Advanced-Fuel Heat Flux, Power Density, and Direct Conversion Issues

Several key areas are fundamentally different for D-T and advanced-fuel fusion reactors. Although the physics constraints are generally more stringent for advanced fuels, the engineering advantages can dominate when assessing a concept. Assuming that the necessary physics performance can be demonstrated, several alternate fusion configurations would make attractive advanced-fuel fusion power plants. This paper focuses on three areas: surface heat flux, power density, and direct conversion.