Studies On Heavy-Ion Beam Fusion Reactors

An introduction to and overview of conceptual system designs for heavy-ion beam driven inertial confinement fusion power generation is presented. The basic properties and parameters of the three main system components-the pellet, the driver, and the reactor chamber-are treated with emphasis on their interrelations. Some technical details are discussed for reactor chambers but not for pellets and drivers, for which considerable specialized literature exists. A few published system designs are briefly presented. Environmental and safety properties are considered, and costs are discussed.