Some safety considerations in laser-controlled thermonuclear reactors

• Published in: Nuclear engineering and design Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 301 - 319
• Main Authors: Ullman, A.Z., Botts, T.E., Breton, D., Chan, C.K., Sehnert, M., Kastenberg, W.E., Okrent, D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.01.1979
• ISSN: 0029-5493; 1872-759X
• DOI: 10.1016/0029-5493(79)90058-X

The potential safety problems which might be encountered in laser-driven controlled thermonuclear reactors (LCTR) have been examined and compared with previous studies of magnetically-confined systems. In several significant ways, including tritium hazards and some blanket cooling functions, laser-driven systems appear to differ only in quantitative ways from magnetic systems. Several aspects of safety of laser-driven systems are distinctive to them. These include cooling means designed to handle the pulsetile energy deposition from pellet explosions, and various equipment and containment penetrations associated with the lasers. Specify safety analyses have been performed for a loss-of-flow accident (LOFA) in a wetted-wall LCTR, and failure modes for laser penetrations are considered in detail to ascertain appropriate component placement and design criteria.