in the tail of the
Maxwell distribution

The Maxwellian (multiplied by the

velocity)
The cross section

The product of
distribution and
cross section

Schematic picture of the calculation

of the averaged reaction rate
(Integrand as a function of energy)

Compare the two

The averaged reaction rate does not fall off as strongly when going to
lower energies

Cross section as a function of

energy

Averaged reaction rate as a

function of Temperature

Current fusion reactor concepts

are designed to operate at

around 10 keV (note this is
still 100 million Kelvin,
matter is fully ionized or in
the plasma state)
Are based on a mixture of
Deuterium and Tritium
Both decisions are related
to the cross section

Averaged reaction rates for

various fusion reactions as a
function of the temperature (in
keV)

Limitations due to the high

temperature

10 keV is still 100 million Kelvin (matter is fully

ionized, i.e. in the plasma state)
Some time scales can be estimated using the
thermal velocity

This is 106 m/s for Deuterium and 6 107 m/s for the
electrons
In a reactor of 10m size the particles would be lost
in 10 s.

Two approaches to fusion

One is based on the rapid

compression, and heating
of a solid fuel pellet through
the use of laser or particle
beams. In this approach
one tries to obtain a
sufficient number of fusion
reactions before the
material flies apart, hence
the name, inertial
confinement fusion (ICF).

Week five

Guest lecturer and

international celebrity
Dr. D. Gericke will give
an overview of inertial
confinement fusion ..

Magnetic confinement ..

The Lorentz force connected with a magnetic field

ensures that the charged particles cannot move
over large distances across the magnetic field
They gyrate around the field lines with a typical
radius

At 10 keV and 5
Tesla this radius of
4 mm for
Deuterium and
0.07 mm for the
electrons

Lawson criterion

Derives the condition under which efficient

production of fusion energy is possible
Essentially it compares the generated fusion power
with any additional power required
The reaction rate of one particle B due to many
particles A is

In the case of more than one particle B one obtains

Fusion power

The total fusion power then is

Using quasi-neutrality

For a 50-50% mixture of Deuterium and Tritium

Fusion power

To proceed one needs to specify the average of the

cross section. In the relevant temperature range 620 keV

The fusion power can then be expressed as

The power loss

The fusion power must be compared with the power

loss from the plasma
For this we introduce the energy confinement time
E

Where W is the stored energy

Ratio of fusion power to

heating power

If the plasma is stationary

Compare this with the fusion power

One can derive the so called n-T-tau product

Break-even

The break-even condition is defined as the state in

which the total fusion power is equal to the heating
power

Note that this does not imply that all the heating
power is generated by the fusion reactions

Ignition condition

Ignition is defined as the state in which the energy

produced by the fusion reactions is sufficient to heat
the plasma.
Only the He ions are confined (neutrons escape
magnetic field and plasma) and therefore only 20%
of the total fusion power is available for plasma
heating

n-T-tau

Difference between inertial confinement and

magnetic confinement: Inertial short tE but large
density. Magnetic confinement the other way around

Magnetic confinement: Confinement time is around

3 seconds

Note that the electrons move over a distance of

200.000 km in this time

Energy Cycle in a Power Plant

External Power In

Electrical power out

0.2GW

1GW

Steam Turbine
D

He (20% of power)

3GW

1.8GW
Waste heat

Energy losses due to imperfect confinement

Neutrons (80% of fusion power)

n-T-tau is a measure of
progress

Over the years the nT-tau product shows

an exponential
increase
Current experiments
are close to breakeven
The next step ITER is
expected to operate
well above break-even
but still somewhat
below ignition

Some landmarks in fusion

energy Research
Initial experiments using charged grids to focus ion
beams at point focus (30s).
Early MCF devices: mirrors and Z-pinches.
Tokamak invented in Russia in late 50s: T3 and T4
JET tokamak runs near break-even 1990s
Other MCF concepts like stellarators also in
development.
Recently, massive improvements in laser technology
have allowed ICF to come close to ignition: planned
for this year.

Alternative fusion concepts

End of lecture 2

Force on the plasma

The force on an individual particle due to the

electro-magnetic field (s is species index)

Assume a small volume such that

Then the force per unit of volume is

Force on the plasma

For the electric field

Define an average velocity

Then for the magnetic field

Force on the plasma

Averaged over all particles

Now sum over all species

The total force density therefore is

Quasi-neutrality

For length scales larger than the Debye length the charge
separation is close to zero. One can use the approximation
of quasi-neutrality

Note that this does not mean that there is no electric field in
the plasma.
Under the quasi-neutrality approximation the Poisson
equation can no longer be used directly to calculate the
electric field

The charge densities are the dominant terms in the equation,

and implicitly depend on E.

Divergence free current

Using the continuity of charge

Where J is the current density

One directly obtains that the current density must

be divergence free

Also the displacement current

must be neglected

From the Maxwell equation

Taking the divergence and using that the current is

divergence free one obtains the unphysical result:

To avoid this, the displacement current must be

neglected, so the Maxwell equation becomes

Quasi-neutrality

The charge density is assumed zero (but a finite

electric field does exist)
One can not use the Poisson equation to calculate
this electric field (since it would give a zero field)
Valid when length scales of the phenomena are
larger than the Debye length
The current is divergence free
The displacement current is neglected (this
assumption restricts us to low frequency waves: no
light waves).

Force on the plasma

This force contains only the electro-magnetic part.

For a fluid with a finite temperature one has to add
the pressure force

Reformulating the Lorentz

force

Using
The force can be written as

Then using the vector identity

Force on the plasma

One obtains

Magnetic field pressure

Magnetic field tension

Important parameter (also efficiency parameter) the

plasma-beta