Jason: heavy-ion-driven inertial fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callan, C.G. Jr.; Dashen, R.F.; Garwin, R.L.; Muller, R.A.; Richter, B.; Rosenbluth, M.N.

1978-02-01

A few of the problems in heavy-ion-driven inertial-fusion systems are reviewed. Nothing was found within the scope of this study that would in principle bar such systems from delivering the energy and peak power required to ignite the fuel pellet. Indeed, ion-fusion seems to show great promise, but the conceptual design of ion-fusion systems is still in a primitive state. A great deal of work, mostly theoretical, remains to be done before proceeding with massive hardware development. Conclusions are given about the state of the work

HIBALL - a conceptual heavy ion beam driven fusion reactor study. Vol. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badger, B.; El-Guebaly, L.; Engelstad, R.; Hassanein, A.; Klein, A.; Kulcinski, G.; Larsen, E.; Lee, K.; Lovell, E.; Moses, G.

1981-12-01

A preliminary concept for a heavy-ion beam driven inertial confinement fusion power plant is presented. The high repetition rate of the RF accelerator driver is utilized to serve four reactor chambers alternatingly. In the chambers a novel first-wall protection scheme is used. At a target gain of 83 the total net electrical output is 3.8 GW. The recirculating power fraction is below 15%. The main goal of the comprehensive HIBALL study (which is continuing) is to demonstrate the compatibility of the design of the driver, the target and the reactor chambers. Though preliminary, the present dessign is essentially self-consistent. Tentative cost estimates are given. The costs compare well with those found in similar studies on other types of fusion reactors. (orig.) [de

Concept evaluation of nuclear fusion driven symbiotic energy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renier, J.P.; Hoffman, T.J.

1979-01-01

This paper analyzes systems based on D-T and semi-catalyzed D-D fusion-powered U233 breeders. Two different blanket types were used: metallic thorium pebble-bed blankets with a batch reprocessing mode and a molten salt blanket with on-line continuous or batch reprocessing. All fusion-driven blankets are assumed to have spherical geometries, with a 85% closure. Neutronics depletion calculations were performed with a revised version of the discrete ordinates code XSDRN-PM, using multigroup (100 neutron, 21 gamma-ray groups) coupled cross-section libraries. These neutronics calculations are coupled with a scenario optimization and cost analysis code. Also, the fusion burn was shaped so as to keep the blanket maximum power density below a preset value, and to improve the performance of the fusion-driven systems. The fusion-driven symbiotes are compared with LMFBR-driven energy systems. The nuclear fission breeders that were used as drivers have parameters characteristic of heterogeneous, oxide LMFBRs. They are net plutonium users - the plutonium is obtained from the discharges of LWRs - and U233 is bred in the fission breeder thorium blankets. The analyses of the symbiotic energy systems were performed at equilibrium, at maximum rate of grid expansion, and for a given nuclear power demand

Recent US advances in ion-beam-driven high energy density physics and heavy ion fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logan, B.G.; Bieniosek, F.M.; Celata, C.M.; Coleman, J.; Greenway, W.; Henestroza, E.; Kwan, J.W.; Lee, E.P.; Leitner, M.; Roy, P.K.; Seidl, P.A.; Vay, J.-L.; Waldron, W.L.; Yu, S.S.; Barnard, J.J.; Cohen, R.H.; Friedman, A.; Grote, D.P.; Kireeff Covo, M.; Molvik, A.W.; Lund, S.M.; Meier, W.R.; Sharp, W.; Davidson, R.C.; Efthimion, P.C.; Gilson, E.P.; Grisham, L.; Kaganovich, I.D.; Qin, H.; Sefkow, A.B.; Startsev, E.A.; Welch, D.; Olson, C.

2007-01-01

During the past two years, significant experimental and theoretical progress has been made in the US heavy ion fusion science program in longitudinal beam compression, ion-beam-driven warm dense matter, beam acceleration, high brightness beam transport, and advanced theory and numerical simulations. Innovations in longitudinal compression of intense ion beams by >50X propagating through background plasma enable initial beam target experiments in warm dense matter to begin within the next two years. We are assessing how these new techniques might apply to heavy ion fusion drivers for inertial fusion energy

Physics and technology of inertial fusion energy targets chambers and drivers. Proceedings of a technical meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-09-01

The third IAEA Technical Meeting on Physics and Technology of Inertial Fusion Energy Targets and Chambers took place 11-13 October 2004 in the Yousung Hotel Daejon, Republic of Korea. The first meeting was held in Madrid, Spain, 7-9 June 2000, and the second one in San Diego, California, 17-19 June 2002. Nuclear fusion has the promise of becoming an abundant energy source with good environmental compatibility. Excellent progress has been made in controlled nuclear fusion research on both magnetic and inertial approaches for plasma confinement. The IAEA plays a pro-active role to catalyze innovation and enhance worldwide commitment to fusion. This is done by creating awareness of the different concepts of magnetic as well as inertial confinement. The International Fusion Research Council (IFRC) supports the IAEA in the development of strategies to enhance fusion research in Member States. As part of the recommendations, a technical meeting on the physics and technology of inertial fusion energy (IFE) was proposed in one of the council meetings. The objective of the technical meeting was to contribute to advancing the understanding of targets and chambers for all proposed inertial fusion energy power plant designs. The topics to be covered were: Target design and physics, chamber design and physics, target fabrication injection and Tritium handling, assessment of safety, environment and economy aspect of IFE. It was recognized by the International Advisory Committee that the scope of the meeting should also include fusion drivers. The presentations of the meeting included target and chamber physics and technology for all proposed IFE plant concepts (laser driven, heavy-ion driven, Z-pinches, etc.). The final Research Coordination Meeting of the Coordinated Research Project on Elements of Power Plant Design for Inertial Fusion Energy, including further new results and achievements, followed the technical meeting. Twenty-nine participants from 12 countries participated

Present status of laser driven fusion--fission energy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maniscalco, J.A.; Hansen, L.F.

1978-01-01

The potential of laser fusion driven hybrids to produce fissile fuel and/or electricity has been investigated in the laser program at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) for several years. Our earlier studies used neutronic methods of analysis to estimate hybrid performance. The results were encouraging, but it was apparent that a more accurate assessment of the hybrid's potential would require studies which treat the engineering, environmental, and economic issues as well as the neutronic aspects. More recently, we have collaborated with Bechtel and Westinghouse Corporations in two engineering design studies of laser fusion driven hybrid power plants. With Bechtel, we have been engaged in a joint effort to design a laser fusion driven hybrid which emphasizes fissile fuel production while the primary objective of our joint effort with Westinghouse has been to design a hybrid which emphasizes power production. The hybrid designs which have resulted from these two studies are briefly described and analyzed by considering their most important operational parameters

Explosive-driven hemispherical implosions for generating fusion plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagie, D.; Glass, I.I.

1982-03-01

The UTIAS explosive-driven-implosion facility was used to produce stable, centered and focussed hemispherical implosions to generate neutrons from D-D reactions. A high resolution scintillator-detection system measured the neutrons and γ-rays resulting from the fusion of deuterium. Several approaches were used to initiate fusion in deuterium. The simplest and most direct proved to be in a predetonated stoichiometric mixture of deuterium-oxygen. The other successful method was a miniature Voitenko-type compressor where a plane diaphragm was driven by the implosion wave into a secondary small spherical cavity that contained pure deuterium gas at one atmosphere. A great deal of work still remains in order to measure accurately the neutron flux and its velocity distribution as well as the precise interactions of the neturons with the steel chamber which produced the γ-rays. Nevertheless, this is the only known work where fusion neutrons were produced by chemical energy only in a direct and indirect manner

Dynamics of Laser-Driven Shock Waves in Solid Targets

Science.gov (United States)

Aglitskiy, Y.; Karasik, M.; Velikovich, A. L.; Serlin, V.; Weaver, J.; Schmitt, A. J.; Obenschain, S. P.; Grun, J.; Metzler, N.; Zalesak, S. T.; Gardner, J. H.; Oh, J.; Harding, E. C.

2009-11-01

Accurate shock timing is a key issue of both indirect- and direct-drive laser fusions. The experiments on the Nike laser at NRL presented here were made possible by improvements in the imaging capability of our monochromatic x-ray diagnostics based on Bragg reflection from spherically curved crystals. Side-on imaging implemented on Nike makes it possible to observe dynamics of the shock wave and ablation front in laser-driven solid targets. We can choose to observe a sequence of 2D images or a continuous time evolution of an image resolved in one spatial dimension. A sequence of 300 ps snapshots taken using vanadium backlighter at 5.2 keV reveals propagation of a shock wave in a solid plastic target. The shape of the shock wave reflects the intensity distribution in the Nike beam. The streak records with continuous time resolution show the x-t trajectory of a laser-driven shock wave in a 10% solid density DVB foam.

Joint sparsity based heterogeneous data-level fusion for target detection and estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Ruixin; Zulch, Peter; Distasio, Marcello; Blasch, Erik; Shen, Dan; Chen, Genshe

2017-05-01

Typical surveillance systems employ decision- or feature-level fusion approaches to integrate heterogeneous sensor data, which are sub-optimal and incur information loss. In this paper, we investigate data-level heterogeneous sensor fusion. Since the sensors monitor the common targets of interest, whose states can be determined by only a few parameters, it is reasonable to assume that the measurement domain has a low intrinsic dimensionality. For heterogeneous sensor data, we develop a joint-sparse data-level fusion (JSDLF) approach based on the emerging joint sparse signal recovery techniques by discretizing the target state space. This approach is applied to fuse signals from multiple distributed radio frequency (RF) signal sensors and a video camera for joint target detection and state estimation. The JSDLF approach is data-driven and requires minimum prior information, since there is no need to know the time-varying RF signal amplitudes, or the image intensity of the targets. It can handle non-linearity in the sensor data due to state space discretization and the use of frequency/pixel selection matrices. Furthermore, for a multi-target case with J targets, the JSDLF approach only requires discretization in a single-target state space, instead of discretization in a J-target state space, as in the case of the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) or the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE). Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate that the proposed JSDLF approach achieves excellent performance with near real-time accurate target position and velocity estimates.

A unified modeling approach for physical experiment design and optimization in laser driven inertial confinement fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Haiyan [Mechatronics Engineering School of Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Huang, Yunbao, E-mail: Huangyblhy@gmail.com [Mechatronics Engineering School of Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Jiang, Shaoen, E-mail: Jiangshn@vip.sina.com [Laser Fusion Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China); Jing, Longfei, E-mail: scmyking_2008@163.com [Laser Fusion Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China); Tianxuan, Huang; Ding, Yongkun [Laser Fusion Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China)

2015-11-15

Highlights: • A unified modeling approach for physical experiment design is presented. • Any laser facility can be flexibly defined and included with two scripts. • Complex targets and laser beams can be parametrically modeled for optimization. • Automatically mapping of laser beam energy facilitates targets shape optimization. - Abstract: Physical experiment design and optimization is very essential for laser driven inertial confinement fusion due to the high cost of each shot. However, only limited experiments with simple structure or shape on several laser facilities can be designed and evaluated in available codes, and targets are usually defined by programming, which may lead to it difficult for complex shape target design and optimization on arbitrary laser facilities. A unified modeling approach for physical experiment design and optimization on any laser facilities is presented in this paper. Its core idea includes: (1) any laser facility can be flexibly defined and included with two scripts, (2) complex shape targets and laser beams can be parametrically modeled based on features, (3) an automatically mapping scheme of laser beam energy onto discrete mesh elements of targets enable targets or laser beams be optimized without any additional interactive modeling or programming, and (4) significant computation algorithms are additionally presented to efficiently evaluate radiation symmetry on the target. Finally, examples are demonstrated to validate the significance of such unified modeling approach for physical experiments design and optimization in laser driven inertial confinement fusion.

Magneized target fusion: An overview of the concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirkpatrick, R.C.

1994-01-01

Magnetized target fusion (MTF) seeks to take advantage of the reduction of thermal conductivity through the application of a strong magneticfield and thereby ease the requirements for reaching fusion conditions in a thermonuclear (TN) fusion fuel. A potentially important benefit of the strong field in the partial trapping of energetic charged particles to enhance energy deposition by the TN fusion reaction products. The essential physics is described. MTF appears to lead to fusion targets that require orders of magnitude less power and intensity for fusion ignition than currently proposed (unmagnetized) inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets do, making some very energetic pulsed power drivers attractive for realizing controlled fusion

Light ion driven inertial fusion reactor concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, D.L.; Sweeney, M.A.; Buttram, M.T.; Prestwich, K.R.; Moses, G.A.; peterson, R.R.; Lovell, E.G.; Englestad, R.L.

1980-01-01

The possibility of designing fusion reactor systems using intense beams of light ions has been investigated. concepts for beam production, transport, and focusing on target have been analyzed in light of more conservative target performance estimates. Analyses of the major criteria which govern the design of the beam-target-cavity tried indicate the feasibility of designing power systems at the few hundred megawatt (electric) level. This paper discusses light ion fusion reactor (LIFR) concepts and presents an assessment of the design limitations through quantitative examples

Magnetized Target Fusion Propulsion: Plasma Injectors for MTF Guns

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Steven T.

2003-01-01

To achieve increased payload size and decreased trip time for interplanetary travel, a low mass, high specific impulse, high thrust propulsion system is required. This suggests the need for research into fusion as a source of power and high temperature plasma. The plasma would be deflected by magnetic fields to provide thrust. Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) research consists of several related investigations into these topics. These include the orientation and timing of the plasma guns and the convergence and interface development of the "pusher" plasma. Computer simulations of the gun as it relates to plasma initiation and repeatability are under investigation. One of the items under development is the plasma injector. This is a surface breakdown driven plasma generator designed to function at very low pressures. The performance, operating conditions and limitations of these injectors need to be determined.

Fusion target design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bangerter, R.O.

1978-01-01

Most detailed fusion target design is done by numerical simulation using large computers. Although numerical simulation is briefly discussed, this lecture deals primarily with the way in which basic physical arguments, driver technology considerations and economical power production requirements are used to guide and augment the simulations. Physics topics discussed include target energetics, preheat, stability and symmetry. A specific design example is discussed

Charged particle fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bangerter, R.O.; Meeker, D.J.

1977-01-01

The power, voltage, energy and other requirements of electron and ion beam fusion targets are reviewed. Single shell, multiple shell and magnetically insulated target designs are discussed. Questions of stability are also considered. In particular, it is shown that ion beam targets are stabilized by an energy spread in the ion beam

21 CFR 886.1880 - Fusion and stereoscopic target.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fusion and stereoscopic target. 886.1880 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1880 Fusion and stereoscopic target. (a) Identification. A fusion and stereoscopic target is a device intended for use as a viewing object...

Laser driven fusion fission hybrids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, L.F.; Maniscalco, J.A.

1977-11-01

The role of the fusion-fission hybrid reactor (FFHR) as a fissile fuel and/or power producer is discussed. As long range options to supply the world energy needs, hybrid-fueled thermal-burner reactors are compared to liquid metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBR). A discussion of different fuel cycles (thorium, depleted uranium, and spent fuel) is presented in order to compare the energy multiplication, the production of fissile fuel, the laser efficiency and pellet gain requirements of the hybrid reactor. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) has collaborated with Bechtel Corporation and with Westinghouse in two engineering design studies of laser fusion driven hybrid power plants. The hybrid designs which have resulted from these two studies are briefly described and analyzed by considering operational parameters, such as energy multiplication, power density, burn-up and plutonium production as a function time

Minimizing scatter-losses during pre-heat for magneto-inertial fusion targets

Science.gov (United States)

Geissel, Matthias; Harvey-Thompson, Adam J.; Awe, Thomas J.; Bliss, David E.; Glinsky, Michael E.; Gomez, Matthew R.; Harding, Eric; Hansen, Stephanie B.; Jennings, Christopher; Kimmel, Mark W.; Knapp, Patrick; Lewis, Sean M.; Peterson, Kyle; Schollmeier, Marius; Schwarz, Jens; Shores, Jonathon E.; Slutz, Stephen A.; Sinars, Daniel B.; Smith, Ian C.; Speas, C. Shane; Vesey, Roger A.; Weis, Matthew R.; Porter, John L.

2018-02-01

The size, temporal and spatial shape, and energy content of a laser pulse for the pre-heat phase of magneto-inertial fusion affect the ability to penetrate the window of the laser-entrance-hole and to heat the fuel behind it. High laser intensities and dense targets are subject to laser-plasma-instabilities (LPI), which can lead to an effective loss of pre-heat energy or to pronounced heating of areas that should stay unexposed. While this problem has been the subject of many studies over the last decades, the investigated parameters were typically geared towards traditional laser driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) with densities either at 10% and above or at 1% and below the laser's critical density, electron temperatures of 3-5 keV, and laser powers near (or in excess of) 1 × 1015 W/cm2. In contrast, Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) [Slutz et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010) and Slutz and Vesey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 025003 (2012)] currently operates at 5% of the laser's critical density using much thicker windows (1.5-3.5 μm) than the sub-micron thick windows of traditional ICF hohlraum targets. This article describes the Pecos target area at Sandia National Laboratories using the Z-Beamlet Laser Facility [Rambo et al., Appl. Opt. 44(12), 2421 (2005)] as a platform to study laser induced pre-heat for magneto-inertial fusion targets, and the related progress for Sandia's MagLIF program. Forward and backward scattered light were measured and minimized at larger spatial scales with lower densities, temperatures, and powers compared to LPI studies available in literature.

Magnetic compression/magnetized target fusion (MAGO/MTF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirkpatrick, R.C.; Lindemuth, I.R.

1997-03-01

Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) was reported in two papers at the First Symposium on Current Trends in International Fusion Research. MTF is intermediate between two very different mainline approaches to fusion: Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) and magnetic confinement fusion (MCF). The only US MTF experiments in which a target plasma was compressed were the Sandia National Laboratory ''Phi targets''. Despite the very interesting results from that series of experiments, the research was not pursued, and other embodiments of MTF concept such as the Fast Liner were unable to attract the financial support needed for a firm proof of principle. A mapping of the parameter space for MTF showed the significant features of this approach. The All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF) has an on-going interest in this approach to thermonuclear fusion, and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and VNIIEF have done joint target plasma generation experiments relevant to MTF referred to as MAGO (transliteration of the Russian acronym for magnetic compression). The MAGO II experiment appears to have achieved on the order of 200 eV and over 100 KG, so that adiabatic compression with a relatively small convergence could bring the plasma to fusion temperatures. In addition, there are other experiments being pursued for target plasma generation and proof of principle. This paper summarizes the previous reports on MTF and MAGO and presents the progress that has been made over the past three years in creating a target plasma that is suitable for compression to provide a scientific proof of principle experiment for MAGO/MTF

The role of Z-pinches and related configurations in magnetized target fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindemuth, I.R.

1997-01-01

The use of a magnetic field within a fusion target is now known as Magnetized Target Fusion in the US and as MAGO (Magnitnoye Obzhatiye, or magnetic compression) in Russia. In contrast to direct, hydrodynamic compression of initially ambient-temperature fuel (e.g., ICF), MTF involves two steps: (a) formation of a warm, magnetized, wall-confined plasma of intermediate density within a fusion target prior to implosion; (b) subsequent quasi-adiabatic compression and heating of the plasma by imploding the confining wall, or pusher. In many ways, MTF can be considered a marriage between the more mature MFE and ICF approaches, and this marriage potentially eliminates some of the hurdles encountered in the other approaches. When compared to ICF, MTF requires lower implosion velocity, lower initial density, significantly lower radial convergence, and larger targets, all of which lead to substantially reduced driver intensity, power, and symmetry requirements. When compared to MFE, MTF does not require a vacuum separating the plasma from the wall, and, in fact, complete magnetic confinement, even if possible, may not be desirable. The higher density of MTF and much shorter confinement times should make magnetized plasma formation a much less difficult step than in MFE. The substantially lower driver requirements and implosion velocity of MTF make z-pinch magnetically driven liners, magnetically imploded by existing modern pulsed power electrical current sources, a leading candidate for the target pusher of an MTF system

Conceptual design of the fusion-driven subcritical system FDS-I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Y.; Zheng, S.; Zhu, X.; Wang, W.; Wang, H.; Liu, S.; Bai, Y.; Chen, H.; Hu, L.; Chen, M.; Huang, Q.; Huang, D.; Zhang, S.; Li, J.; Chu, D.; Jiang, J.; Song, Y.

2006-01-01

The fusion-driven subcritical system (named FDS-I) was previously proposed as an intermediate step toward the final application of fusion energy. A conceptual design of the FDS-I is presented, which consists of the fusion neutron driver with relatively easy-achieved plasma parameters, and the He-gas/liquid lithium-lead Dual-cooled subcritical Waste Transmutation (DWT) blanket used to transmute long-lived radioactive wastes and to generate energy on the basis of self-sustainable fission and fusion fuel cycle. An overview of the FDS-I is given and the specifications of the design analysis are summarized

Reactor potential for magnetized target fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahlin, J.E.

2001-06-01

Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) is a possible pathway to thermonuclear fusion different from both magnetic fusion and inertial confinement fusion. An imploding cylindrical metal liner compresses a preheated and magnetized plasma configuration until thermonuclear conditions are achieved. In this report the Magnetized Target Fusion concept is evaluated and a zero-dimensional computer model of the plasma, liner and circuit as a connected system is designed. The results of running this code are that thermonuclear conditions are achieved indeed, but only during a very short time. At peak compression the pressure from the compressed plasma and magnetic field is so large reversing the liner implosion into an explosion. The time period of liner motion reversal is termed the dwell time and is crucial to the performance of the fusion system. Parameters as liner thickness and plasma density are certainly of significant importance to the dwell time, but it seems like a reactor based on the MTF principle hardly can become economic if not innovative solutions are introduced. In the report two such solutions are presented as well

Reactor potential for magnetized target fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahlin, J.E

2001-06-01

Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) is a possible pathway to thermonuclear fusion different from both magnetic fusion and inertial confinement fusion. An imploding cylindrical metal liner compresses a preheated and magnetized plasma configuration until thermonuclear conditions are achieved. In this report the Magnetized Target Fusion concept is evaluated and a zero-dimensional computer model of the plasma, liner and circuit as a connected system is designed. The results of running this code are that thermonuclear conditions are achieved indeed, but only during a very short time. At peak compression the pressure from the compressed plasma and magnetic field is so large reversing the liner implosion into an explosion. The time period of liner motion reversal is termed the dwell time and is crucial to the performance of the fusion system. Parameters as liner thickness and plasma density are certainly of significant importance to the dwell time, but it seems like a reactor based on the MTF principle hardly can become economic if not innovative solutions are introduced. In the report two such solutions are presented as well.

Targets for heavy ion fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauser, M.J.

1978-01-01

This paper describes some of the basic principles of fusion target implosions, using some simple targets designed for irradiation by ion beams. Present estimates are that ion beams with 1-5 MJ, and 100-500 TW will be required to ignite high gain targets. (orig.) [de

Covariance descriptor fusion for target detection

Science.gov (United States)

Cukur, Huseyin; Binol, Hamidullah; Bal, Abdullah; Yavuz, Fatih

2016-05-01

Target detection is one of the most important topics for military or civilian applications. In order to address such detection tasks, hyperspectral imaging sensors provide useful images data containing both spatial and spectral information. Target detection has various challenging scenarios for hyperspectral images. To overcome these challenges, covariance descriptor presents many advantages. Detection capability of the conventional covariance descriptor technique can be improved by fusion methods. In this paper, hyperspectral bands are clustered according to inter-bands correlation. Target detection is then realized by fusion of covariance descriptor results based on the band clusters. The proposed combination technique is denoted Covariance Descriptor Fusion (CDF). The efficiency of the CDF is evaluated by applying to hyperspectral imagery to detect man-made objects. The obtained results show that the CDF presents better performance than the conventional covariance descriptor.

Mass Producing Targets for Nuclear Fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, T. G.; Elleman, D. D.; Kendall, J. M.

1983-01-01

Metal-encapsulating technique advances prospects of controlling nuclear fusion. Prefilled fusion targets form at nozzle as molten metal such as tin flows through outer channel and pressurized deuterium/tritium gas flows through inner channel. Molten metal completely encloses gas charge as it drops off nozzle.

Inertial-confinement-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendricks, C.D.

1981-01-01

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets are made as simple flat discs, as hollow shells or as complicated multilayer structures. Many techniques have been devised for producing the targets. Glass and metal shells are made by using drop and bubble techniques. Solid hydrogen shells are also produced by adapting old methods to the solution of modern problems. Some of these techniques, problems and solutions are discussed. In addition, the applications of many of the techniques to fabrication of ICF targets is presented

Automated laser fusion target production concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendricks, C.D.

1977-01-01

A target production concept is described for the production of multilayered cryogenic spherical inertial confinement fusion targets. The facility is to deliver targets to the reactor chamber at rates up to 10 per second and at costs consistent with economic production of power

Introduction of fusion driven subcritical system plasma design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bin Wu

2003-01-01

Fusion driven subcritical nuclear system (FDS) is a multifunctional hybrid reactor, which could breed nuclear fuel, transmute long-lived wastes, producing tritium and so on. This paper presents an introduction of FDS plasma design. Several different advance equilibrium configurations have been proposed and a 1.5-D discharge simulation of FDS was also present

Target production for inertial fusion energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodworth, J.G.; Meier, W.

1995-03-01

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants will require the ignition and burn of 5-10 fusion fuel targets every second. The technology to economically mass produce high-quality, precision targets at this rate is beyond the current state of the art. Techniques that are scalable to high production rates, however, have been identified for all the necessary process steps, and many have been tested in laboratory experiments or are similar to current commercial manufacturing processes. In this paper, we describe a baseline target factory conceptual design and estimate its capital and operating costs. The result is a total production cost of ∼16 cents per target. At this level, target production represents about 6% of the estimated cost of electricity from a 1-GW e IFE power plant. Cost scaling relationships are presented and used to show the variation in target cost with production rate and plant power level

High performance inertial fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuckolls, J.H.; Bangerter, R.O.; Lindl, J.D.; Mead, W.C.; Pan, Y.L.

1978-01-01

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target designs are considered which may have very high gains (approximately 1000) and low power requirements (< 100 TW) for input energies of approximately one megajoule. These include targets having very low density shells, ultra thin shells, central ignitors, magnetic insulation, and non-ablative acceleration

Target support for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, K.R.

1995-08-01

General Atomics (GA) plays an important industrial support role for the US Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) program in the area of target technology. This includes three major activities: target fabrication support, target handling systems development, and target chamber design. The work includes target fabrication for existing ICF experiments, target and target system development for future experiments, and target research and target chamber design for experiments on future machines, such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF)

Impact of Blanket Configuration on the Design of a Fusion-Driven Transmutation Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bong Guen Hong

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A configuration of a fusion-driven transmutation reactor with a low aspect ratio tokamak-type neutron source was determined in a self-consistent manner by using coupled analysis of tokamak systems and neutron transport. We investigated the impact of blanket configuration on the characteristics of a fusion-driven transmutation reactor. It was shown that by merging the TRU burning blanket and tritium breeding blanket, which uses PbLi as the tritium breeding material and as coolant, effective transmutation is possible. The TRU transmutation capability can be improved with a reduced blanket thickness, and fast fluence at the first wall can be reduced.  Article History: Received: July 10th 2017; Received: Dec 17th 2017; Accepted: February 2nd 2018; Available online How to Cite This Article: Hong, B.G. (2018 Impact of Blanket Configuration on the Design of a Fusion-Driven Transmutation Reactor. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 7(1, 65-70. https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.7.1.65-70

Numerical investigation on target implosions driven by radiation ablation and shock compression in dynamic hohlraums

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, Delong; Sun, Shunkai; Zhao, Yingkui; Ding, Ning; Wu, Jiming; Dai, Zihuan; Yin, Li; Zhang, Yang; Xue, Chuang [Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 100088 (China)

2015-05-15

In a dynamic hohlraum driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) configuration, the target may experience two different kinds of implosions. One is driven by hohlraum radiation ablation, which is approximately symmetric at the equator and poles. The second is caused by the radiating shock produced in Z-pinch dynamic hohlraums, only taking place at the equator. To gain a symmetrical target implosion driven by radiation ablation and avoid asymmetric shock compression is a crucial issue in driving ICF using dynamic hohlraums. It is known that when the target is heated by hohlraum radiation, the ablated plasma will expand outward. The pressure in the shocked converter plasma qualitatively varies linearly with the material temperature. However, the ablation pressure in the ablated plasma varies with 3.5 power of the hohlraum radiation temperature. Therefore, as the hohlraum temperature increases, the ablation pressure will eventually exceed the shock pressure, and the expansion of the ablated plasma will obviously weaken the shock propagation and decrease its velocity after propagating into the ablator plasma. Consequently, longer time duration is provided for the symmetrical target implosion driven by radiation ablation. In this paper these processes are numerically investigated by changing drive currents or varying load parameters. The simulation results show that a critical hohlraum radiation temperature is needed to provide a high enough ablation pressure to decelerate the shock, thus providing long enough time duration for the symmetric fuel compression driven by radiation ablation.

Repetitive laser fusion experiment and operation using a target injection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimura, Yasuhiko; Komeda, Osamu; Mori, Yoshitaka

2017-01-01

Since 2008, a collaborative research project on laser fusion development based on a high-speed ignition method using repetitive laser has been carried out with several collaborative research institutes. This paper reports the current state of operation of high repetition laser fusion experiments, such as target introduction and control based on a target injection system that allows free falling under 1 Hz, using a high repetition laser driver that has been under research and development, as well as the measurement of targets that freely fall. The HAMA laser driver that enabled high repetition fusion experiments is a titanium sapphire laser using a diode-pumped solid-state laser KURE-I of green light output as a driver pump light source. In order to carry out high repetition laser fusion experiments, the target injection device allows free falling of deuterated polystyrene solid sphere targets of 1 mm in diameter under 1 Hz. The authors integrated the developed laser and injection system, and succeeded first in the world in making the nuclear fusion reaction continuously by hitting the target to be injected with laser, which is essential technology for future laser nuclear fusion reactor. In order to realize repetition laser fusion experiments, stable laser, target synchronization control, and target position measurement technologies are indispensable. (A.O.)

Preliminary analysis of advanced equilibrium configuration for the fusion-driven subcritical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu Delin; Wu Bin; Wu Yican

2003-01-01

The Fusion-Driven Subcritical System (FDS) is a subcritical nuclear energy system driven by fusion neutron source. In this paper, an advanced plasma configuration for FDS system has been proposed, which aims at high beta, high bootstrap current and good confinement. A fixed-boundary equilibrium code has been used to obtain ideal equilibrium configuration. In order to determine the feasibility of FDS operation, a two-dimensional time-dependent free boundary simulation code has been adopted to simulate time-scale evolution of plasma current profile and boundary position. By analyses, the Reversed Shear mode as the most attractive one has been recommended for the FDS equilibrium configuration design

Premature activation of the paramyxovirus fusion protein before target cell attachment with corruption of the viral fusion machinery.

Science.gov (United States)

Farzan, Shohreh F; Palermo, Laura M; Yokoyama, Christine C; Orefice, Gianmarco; Fornabaio, Micaela; Sarkar, Aurijit; Kellogg, Glen E; Greengard, Olga; Porotto, Matteo; Moscona, Anne

2011-11-04

Paramyxoviruses, including the childhood pathogen human parainfluenza virus type 3, enter host cells by fusion of the viral and target cell membranes. This fusion results from the concerted action of its two envelope glycoproteins, the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) and the fusion protein (F). The receptor-bound HN triggers F to undergo conformational changes that render it competent to mediate fusion of the viral and cellular membranes. We proposed that, if the fusion process could be activated prematurely before the virion reaches the target host cell, infection could be prevented. We identified a small molecule that inhibits paramyxovirus entry into target cells and prevents infection. We show here that this compound works by an interaction with HN that results in F-activation prior to receptor binding. The fusion process is thereby prematurely activated, preventing fusion of the viral membrane with target cells and precluding viral entry. This first evidence that activation of a paramyxovirus F can be specifically induced before the virus contacts its target cell suggests a new strategy with broad implications for the design of antiviral agents.

SAR Data Fusion Imaging Method Oriented to Target Feature Extraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Wei

2015-02-01

Full Text Available To deal with the difficulty for target outlines extracting precisely due to neglect of target scattering characteristic variation during the processing of high-resolution space-borne SAR data, a novel fusion imaging method is proposed oriented to target feature extraction. Firstly, several important aspects that affect target feature extraction and SAR image quality are analyzed, including curved orbit, stop-and-go approximation, atmospheric delay, and high-order residual phase error. Furthermore, the corresponding compensation methods are addressed as well. Based on the analysis, the mathematical model of SAR echo combined with target space-time spectrum is established for explaining the space-time-frequency change rule of target scattering characteristic. Moreover, a fusion imaging strategy and method under high-resolution and ultra-large observation angle range conditions are put forward to improve SAR quality by fusion processing in range-doppler and image domain. Finally, simulations based on typical military targets are used to verify the effectiveness of the fusion imaging method.

Realizing Technologies for Magnetized Target Fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wurden, Glen A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2012-08-24

Researchers are making progress with a range of magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) concepts. All of these approaches use the addition of a magnetic field to a target plasma, and then compress the plasma to fusion conditions. The beauty of MIF is that driver power requirements are reduced, compared to classical inertial fusion approaches, and simultaneously the compression timescales can be longer, and required implosion velocities are slower. The presence of a sufficiently large Bfield expands the accessibility to ignition, even at lower values of the density-radius product, and can confine fusion alphas. A key constraint is that the lifetime of the MIF target plasma has to be matched to the timescale of the driver technology (whether liners, heavy ions, or lasers). To achieve sufficient burn-up fraction, scaling suggests that larger yields are more effective. To handle the larger yields (GJ level), thick liquid wall chambers are certainly desired (no plasma/neutron damage materials problem) and probably required. With larger yields, slower repetition rates ({approx}0.1-1 Hz) for this intrinsically pulsed approach to fusion are possible, which means that chamber clearing between pulses can be accomplished on timescales that are compatible with simple clearing techniques (flowing liquid droplet curtains). However, demonstration of the required reliable delivery of hundreds of MJ of energy, for millions of pulses per year, is an ongoing pulsed power technical challenge.

Dim target detection method based on salient graph fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Ruo-lan; Shen, Yi-yan; Jiang, Jun

2018-02-01

Dim target detection is one key problem in digital image processing field. With development of multi-spectrum imaging sensor, it becomes a trend to improve the performance of dim target detection by fusing the information from different spectral images. In this paper, one dim target detection method based on salient graph fusion was proposed. In the method, Gabor filter with multi-direction and contrast filter with multi-scale were combined to construct salient graph from digital image. And then, the maximum salience fusion strategy was designed to fuse the salient graph from different spectral images. Top-hat filter was used to detect dim target from the fusion salient graph. Experimental results show that proposal method improved the probability of target detection and reduced the probability of false alarm on clutter background images.

Inertial-confinement-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendricks, C.D.

1982-01-01

Much of the research in laser fusion has been done using simple ball on-stalk targets filled with a deuterium-tritium mixture. The targets operated in the exploding pusher mode in which the laser energy was delivered in a very short time (approx. 100 ps or less) and was absorbed by the glass wall of the target. The high energy density in the glass literally exploded the shell with the inward moving glass compressing the DT fuel to high temperatures and moderate densities. Temperatures achieved were high enough to produce DT reactions and accompanying thermonuclear neutrons and alpha particles. The primary criteria imposed on the target builders were: (1) wall thickness, (2) sphere diameter, and (3) fuel in the sphere

Block Ignition Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) with Condensed Matter Cluster Type Targets for p-B11 Powered Space Propulsion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miley, George H.; Hora, H.; Badziak, J.; Wolowski, J.; Sheng Zhengming; Zhang Jie; Osman, F.; Zhang Weiyan; Tuhe Xia

2009-01-01

The use of laser-driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) for space propulsion has been the subject of several earlier conceptual design studies, (see: Orth, 1998; and other references therein). However, these studies were based on older ICF technology using either 'direct' or 'in-direct x-ray driven' type target irradiation. Important new directions have opened for laser ICF in recent years following the development of 'chirped' lasers capable of ultra short pulses with powers of TW up to few PW which leads to the concept of 'fast ignition (FI)' to achieve higher energy gains from target implosions. In a recent publication the authors showed that use of a modified type of FI, termed 'block ignition' (Miley et al., 2008), could meet many of the requirements anticipated (but not then available) by the designs of the Vehicle for Interplanetary Space Transport Applications (VISTA) ICF fusion propulsion ship (Orth, 2008) for deep space missions. Subsequently the first author devised and presented concepts for imbedding high density condensed matter 'clusters' of deuterium into the target to obtain ultra high local fusion reaction rates (Miley, 2008). Such rates are possible due to the high density of the clusters (over an order of magnitude above cryogenic deuterium). Once compressed by the implosion, the yet higher density gives an ultra high reaction rate over the cluster volume since the fusion rate is proportional to the square of the fuel density. Most recently, a new discovery discussed here indicates that the target matrix could be composed of B 11 with proton clusters imbedded. This then makes p-B 11 fusion practical, assuming all of the physics issues such as stability of the clusters during compression are resolved. Indeed, p-B 11 power is ideal for fusion propulsion since it has a minimum of unwanted side products while giving most of the reaction energy to energetic alpha particles which can be directed into an exhaust (propulsion) nozzle. Power plants

Block Ignition Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) with Condensed Matter Cluster Type Targets for p-B11 Powered Space Propulsion

Science.gov (United States)

Miley, George H.; Hora, H.; Badziak, J.; Wolowski, J.; Sheng, Zheng-Ming; Zhang, Jie; Osman, F.; Zhang, Weiyan; tu He, Xia

2009-03-01

The use of laser-driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) for space propulsion has been the subject of several earlier conceptual design studies, (see: Orth, 1998; and other references therein). However, these studies were based on older ICF technology using either "direct "or "in-direct x-ray driven" type target irradiation. Important new directions have opened for laser ICF in recent years following the development of "chirped" lasers capable of ultra short pulses with powers of TW up to few PW which leads to the concept of "fast ignition (FI)" to achieve higher energy gains from target implosions. In a recent publication the authors showed that use of a modified type of FI, termed "block ignition" (Miley et al., 2008), could meet many of the requirements anticipated (but not then available) by the designs of the Vehicle for Interplanetary Space Transport Applications (VISTA) ICF fusion propulsion ship (Orth, 2008) for deep space missions. Subsequently the first author devised and presented concepts for imbedding high density condensed matter "clusters" of deuterium into the target to obtain ultra high local fusion reaction rates (Miley, 2008). Such rates are possible due to the high density of the clusters (over an order of magnitude above cryogenic deuterium). Once compressed by the implosion, the yet higher density gives an ultra high reaction rate over the cluster volume since the fusion rate is proportional to the square of the fuel density. Most recently, a new discovery discussed here indicates that the target matrix could be composed of B11 with proton clusters imbedded. This then makes p-B11 fusion practical, assuming all of the physics issues such as stability of the clusters during compression are resolved. Indeed, p-B11 power is ideal for fusion propulsion since it has a minimum of unwanted side products while giving most of the reaction energy to energetic alpha particles which can be directed into an exhaust (propulsion) nozzle. Power plants using p

Fusion of a polarized projectile with a polarized target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christley, J.A.; Johnson, R.C.; Thompson, I.J.

1995-01-01

The fusion cross sections for a polarized target with both unpolarized and polarized projectiles are studied. Expressions for the observables are given for the case when both nuclei are polarized. Calculations for fusion of an aligned 165 Ho target with 16 O and polarized 7 Li beams are presented

HIV-1 gp41 Fusion Intermediate: A Target for HIV Therapeutics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chungen Pan

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1 infection is initiated by the binding of gp120 envelope glyco-protein to its cell receptor (CD4 and a coreceptor (CXCR4 or CCR5, followed by a series of conformational changes in the gp41 transmembrane subunit. These changes include insertion of fusion peptide into the target cell membrane and association of C-heptad repeat (CHR peptide with the N-heptad repeat (NHR trimer, a pre-hairpin fusion intermediate. A stable six-helix bundle core is then formed, bringing the viral envelope and target cell membrane into close proximity for fusion. Peptides derived from the CHR region, such as T20 and C34, inhibit HIV-1 fusion by interacting with the gp41 fusion intermediate. A number of anti-HIV-1 peptides and small molecule compounds targeting the gp41 NHR-trimer have been identified. By combining HIV fusion/entry inhibitors targeting different sites in the gp41 fusion intermediate, a potent synergistic effect takes place, resulting in a potential new therapeutic strategy for the HIV infection/AIDS. Here, we present an overview of the current development of anti-HIV drugs, particularly those targeting the gp41 fusion intermediate.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory laser-fusion program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahlstrom, H.G.

1982-01-01

The goals of the Laser-Fusion Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are to produce well-diagnosed, high-gain, laser-driven fusion explosions in the laboratory and to exploit this capability for both military applications and for civilian energy production. In the past year we have made significant progress both theoretically and experimentally in our understanding of the laser interaction with both directly coupled and radiation-driven implosion targets and their implosion dynamics. We have made significant developments in fabricating the target structures. Data from the target experiments are producing important near-term physics results. We have also continued to develop attractive reactor concepts which illustrate ICF's potential as an energy producer

3D Surface Mapping of Capsule Fill-Tube Assemblies used in Laser-Driven Fusion Targets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buice, E S; Alger, E T; Antipa, N A; Bhandarkar, S D; Biesiada, T A; Conder, A D; Dzenitis, E G; Flegel, M S; Hamza, A V; Heinbockel, C L; Horner, J; Johnson, M A; Kegelmeyer, L M; Meyer, J S; Montesanti, R C; Reynolds, J L; Taylor, J S; Wegner, P J

2011-02-18

This paper presents the development of a 3D surface mapping system used to measure the surface of a fusion target Capsule Fill-Tube Assembly (CFTA). The CFTA consists of a hollow Ge-doped plastic sphere, called a capsule, ranging in outer diameter between 2.2 mm and 2.6 mm and an attached 150 {micro}m diameter glass-core fill-tube that tapers down to a 10{micro} diameter at the capsule. The mapping system is an enabling technology to facilitate a quality assurance program and to archive 3D surface information of each capsule used in fusion ignition experiments that are currently being performed at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The 3D Surface Mapping System is designed to locate and quantify surface features with a height of 50 nm and 300 nm in width or larger. Additionally, the system will be calibrated such that the 3D measured surface can be related to the capsule surface angular coordinate system to within 0.25 degree (1{sigma}), which corresponds to approximately 5 {micro}m linear error on the capsule surface.

3D Surface Mapping of Capsule Fill-Tube Assemblies used in Laser-Driven Fusion Targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buice, E.S.; Alger, E.T.; Antipa, N.A.; Bhandarkar, S.D.; Biesiada, T.A.; Conder, A.D.; Dzenitis, E.G.; Flegel, M.S.; Hamza, A.V.; Heinbockel, C.L.; Horner, J.; Johnson, M.A.; Kegelmeyer, L.M.; Meyer, J.S.; Montesanti, R.C.; Reynolds, J.L.; Taylor, J.S.; Wegner, P.J.

2011-01-01

This paper presents the development of a 3D surface mapping system used to measure the surface of a fusion target Capsule Fill-Tube Assembly (CFTA). The CFTA consists of a hollow Ge-doped plastic sphere, called a capsule, ranging in outer diameter between 2.2 mm and 2.6 mm and an attached 150 (micro)m diameter glass-core fill-tube that tapers down to a 10(micro) diameter at the capsule. The mapping system is an enabling technology to facilitate a quality assurance program and to archive 3D surface information of each capsule used in fusion ignition experiments that are currently being performed at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The 3D Surface Mapping System is designed to locate and quantify surface features with a height of 50 nm and 300 nm in width or larger. Additionally, the system will be calibrated such that the 3D measured surface can be related to the capsule surface angular coordinate system to within 0.25 degree (1σ), which corresponds to approximately 5 (micro)m linear error on the capsule surface.

Evaluation of laser-driven ion energies for fusion fast-ignition research

Science.gov (United States)

Tosaki, S.; Yogo, A.; Koga, K.; Okamoto, K.; Shokita, S.; Morace, A.; Arikawa, Y.; Fujioka, S.; Nakai, M.; Shiraga, H.; Azechi, H.; Nishimura, H.

2017-10-01

We investigate laser-driven ion acceleration using kJ-class picosecond (ps) laser pulses as a fundamental study for ion-assisted fusion fast ignition, using a newly developed Thomson-parabola ion spectrometer (TPIS). The TPIS has a space- and weight-saving design, considering its use in an laser-irradiation chamber in which 12 beams of fuel implosion laser are incident, and, at the same time, demonstrates sufficient performance with its detectable range and resolution of the ion energy required for fast-ignition research. As a fundamental study on laser-ion acceleration using a ps pulse laser, we show proton acceleration up to 40 MeV at 1 × 10^{19} W cm^{-2}. The energy conversion efficiency from the incident laser into protons higher than 6 MeV is 4.6%, which encourages the realization of fusion fast ignition by laser-driven ions.

Monochromatic x-ray radiography of laser-driven spherical targets using high-energy, picoseconds LFEX laser

Science.gov (United States)

Sawada, Hiroshi; Fujioka, S.; Lee, S.; Arikawa, Y.; Shigemori, K.; Nagatomo, H.; Nishimura, H.; Sunahara, A.; Theobald, W.; Perez, F.; Patel, P. K.; Beg, F. N.

2015-11-01

Formation of a high density fusion fuel is essential in both conventional and advanced Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) schemes for the self-sustaining fusion process. In cone-guided Fast Ignition (FI), a metal cone is attached to a spherical target to maintain the path for the injection of an intense short-pulse ignition laser from blow-off plasma created when nanoseconds compression lasers drive the target. We have measured a temporal evolution of a compressed deuterated carbon (CD) sphere using 4.5 keV K-alpha radiography with the Kilo-Joule, picosecond LFEX laser at the Institute of Laser Engineering. A 200 μm CD sphere attached to the tip of a Au cone was directly driven by 9 Gekko XII beams with 300 J/beam in a 1.3 ns Gaussian pulse. The LFEX laser irradiated on a Ti foil to generate 4.51 Ti K-alpha x-ray. By varying the delay between the compression and backlighter lasers, the measured radiograph images show an increase of the areal density of the imploded target. The detail of the quantitative analyses to infer the areal density and comparisons to hydrodynamics simulations will be presented. This work was performed with the support and under the auspices of the NIFS Collaboration Research program (NIFS13KUGK072). H.S. was supported by the UNR's International Activities Grant program.

Inertial confinement fusion target insertion concepts for the National Ignition Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laughon, G.J.; Schultz, K.R.

1996-01-01

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) will be used to demonstrate fusion ignition in a laboratory environment in order to support development of inertial fusion as a potential fusion energy source for civilian use. However, target insertion must first be addressed before inertial fusion can become a practical energy source. Since target insertion systems currently utilized are not suitable for multiple shots in quick succession, insertion concepts involving free-falling and artificially accelerated targets are developed and evaluated against a set of predetermined guidelines. It is shown that a system involving a fast retraction positioner would be suitable. 5 refs., 4 figs

High performance inertial fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuckolls, J.H.; Bangerter, R.O.; Lindl, J.D.; Mead, W.C.; Pan, Y.L.

1977-01-01

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) designs are considered which may have very high gains (approximately 1000) and low power requirements (<100 TW) for input energies of approximately one megajoule. These include targets having very low density shells, ultra thin shells, central ignitors, magnetic insulation, and non-ablative acceleration

Process for manufacture of inertial confinement fusion targets and resulting product

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solomon, D.E.; Wise, K.D.; Wuttke, G.H.; Masnari, N.A.; Rensel, W.B.; Robinson, M.G.

1980-01-01

A method of manufacturing inertial confinement fusion targets is described which is adaptable for high volume production of low cost targets in a wide variety of sizes. The targets include a spherical pellet of fusion fuel surrounded by a protective concentric shell. (UK)

Economic analysis of the fusion-driven subcritical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Desuo; Wu Yican; Chu Delin; Hu Liqin

2004-01-01

The economic performance of the Fusion-Driven Subcritical system (FDS) is discussed. At first, as an example, the impacts of parameters, such as plasma aspect-ratio, elongation, normalized beta, on-axis toroidal field and the blanket energy-gain are analyzed on the costs of the typical case (moderate aspect-ratio) of FDS. Then, the economic characteristics of the 3 possible scenarios of FDS are estimated with respect to the neutronics parameters. The results calculated with the SYSCODE developed by the FDS team show that the cost of electricity of Scenario-1 (low aspect-ratio) and Scenario-2 (moderate aspect-ratio) of FDS is cheaper than that of pure fusion power plant at the same plane size (1 GW e ). The cost of electricity of the FDS power plant depends heavily on the functions of blanket and the blanket energy-gain. (authors)

Advanced laser fusion target fabrication research and development proposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stupin, D.M.; Fries, R.J.

1979-05-01

A research and development program is described that will enable the fabrication of 10 6 targets/day for a laser fusion prototype power reactor in 2007. We give personnel and cost estimates for a generalized laser fusion target that requires the development of several new technologies. The total cost of the program between 1979 and 2007 is $362 million in today's dollars

Electron beam fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauser, M.J.; Sweeney, M.A.

1975-01-01

R The behavior of the DT filled gold shells when irradiated by a variety of pulse shapes was studied. In these pulses the power (and beam current) was varied, but the voltage was kept constant at 1 MeV. In general the performance of the target, for a given peak power, was not significantly affected by the pulse shape. Pulses with rise times of up to half the implosion time do not significantly degrade the target performance. The use of the ''optimal pulse'' of laser fusion with a fixed peak power does not appear to improve the performance of these targets. The main function of the ''optimal pulse'' is to produce a large rho r of the target during the thermonuclear burn. In e-beam targets a total rho r of 5--10 g/cm 2 can be obtained without pulse shaping; the problem here is one of achieving high enough temperatures to ignite the DT. (U.S.)

Final report on the Magnetized Target Fusion Collaboration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

John Slough

2009-09-08

Nuclear fusion has the potential to satisfy the prodigious power that the world will demand in the future, but it has yet to be harnessed as a practical energy source. The entry of fusion as a viable, competitive source of power has been stymied by the challenge of finding an economical way to provide for the confinement and heating of the plasma fuel. It is the contention here that a simpler path to fusion can be achieved by creating fusion conditions in a different regime at small scale (~ a few cm). One such program now under study, referred to as Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF), is directed at obtaining fusion in this high energy density regime by rapidly compressing a compact toroidal plasmoid commonly referred to as a Field Reversed Configuration (FRC). To make fusion practical at this smaller scale, an efficient method for compressing the FRC to fusion gain conditions is required. In one variant of MTF a conducting metal shell is imploded electrically. This radially compresses and heats the FRC plasmoid to fusion conditions. The closed magnetic field in the target plasmoid suppresses the thermal transport to the confining shell, thus lowering the imploding power needed to compress the target. The undertaking to be described in this proposal is to provide a suitable target FRC, as well as a simple and robust method for inserting and stopping the FRC within the imploding liner. The timescale for testing and development can be rapidly accelerated by taking advantage of a new facility funded by the Department of Energy. At this facility, two inductive plasma accelerators (IPA) were constructed and tested. Recent experiments with these IPAs have demonstrated the ability to rapidly form, accelerate and merge two hypervelocity FRCs into a compression chamber. The resultant FRC that was formed was hot (T&ion ~ 400 eV), stationary, and stable with a configuration lifetime several times that necessary for the MTF liner experiments. The accelerator length was less than

Generation and compression of a target plasma for magnetized target fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirkpatrick, R.C.; Lindemuth, I.R.; Sheehey, P.T.

1998-01-01

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Magnetized target fusion (MTF) is intermediate between the two very different approaches to fusion: inertial and magnetic confinement fusion (ICF and MCF). Results from collaboration with a Russian MTF team on their MAGO experiments suggest they have a target plasma suitable for compression to provide an MTF proof of principle. This LDRD project had tow main objectives: first, to provide a computational basis for experimental investigation of an alternative MTF plasma, and second to explore the physics and computational needs for a continuing program. Secondary objectives included analytic and computational support for MTF experiments. The first objective was fulfilled. The second main objective has several facets to be described in the body of this report. Finally, the authors have developed tools for analyzing data collected on the MAGO and LDRD experiments, and have tested them on limited MAGO data

Optimized beryllium target design for indirectly driven inertial confinement fusion experiments on the National Ignition Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simakov, Andrei N., E-mail: simakov@lanl.gov; Wilson, Douglas C.; Yi, Sunghwan A.; Kline, John L.; Batha, Steven H. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); Clark, Daniel S.; Milovich, Jose L.; Salmonson, Jay D. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551 (United States)

2014-02-15

For indirect drive inertial confinement fusion, Beryllium (Be) ablators offer a number of important advantages as compared with other ablator materials, e.g., plastic and high density carbon. In particular, the low opacity and relatively high density of Be lead to higher rocket efficiencies giving a higher fuel implosion velocity for a given X-ray drive; and to higher ablation velocities providing more ablative stabilization and reducing the effect of hydrodynamic instabilities on the implosion performance. Be ablator advantages provide a larger target design optimization space and can significantly improve the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [J. D. Lindl et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 339 (2004)] ignition margin. Herein, we summarize the Be advantages, briefly review NIF Be target history, and present a modern, optimized, low adiabat, Revision 6 NIF Be target design. This design takes advantage of knowledge gained from recent NIF experiments, including more realistic levels of laser-plasma energy backscatter, degraded hohlraum-capsule coupling, and the presence of cross-beam energy transfer.

Physical measurements of inertial-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weinstein, B.W.

1981-01-01

Measurement of inertial-fusion targets has stimulated the development of many new techniques and instruments. This paper reviews the basis for selected target measurement requirements and the development of optical interferometry, optical scattering, microradiography and scanning electron microscopy as applied to target measurement. We summarize the resolution and speed which have been achieved to date, and describe several systems in which these are traded off to fill specific measurement applications. We point out the extent to which present capabilities meet the requirements for target measurement and the key problems which remain to be solved

Design study of a fusion-driven tokamak hybrid reactor for fissile fuel production. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rose, R.P.

1979-05-01

This study evaluated conceptual approaches for a tokamak fusion-driven fuel producing reactor. The conceptual design of this hybrid reactor was based on using projected state-of-the-art technology for the late 1980s. This reactor would be a demonstration plant and, therefore, first-of-a-kind considerations have been included. The conceptual definitions of two alternatives for the fusion driver were evaluated. A Two-Component Tokamak (TCT) concept, based on the TFTR plasma physics parameters, was compared to a Beam-Driven Thermonuclear (BDTN) concept, based on the USSR T-20 plasma physics parameters

Z-pinch driven fusion energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slutz, Stephen A.; Olson, Craig L.; Rochau, Gary E.; Dezon, Mark S.; Peterson, P.F.; Degroot, J.S.; Jensen, N.; Miller, G.

2000-01-01

The Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is the most powerful multi-module synchronized pulsed-power accelerator in the world. Rapid development of z-pinch loads on Z has led to outstanding progress in the last few years, resulting in radiative powers of up to 280 TW in 4 ns and a total radiated x-ray energy of 1.8 MJ. The present goal is to demonstrate single-shot, high-yield fusion capsules. Pulsed power is a robust and inexpensive technology, which should be well suited for Inertial Fusion Energy, but a rep-rated capability is needed. Recent developments have led to a viable conceptual approach for a rep-rated z-pinch power plant for IFE. This concept exploits the advantages of going to high yield (a few GJ) at low rep-rate (approximately 0.1 Hz), and using a Recyclable Transmission Line (RTL) to provide the necessary standoff between the fusion target and the power plant chamber. In this approach, a portion of the transmission line near the capsule is replaced after each shot. The RTL should be constructed of materials that can easily be separated from the liquid coolant stream and refabricated for a subsequent shots. One possibility is that most of the RTL is formed by casting FLiBe, a salt composed of fluorine, lithium, and beryllium, which is an attractive choice for the reactor coolant, with chemically compatible lead or tin on the surface to provide conductivity. The authors estimate that fusion yields greater than 1 GJ will be required for efficient generation of electricity. Calculations indicate that the first wall will have an acceptable lifetime with these high yields if blast mitigation techniques are used. Furthermore, yields above 5 GJ may allow the use of a compact blanket direct conversion scheme

Z-pinch driven inertial confinement fusion target physics research at Sandia National Laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leeper, R.J.; Alberts, T.E.; Asay, J.R.

2001-01-01

Three hohlraum concepts are being pursued at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to investigate the possibility of using pulsed power driven magnetic implosions (z-pinches) to drive high gain targets capable of yields in the range of 200-1000 MJ. This research is being conducted on SNL's Z facility that is capable of driving peak currents of 20 MA in z-pinch loads producing implosion velocities as high as 7.5x10 7 cm/s, x-ray energies approaching 2 MJ, and x-ray powers exceeding 200 TW. This paper will discuss each of these hohlraum concepts and will overview the experiments that have been conducted on these systems to date. (author)

Fusion-product energy loss in inertial confinement fusion plasmas with applications to target burns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, D.B.; Miley, G.H.

1984-01-01

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) has been proposed as a competitor to magnetic fusion in the drive towards energy production, but ICF target performance still contains many uncertainties. One such area is the energy-loss rate of fusion products. This situation is due in part to the unique plasma parameters encountered in ICF plasmas which are compressed to more than one-thousand times solid density. The work presented here investigates three aspects of this uncertainty

Volume ignition of laser driven fusion pellets and double layer effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cicchitelli, L.; Eliezer, S.; Goldsworthy, M.P.; Green, F.; Hora, H.; Ray, P.S.; Stening, R.J.; Szichman, H.

1988-01-01

The realization of an ideal volume compression of laser-irradiated fusion pellets opens the possibility for an alternative to spark ignition proposed for many years for inertial confinement fusion. A re-evaluation of the difficulties of the central spark ignition of laser driven pellets is given. The alternative volume compression theory, together with volume burn and volume ignition, have received less attention and are re-evaluated in view of the experimental verification generalized fusion gain formulas, and the variation of optimum temperatures derived at self-ignition. Reactor-level DT fusion with MJ-laser pulses and volume compression to 50 times the solid-state density are estimated. Dynamic electric fields and double layers at the surface and in the interior of plasmas result in new phenomena for the acceleration of thermal electrons to suprathermal electrons. Double layers also cause a surface tension which stabilizes against surface wave effects and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. (author)

Method for mounting laser fusion targets for irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Fries, R. Jay; Farnum, Eugene H.; McCall, Gene H.

1977-07-26

Methods for preparing laser fusion targets of the ball-and-disk type are disclosed. Such targets are suitable for irradiation with one or two laser beams to produce the requisite uniform compression of the fuel material.

Lithium ion beam driven hohlraums for PBFA II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dukart, R.J.

1994-01-01

In our light ion inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program, fusion capsules are driven with an intense x-ray radiation field produced when an intense beam of ions penetrates a radiation case and deposits energy in a foam x-ray conversion region. A first step in the program is to generate and measure these intense fields on the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator II (PBFA II). Our goal is to generate a 100-eV radiation temperature in lithium ion beam driven hohlraums, the radiation environment which will provide the initial drive temperature for ion beam driven implosion systems designed to achieve high gain. In this paper, we describe the design of such hohlraum targets and their predicted performance on PBFA II as we provide increasing ion beam intensities

Antimatter Driven P-B11 Fusion Propulsion System

Science.gov (United States)

Kammash, Terry; Martin, James; Godfroy, Thomas

2002-01-01

One of the major advantages of using P-B11 fusion fuel is that the reaction produces only charged particles in the form of three alpha particles and no neutrons. A fusion concept that lends itself to this fuel cycle is the Magnetically Insulated Inertial Confinement Fusion (MICF) reactor whose distinct advantage lies in the very strong magnetic field that is created when an incident particle (or laser) beam strikes the inner wall of the target pellet. This field serves to thermally insulate the hot plasma from the metal wall thereby allowing thc plasma to burn for a long time and produce a large energy magnification. If used as a propulsion device, we propose using antiprotons to drive the system which we show to be capable of producing very large specific impulse and thrust. By way of validating the confinement propenies of MICF we will address a proposed experiment in which pellets coated with P-B11 fuel at the appropriate ratio will be zapped by a beam of antiprotons that enter the target through a hole. Calculations showing the density and temperature of the generated plasma along with the strength of the magnetic field and other properties of the system will be presented and discussed.

Inertial Fusion Driven By Intense Heavy-Ion Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharp, W.M.; Friedman, A.; Grote, D.P.; Barnard, J.J.; Cohen, R.H.; Dorf, M.A.; Lund, S.M.; Perkins, L.J.; Terry, M.R.; Logan, B.G.; Bieniosek, F.M.; Faltens, A.; Henestroza, E.; Jung, J.Y.; Kwan, J.W.; Lee, E.P.; Lidia, S.M.; Ni, P.A.; Reginato, L.L.; Roy, P.K.; Seidl, P.A.; Takakuwa, J.H.; Vay, J.-L.; Waldron, W.L.; Davidson, R.C.; Gilson, E.P.; Kaganovich, I.D.; Qin, H.; Startsev, E.; Haber, I.; Kishek, R.A.; Koniges, A.E.

2011-01-01

Intense heavy-ion beams have long been considered a promising driver option for inertial-fusion energy production. This paper briefly compares inertial confinement fusion (ICF) to the more-familiar magnetic-confinement approach and presents some advantages of using beams of heavy ions to drive ICF instead of lasers. Key design choices in heavy-ion fusion (HIF) facilities are discussed, particularly the type of accelerator. We then review experiments carried out at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) over the past thirty years to understand various aspects of HIF driver physics. A brief review follows of present HIF research in the US and abroad, focusing on a new facility, NDCX-II, being built at LBNL to study the physics of warm dense matter heated by ions, as well as aspects of HIF target physics. Future research directions are briefly summarized.

MRI/TRUS fusion software-based targeted biopsy: the new standard of care?

Science.gov (United States)

Manfredi, M; Costa Moretti, T B; Emberton, M; Villers, A; Valerio, M

2015-09-01

The advent of multiparametric MRI has made it possible to change the way in which prostate biopsy is done, allowing to direct biopsies to suspicious lesions rather than randomly. The subject of this review relates to a computer-assisted strategy, the MRI/US fusion software-based targeted biopsy, and to its performance compared to the other sampling methods. Different devices with different methods to register MR images to live TRUS are currently in use to allow software-based targeted biopsy. Main clinical indications of MRI/US fusion software-based targeted biopsy are re-biopsy in men with persistent suspicious of prostate cancer after first negative standard biopsy and the follow-up of patients under active surveillance. Some studies have compared MRI/US fusion software-based targeted versus standard biopsy. In men at risk with MRI-suspicious lesion, targeted biopsy consistently detects more men with clinically significant disease as compared to standard biopsy; some studies have also shown decreased detection of insignificant disease. Only two studies directly compared MRI/US fusion software-based targeted biopsy with MRI/US fusion visual targeted biopsy, and the diagnostic ability seems to be in favor of the software approach. To date, no study comparing software-based targeted biopsy against in-bore MRI biopsy is available. The new software-based targeted approach seems to have the characteristics to be added in the standard pathway for achieving accurate risk stratification. Once reproducibility and cost-effectiveness will be verified, the actual issue will be to determine whether MRI/TRUS fusion software-based targeted biopsy represents anadd-on test or a replacement to standard TRUS biopsy.

Scoping of fusion-driven retorting of oil shale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galloway, T.R.

1979-11-01

In the time frame beyond 2005, fusion reactors are likely to make their first appearance when the oil shale industry will probably be operating with 20% of the production derived from surface retorts operating on deep mined shale from in situ retorts and 80% from shale retorted within these in situ retorts using relatively fine shale uniformly rubblized by expensive mining methods. A process was developed where fusion reactors supply a 600 0 C mixture of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor to both surface and in situ retorts. The in situ production is accomplished by inert gas retorting, without oxygen, avoiding the burning of oil released from the larger shale particles produced in a simpler mining method. These fusion reactor-heated gases retort the oil from four 50x50x200m in-situ rubble beds at high rate of 40m/d and high yield (i.e., 95% F.A.), which provided high return on investment around 20% for the syncrude selling at $20/bbl, or 30% if sold as $30/bbl for heating oil. The bed of 600 0 C retorted shale, or char, left behind was then burned by the admission of ambient air in order to recover all of the possible energy from the shale resource. The hot combustion gases, mostly nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor are then heat-exchanged with fusion reactor blanket coolant flow to be sequentially introduced into the next rubble bed ready for retorting. The advantages of this fusion-driven retorting process concept are a cheaper mining method, high yield and higher production rate system, processing with shale grades down to 50 l/mg (12 gpt), improved resource recovery by complete char utilization and low energy losses by leaving behind a cold, spent bed

Design of a distributed radiator target for inertial fusion driven from two sides with heavy ion beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabak, M.; Callahan-Miller, D.

1997-01-01

We describe the status of a distributed radiator heavy ion target design. In integrated calculations this target ignited and produced 390-430 MJ of yieldwhen driven with 5.8-6.5 MJ of 3-4 GeV Pb ions. The target has cylindrical symmetry with disk endplates. The ions uniformly illuminate these endplates in a 5mm radius spot. We discuss the considerations which led to this design together with some previously unused design features: low density hohlraum walls in approximate pressure balance with internal low-Z fill materials, radiationsymmetry determined by the position of the radiator materials and particle ranges, and early time pressure symmetry possibly influenced by radiation shims. We discuss how this target scales to lower input energy or to lower beam power. Variant designs with more realistic beam focusing strategies are also discussed. We show the tradeoffs required for targets which accept higher particle energies

Design, construction, and characterization of high-performance membrane fusion devices with target-selectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kashiwada, Ayumi; Yamane, Iori; Tsuboi, Mana; Ando, Shun; Matsuda, Kiyomi

2012-01-31

Membrane fusion proteins such as the hemagglutinin glycoprotein have target recognition and fusion accelerative domains, where some synergistically working elements are essential for target-selective and highly effective native membrane fusion systems. In this work, novel membrane fusion devices bearing such domains were designed and constructed. We selected a phenylboronic acid derivative as a recognition domain for a sugar-like target and a transmembrane-peptide (Leu-Ala sequence) domain interacting with the target membrane, forming a stable hydrophobic α-helix and accelerating the fusion process. Artificial membrane fusion behavior between the synthetic devices in which pilot and target liposomes were incorporated was characterized by lipid-mixing and inner-leaflet lipid-mixing assays. Consequently, the devices bearing both the recognition and transmembrane domains brought about a remarkable increase in the initial rate for the membrane fusion compared with the devices containing the recognition domain alone. In addition, a weakly acidic pH-responsive device was also constructed by replacing three Leu residues in the transmembrane-peptide domain by Glu residues. The presence of Glu residues made the acidic pH-dependent hydrophobic α-helix formation possible as expected. The target-selective liposome-liposome fusion was accelerated in a weakly acidic pH range when the Glu-substituted device was incorporated in pilot liposomes. The use of this pH-responsive device seems to be a potential strategy for novel applications in a liposome-based delivery system. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Technologies using accelerator-driven targets under development at BNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Tuyle, G.J.

1994-01-01

Recent development work conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory on technologies which use particle accelerator-driven targets is summarized. These efforts include development of the Spallation-Induced Lithium Conversion (SILC) Target for the Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT), the Accelerator-Driven Assembly for Plutonium Transformation (ADAPT) Target for the Accelerator-Based Conversion (ABC) of excess weapons plutonium. The PHOENIX Concept for the accelerator-driven transmutation of minor actinides and fission products from the waste stream of commercial nuclear power plants, and other potential applications

Ion tail filling in laser-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henderson, D.B.

1975-06-01

Thermonuclear burn begins in laser-fusion targets with the collapse of the imploding fuel shell. At this instant the ion velocity distribution is non-Maxwellian, requiring correction to the commonly used computer simulation codes. This correction is computed and compared with that arising from the loss of fast ions in marginal (rho R less than 0.01 gm cm -2 ) targets. (U.S.)

Indirectly driven, high convergence inertial confinement fusion implosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cable, M.D.; Hatchett, S.P.; Caird, J.A.; Kilkenny, J.D.; Kornblum, H.N.; Lane, S.M.; Laumann, C.; Lerche, R.A.; Murphy, T.J.; Murray, J.; Nelson, M.B.; Phillion, D.W.; Powell, H.; Ress, D.B.

1994-01-01

A series of high convergence indirectly driven implosions has been done with the Nova Laser Fusion facility. These implosions were well characterized by a variety of measurements; computer models are in good agreement. The imploded fuel areal density was measured using a technique based on secondary neutron spectroscopy. At capsule convergences of 24:1, comparable to what is required for the hot spot of ignition scale capsules, these capsules achieved fuel densities of 19 g/cm 3 . Independent measurements of density, burn duration, and ion temperature gave nτθ=1.7±0.9x10 14 keV s/cm 3

Improving beam spectral and spatial quality by double-foil target in laser ion acceleration for ion-driven fast ignition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Chenkun; Albright, Brian J.

2010-01-01

Mid-Z ion driven fast ignition inertial fusion requires ion beams of 100s of MeV energy and < 10% energy spread. An overdense run-scale foil target driven by a high intensity laser pulse can produce an ion beam that has attractive properties for this application. The Break Out Afterburner (BOA) is one laser-ion acceleration mechanism proposed to generate such beams, however the late stages of the BOA tend to produce too large of an energy spread. The spectral and spatial qualities of the beam quickly evolve as the ion beam and co-moving electrons continue to interact with the laser. Here we show how use of a second target foil placed behind a nm-scale foil can substantially reduce the temperature of the co-moving electrons and improve the ion beam energy spread. Particle-In-Cell simulations reveal the dynamics of the ion beam under control. Optimal conditions for improving the spectral and spatial spread of the ion beam is explored for current laser and target parameters, leading to generation of ion beams of energy 100s of MeV and 6% energy spread, a vital step for realizing ion-driven fast ignition.

Maximum entropy restoration of laser fusion target x-ray photographs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brolley, J.E.; Lazarus, R.B.; Suydam, B.R.

1976-01-01

Maximum entropy principles were used to analyze the microdensitometer traces of a laser-fusion target photograph. The object is a glowing laser-fusion target microsphere 0.95 cm from a pinhole of radius 2 x 10 -4 cm, the image is 7.2 cm from the pinhole and the photon wavelength is likely to be 6.2 x 10 -8 cm. Some computational aspects of the problem are also considered

Inertial confinement fusion target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourdier, A.

2001-12-01

A simple, zero-dimensional model describing the temporal behaviour of an imploding-shell, magnetized fuel inertial confinement fusion target is formulated. The addition of a magnetic field to the fuel reduces thermal conduction losses. As a consequence, it might lead to high gains and reduce the driver requirements. This beneficial effect of the magnetic field on thermonuclear gains is confirmed qualitatively by the zero-dimensional model results. Still, the extent of the initial-condition space for which significant gains can occur is not, by far, as large as previously reported. One-dimensional CEA code simulations which confirm this results are also presented. Finally, we suggest to study the approach proposed by Hasegawa. In this scheme, the laser target is not imploded, and the life-time of the plasma can be very much increased. (author)

Concepts for fabrication of inertial fusion energy targets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nobile, A. (Arthur), Jr.; Hoffer, J. K. (James K.); Gobby, P. L. (Peter L.); Steckle, W. P. (Warren P.), Jr.; Goodin, D. T. (Daniel T.); Besenbruch, G. E. (Gottfried E.); Schultz, K. R. (Kenneth R.)

2001-01-01

Future inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants will have a Target Fabrication Facility (TFF) that must produce approximately 500,000 targets per day. To achieve a relatively low cost of electricity, the cost to produce these targets will need to be less than approximately $0.25 per target. In this paper the status on the development of concepts for a TFF to produce targets for a heavy ion fusion (HIF) reactor, such as HYLIFE II, and a laser direct drive fusion reactor such as Sombrero, is discussed. The baseline target that is produced in the HIF TFF is similar to the close-coupled indirect drive target designed by Callahan-Miller and Tabak at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. This target consists of a cryogenic hohlraum that is made of a metal case and a variety of metal foams and metal-doped organic foams. The target contains a DT-filled CH capsule. The baseline direct drive target is the design developed by Bodner and coworkers at Naval Research Laboratory. HIF targets can be filled with DT before or after assembly of the capsule into the hohlraum. Assembly of targets before filling allows assembly operations to be done at room temperature, but tritium inventories are much larger due to the large volume that the hohlraum occupies in the fill system. Assembly of targets cold after filling allows substantial reduction in tritium inventory, but this requires assembly of targets at cryogenic temperature. A model being developed to evaluate the tritium inventories associated with each of the assembly and fill options indicates that filling targets before assembling the capsule into the hohlraum, filling at temperatures as high as possible, and reducing dead-volumes in the fill system as much as possible offers the potential to reduce tritium inventories to acceptable levels. Use of enhanced DT ice layering techniques, such as infrared layering can reduce tritium inventories significantly by reducing the layering time and therefore the number of capsules being layered

Thermal Studies of the Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE) Target during Injection into the Fusion Chamber

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miles, R. R. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Havstad, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); LeBlanc, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Chang, A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Golosker, I. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Rosso, P. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2014-09-09

The tests of the external heat transfer coefficient suggests that the values used in the numerical analysis for the temperature distribution within the fusion fuel target following flight into the target chamber are probably valid. The tests of the heat transfer phenomena occurring within the target due the rapid heating of the LEH window for the hot gasses within the fusion chamber show that the heat does indeed convect via the internal helium environment of the target towards the capsule and that the pressure in the front compartment of the target adjacent to the LEH window increases such that t bypass venting of the internal helium into the second chamber adjacent to the capsule is needed to prevent rupture of the membranes. The bypass flow is cooled by the hohlraum during this venting. However, the experiments suggest that our internal heat flow calculations may be low by about a factor of 2. Further studies need to be conducted to investigate the differences between the experiment and the numerical analysis. Future studies could also possibly bring the test conditions closer to those expected in the fusion chamber to better validate the results. A sacrificial layer will probably be required on the LEH window of the target and this can be used to mitigate any unexpected target heating.

Ultrasmooth plasma polymerized coatings for laser-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Letts, S.A.; Myers, D.W.; Witt, L.A.

1980-01-01

Coatings for laser fusion targets were deposited up to 135 μm thick by plasma polymerization onto 140 μm diameter DT filled glass microspheres. Ultrasmooth surfaces (no defect higher than 0.1 μm) were achieved by eliminating particulate contamination. Process generated particles were eliminated by determining the optimum operating conditions of power, gas flow, and pressure, and maintaining these conditions through feedback control. From a study of coating defects grown over known surface irregularities, a quantitative relationship between irregularity size, film thickness, and defect size was determined. This relationship was used to set standards for the maximum microshell surface irregularity tolerable in the production of hydrocarbon or fluorocarbon coated laser fusion targets

Review on Recent Developments in Laser Driven Inertial Fusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Ghoranneviss

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Discovery of the laser in 1960 hopes were based on using its very high energy concentration within very short pulses of time and very small volumes for energy generation from nuclear fusion as “Inertial Fusion Energy” (IFE, parallel to the efforts to produce energy from “Magnetic Confinement Fusion” (MCF, by burning deuterium-tritium (DT in high temperature plasmas to helium. Over the years the fusion gain was increased by a number of magnitudes and has reached nearly break-even after numerous difficulties in physics and technology had been solved. After briefly summarizing laser driven IFE, we report how the recently developed lasers with pulses of petawatt power and picosecond duration may open new alternatives for IFE with the goal to possibly ignite solid or low compressed DT fuel thereby creating a simplified reactor scheme. Ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks after irradiation of picosecond (PS laser pulses of around terawatt (TW power in the range of 1020 cm/s2 was discovered by Sauerbrey (1996 as measured by Doppler effect where the laser intensity was up to about 1018 W/cm2. This is several orders of magnitude higher than acceleration by irradiation based on thermal interaction of lasers has produced.

Neutron Generation by Laser-Driven Spherically Convergent Plasma Fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, G.; Yan, J.; Liu, J.; Lan, K.; Chen, Y. H.; Huo, W. Y.; Fan, Z.; Zhang, X.; Zheng, J.; Chen, Z.; Jiang, W.; Chen, L.; Tang, Q.; Yuan, Z.; Wang, F.; Jiang, S.; Ding, Y.; Zhang, W.; He, X. T.

2017-04-01

We investigate a new laser-driven spherically convergent plasma fusion scheme (SCPF) that can produce thermonuclear neutrons stably and efficiently. In the SCPF scheme, laser beams of nanosecond pulse duration and 1 014- 1 015 W /cm2 intensity uniformly irradiate the fuel layer lined inside a spherical hohlraum. The fuel layer is ablated and heated to expand inwards. Eventually, the hot fuel plasmas converge, collide, merge, and stagnate at the central region, converting most of their kinetic energy to internal energy, forming a thermonuclear fusion fireball. With the assumptions of steady ablation and adiabatic expansion, we theoretically predict the neutron yield Yn to be related to the laser energy EL, the hohlraum radius Rh, and the pulse duration τ through a scaling law of Yn∝(EL/Rh1.2τ0.2 )2.5. We have done experiments at the ShengGuangIII-prototype facility to demonstrate the principle of the SCPF scheme. Some important implications are discussed.

Numerical studies of deuterium-tritium ignition in impact-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zubrin, R.M.; Ribe, F.L.

1989-01-01

A numerical one-dimensional solution of the Euler equations for an imploding spherical tungsten shell with internal deuterium-tritium gas is applied to study impact-fusion dynamics with parameters of fusion reactor relevance. Thermal conduction and radiative energy loss by the plasma are taken into account, as is heating by fusion generated alpha particles. A variety of target sizes and impact velocities are examined, and scaling laws for fusion yields are deduced which define possible parameters for conceptual commercial impact-fusion power reactors. It is found that shell energies and velocities of about 30 MJ and 110 km/s would be satisfactory. A commercial impact-fusion reactor based on such parameters is discussed

Public acceptance of fusion energy and scientific feasibility of a fusion reactor. Design of inductively driven long pulse tokamak reactors: IDLT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, Yuichi

1998-01-01

Based on scientific data based adopted for designing ITER plasmas and on the advancement of fusion nuclear technology from the recent R and D program, the scientific feasibility of inductively-driven tokamak fusion reactors is studied. A low wall-loading DEMO fusion reactor is designed, which utilizes an austenitic stainless steel in conjunction with significant data bases and operating experiences, since we have given high priority to the early and reliable realization of a tokamak fusion plasma over the cost performance. Since the DEMO reactor with the relatively large volume (i.e., major radius of 10 m) is employed, plasma ignition is achievable with a low fusion power of 0.8 GW, and an operation period of 4 - 5 hours is available only with inductive current drive. Disadvantages of pulsed operation in commercial fusion reactors include fatigue in structural materials and the necessity of an energy storage system to compensate the electric power during the dwell time. To overcome these disadvantages, a pulse length is prolonged up to about 10 hours, resulting in the remarkable reduction of the total cycle number to 10 4 during the life of the fusion plant. (author)

Analysis of directly driven ICF targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velarde, G.; Aragones, J.M.; Gago, J.A.

1986-01-01

The current capabilities at DENIM for the analysis of directly driven targets are presented. These include theoretical, computational and applied physical studies and developments of detailed simulation models for the most relevant processes in ICF. The simulation of directly driven ICF targets is carried out with the one-dimensional NORCLA code developed at DENIM. This code contains two main segments: NORMA and CLARA, able to work fully coupled and in an iterative manner. NORMA solves the hydrodynamic equations in a lagrangian mesh. It has modular programs couple to it to treat the laser or particle beam interaction with matter. Equations of state, opacities and conductivities are taken from a DENIM atomic data library, generated externally with other codes that will also be explained in this work. CLARA solves the transport equation for neutrons, as well as for charged particles, and suprathermal electrons using discrete ordinates and finite element methods in the computational procedure. Parametric calculations of multilayered single-shell targets driven by heavy ion beams are also analyzed. Finally, conclusions are focused on the ongoing developments in the areas of interest such as: radiation transport, atomic physics, particle in cell method, charged particle transport, two-dimensional calculations and instabilities. (author)

Parametric study of a target factory for laser fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherohman, J.W.; Meier, W.R.

1980-01-01

An analysis of a target factory leading to the derivation of production rate equations has provided the basis for a parametric study. Rate equations describing the production of laser fusion targets have been developed for the purpose of identifying key parameters, attractive production techniques and cost scaling relationships for a commercial target factory

Muon catalyzed fusion - fission reactor driven by a recirculating beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eliezer, S.; Tajima, T.; Rosenbluth, M.N.

1986-01-01

The recent experimentally inferred value of multiplicity of fusion of deuterium and tritium catalyzed by muons has rekindled interest in its application to reactors. Since the main energy expended is in pion (and consequent muon) productions, we try to minimize the pion loss by magnetically confining pions where they are created. Although it appears at this moment not possible to achieve energy gain by pure fusion, it is possible to gain energy by combining catalyzed fusion with fission blankets. We present two new ideas that improve the muon fusion reactor concept. The first idea is to combine the target, the converter of pions into muons, and the synthesizer into one (the synergetic concept). This is accomplished by injecting a tritium or deuterium beam of 1 GeV/nucleon into DT fuel contained in a magnetic mirror. The confined pions slow down and decay into muons, which are confined in the fuel causing little muon loss. The necessary quantity of tritium to keep the reactor viable has been derived. The second idea is that the beam passing through the target is collected for reuse and recirculated, while the strongly interacted portion of the beam is directed to electronuclear blankets. The present concepts are based on known technologies and on known physical processes and data. 29 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs

An optimized hydrogen target for muon catalyzed fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gheisari, R., E-mail: gheisari@pgu.ac.i [Physics Department, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr 75169 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2011-04-01

This paper deals with the optimization of the processes involved in muon catalyzed fusion. Muon catalyzed fusion ({mu}CF) is studied in all layers of the solid hydrogen structure H/0.1%T+D{sub 2}+HD. The layer H/T acts as an emitter source of energetic t{mu} atoms, due to the so-called Ramsauer-Townsend effect. These t{mu} atoms are slowed down in the second layer (degrader) and are forced to take place nuclear fusion in HD. The degrader affects time evolution of t{mu} atomic beam. This effect has not been considered until now in {mu}CF-multilayered targets. Due to muon cycling and this effect, considerable reactions occur in the degrader. In our calculations, it is shown that the fusion yield equals 180{+-}1.5. It is possible to separate events that overlap in time.

Challenges Surrounding the Injection and Arrival of Targets at LIFE Fusion Chamber Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miles, R; Spaeth, M; Manes, K; Amendt, P; Tabak, M; Bond, T; Kucheyev, S; Latkowski, J; Loosmore, G; Bliss, E; Baker, K; Bhandarkar, S; Petzoldt, R; Alexander, N; Tillack, M; Holdener, D

2010-12-01

IFE target designers must consider several engineering requirements in addition to the physics requirements for successful target implosion. These considerations include low target cost, high manufacturing throughput, the ability of the target to survive the injection into the fusion chamber and arrive in a condition and physical position consistent with proper laser-target interaction and ease of post-implosion debris removal. This article briefly describes these considerations for the Laser Inertial Fusion-based Energy (LIFE) targets currently being designed.

SAR Target Recognition Based on Multi-feature Multiple Representation Classifier Fusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Xinzheng

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR image target recognition algorithm based on multi-feature multiple representation learning classifier fusion. First, it extracts three features from the SAR images, namely principal component analysis, wavelet transform, and Two-Dimensional Slice Zernike Moments (2DSZM features. Second, we harness the sparse representation classifier and the cooperative representation classifier with the above-mentioned features to get six predictive labels. Finally, we adopt classifier fusion to obtain the final recognition decision. We researched three different classifier fusion algorithms in our experiments, and the results demonstrate thatusing Bayesian decision fusion gives thebest recognition performance. The method based on multi-feature multiple representation learning classifier fusion integrates the discrimination of multi-features and combines the sparse and cooperative representation classification performance to gain complementary advantages and to improve recognition accuracy. The experiments are based on the Moving and Stationary Target Acquisition and Recognition (MSTAR database,and they demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Non-LTE effects in inertial confinement fusion target chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacFarlane, J.J.; Moses, G.A.; Peterson, R.R.

1989-01-01

In previous studies of transport processes in inertial confinement fusion target chambers, the radiative properties of the background plasma were calculated under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). In this paper, the authors present a study of the equation of state and the radiative properties of high temperature, low-to-moderate density ( 21 cm -3 ) plasmas for the determination of the conditions under which non-LTE effects become important and for an assessment of the importance of non-LTE processes in target chambers during high yield inertial fusion target explosions. For this purpose, two-body (radiative and dielectronic) and three-body (collisional) recombination and de-excitation processes are considered in calculating the steady state ionization and excitation populations. The results of this study indicate that non-LTE processes generally become important at temperatures of > or approx. 1, 10 and 100 eV for plasma densities of 10 18 , 10 19 and 10 21 cm -3 , respectively. Radiation hydrodynamic simulations utilizing the equation of state and the opacities for a non-LTE argon plasma were performed to study the response of a background gas to an inertial fusion target explosion. These calculations indicate that non-LTE processes are often the dominant atomic processes in the background plasma and that they can strongly affect the radiative and shock properties as energy is transported away from the point of the target explosion. (author). 22 refs, 10 figs, 1 tab

Progress toward fusion with light ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

New results in target design, beam generation and transport, and pulse power technology have led to a program shift stressing light ion-driven inertial confinement fusion. According to present estimates, a gain ten fusion pellet will require at least one megajoule and approx. 100 TW power input. Progress in ion sources has resulted in beam power density of approx. 1 TW/cm 2 , a factor of ten increase over the last year, and cylindrical implosion experiments have been performed. Other experiments have demonstrated the ability to transport ion and electron beams with high efficiency and have confirmed numerical predictions on the properties of beam transport channels converging at a target. These developments together with improvements in pulse power technology allow us to project that the 72 beam, 100 TW Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator, PBFA-II will attain target output energy equal to stored energy in the accelerator

Neutronics analysis of minor actinides transmutation in a fusion-driven subcritical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Chao; Cao, Liangzhi; Wu, Hongchun; Zheng, Youqi; Zu, Tiejun

2013-01-01

Highlights: • A fusion fission hybrid system for MA transmutation is proposed. • The analysis of neutronics effects on the transmutation is performed. • The transmutation rate of MA reaches 86.5% by 25 times of recycling. -- Abstract: The minor actinides (MAs) transmutation in a fusion-driven subcritical system is analyzed in this paper. The subcritical reactor is driven by a tokamak D-T fusion device with relatively easily achieved plasma parameters and tokamak technologies. The MAs discharged from the light water reactor (LWR) are loaded in transmutation zone. Sodium is used as the coolant. The mass percentage of the reprocessed plutonium (Pu) in the fuel is raised from 0 to 48% and stepped by 12% to determine its effect on the MAs transmutation. The lesser the Pu is loaded, the larger the MAs transmutation rate is, but the smaller the energy multiplication factor is. The neutronics analysis of two loading patterns is performed and compared. The loading pattern where the mass percentage of Pu in two regions is 15% and 32.9% respectively is conducive to the improvement of the transmutation fraction within the limits of burn-up. The final transmutation fraction of MAs can reach 17.8% after five years of irradiation. The multiple recycling is investigated. The transmutation fraction of MAs can reach about 61.8% after six times of recycling, and goes up to about 86.5% after 25

Laser fusion target fabrication. Status report, 30 April 1974

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fries, R.J.; Farnum, E.H.

1974-11-01

The laser fusion target fabrication effort at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory has been successful in producing targets of the general design requested by, and with a range of parameters acceptable to, the theoretical designers and to the laser/target interaction physics experimentalists. Many novel techniques for handling and measuring the properties of various types of hollow microballoons were developed. (U.S.)

Implications of recent implantation-driven permeation experiments for fusion reactor safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhurst, G.R.; Anderl, R.A.; Struttmann, D.A.

1986-01-01

Metal structures exposed to the plasma in tritium-burning fusion reactors will be subject to implantation-driven permeation (IDP) of tritium. Permeation rates for IDP in fusion structural materials are usually high because the tritium atoms enter the material without having to go through the dissociation and solution steps required of tritium-bearing gas molecules. These surface processes, which may be rate limiting in PDP, actually enhance permeation in IDP by inhibiting the return of tritium to the plasma side of the structure. Experiments have been conducted at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) to investigate the nature of IDP by simulating conditions experienced by structures exposed to the plasma. These experiments have shown that surface conditions are important to tritium permeation in materials endothermic to hydrogen solution such as austenitic and ferritic steels. In reactive metals such as vanadium, surface processes appear to totally control the permeation. The purpose of this paper is to review the progress of those experiments and to discuss the implications that the results have regarding the tritium-related safety concerns of fusion reactors

Performance of Shiva as a laser fusion irradiation facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Speck, D.R.; Bliss, E.S.; Glaze, J.A.; Johnson, B.C.; Manes, K.R.; Ozarski, R.G.; Rupert, P.R.; Simmons, W.W.; Swift, C.D.; Thompson, C.E.

1979-01-01

Shiva is a 20 beam Nd:Glass Laser and Target Irradiation Facility at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. The laser system and integrated target facility evolved during the last year from a large, untested, experimental laser system to a target irradiation facility which has provided significant laser driven inertial confinement fusion data. The operation of the facility is discussed

Compression of magnetized target in the magneto-inertial fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzenov, V. V.

2017-12-01

This paper presents a mathematical model, numerical method and results of the computer analysis of the compression process and the energy transfer in the target plasma, used in magneto-inertial fusion. The computer simulation of the compression process of magnetized cylindrical target by high-power laser pulse is presented.

Recent developments in laser-fusion target coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fries, R.J.; Catlett, D.S.; Fossey, D.; Mayer, A.; McCreary, W.J.; Powell, B.W.; Simonsic, G.A.

1976-01-01

Techniques to fabricate hollow, spherical, multilayered laser-fusion targets are described. The first is a glow discharge polymerization process for plastic coating. A chemical vapor deposition process for depositing Mo/Re alloys is also discussed along with some new techniques for electrodeless plating and for electroplating a wide variety of metals

Hydrodynamic instabilities in inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freeman, J.R.

1977-01-01

Inertial confinement fusion targets generally consist of hollow high-density spheres filled with low density thermonuclear fuel. Targets driven ablatively by electrons, ions, or lasers are potentially unstable during the initial acceleration phase. Later in time, the relatively low density fuel decelerates the dense inner portion of the sphere (termed the pusher), permitting unstable growth at the fuel-pusher interface. The instabilities are of the Rayleigh-Taylor variety, modified by thermal and viscous diffusion and convection. These problems have been analyzed by many in recent years using both linearized perturbation methods and direct numerical simulation. Examples of two-dimensional simulations of the fuel-pusher instability in electron beam fusion targets will be presented, along with a review of possible stabilization mechanisms

Copper-coated laser-fusion targets using molecular-beam levitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rocke, M.J.

1981-01-01

A series of diagnostic experiments at the Shiva laser fusion facility required targets of glass microspheres coated with 1.5 to 3.0 μm of copper. Previous batch coating efforts using vibration techniques gave poor results due to microsphere sticking and vacuum welding. Molecular Beam Levitation (MBL) represented a noncontact method to produce a sputtered copper coating on a single glassmicrosphere. The coating specifications that were achieved resulted in a copper layer up to 3 μm thick with the allowance of a maximum variation of 10 nm in surface finish and thickness. These techniques developed with the MBL may be applied to sputter coat many soft metals for fusion target applications

Metal coatings for laser fusion targets by electroplating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Illige, J.D.; Yu, C.M.; Letts, S.A.

1980-01-01

Metal coated laser fusion targets must be dense, uniform spherically symmetric to within a few percent of their diameters and smooth to better than a few tenths of a micron. Electroplating offers some unique advantages including low temperature deposition, a wide choice of elements and substantial industrial plating technology. We have evaluatd electroless and electroplating systems for gold and copper, identified the factors responsible for small grain size, and plated glass microspheres with both metals to achieve smooth surfaces and highly symmetric coatings. We have developed plating cells which sustain the microspheres in continuous random motion during plating. We have established techniques for deposition of the initial conductive adherent layer on the glass microsphere surface. Coatings as thick as 15 μm have been made. The equipment is simple, relatively inexpensive and may be adopted for high volume production of laser fusion targets

Bump evolution driven by the x-ray ablation Richtmyer-Meshkov effect in plastic inertial confinement fusion Ablators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loomis Eric

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Growth of hydrodynamic instabilities at the interfaces of inertial confinement fusion capsules (ICF due to ablator and fuel non-uniformities are a primary concern for the ICF program. Recently, observed jetting and parasitic mix into the fuel were attributed to isolated defects on the outer surface of the capsule. Strategies for mitigation of these defects exist, however, they require reduced uncertainties in Equation of State (EOS models prior to invoking them. In light of this, we have begun a campaign to measure the growth of isolated defects (bumps due to x-ray ablation Richtmyer-Meshkov in plastic ablators to validate these models. Experiments used hohlraums with radiation temperatures near 70 eV driven by 15 beams from the Omega laser (Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, NY, which sent a ∼1.25Mbar shock into a planar CH target placed over one laser entrance hole. Targets consisted of 2-D arrays of quasi-gaussian bumps (10 microns tall, 34 microns FWHM deposited on the surface facing into the hohlraum. On-axis radiography with a saran (Cl Heα − 2.76keV backlighter was used to measure bump evolution prior to shock breakout. Shock speed measurements were also performed to determine target conditions. Simulations using the LEOS 5310 and SESAME 7592 models required the simulated laser power be turned down to 80 and 88%, respectively to match observed shock speeds. Both LEOS 5310 and SESAME 7592 simulations agreed with measured bump areal densities out to 6 ns where ablative RM oscillations were observed in previous laser-driven experiments, but did not occur in the x-ray driven case. The QEOS model, conversely, over predicted shock speeds and under predicted areal density in the bump.

Technological aspects of cryogenic laser-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musinski, D.L.; Henderson, T.M.; Simms, R.J.; Pattinson, T.R.; Jacobs, R.B.

1980-01-01

Most current laser-fusion targets consist of hollow spherical glass shells which have been filled with a mixture of gaseous deuterium-tritium fuel. Theoretical considerations suggest that optimum yields can be obtained from these targets if the fuel is condensed as a uniform liquid or solid layer on the inner surface of the glass shell at the time it is irradiated. In principle, this can be accomplished in a straightforward way by cooling the target below the condensation or freezing point of the fuel. In practice, cryogenic targets can appear in routine laser experiments only when the necessary cryogenic technology is reliably integrated into experimental target chambers. Significant progress has been made recently in this field. The authors will discuss the scientific basis and the various technological features of a system which has allowed the successful irradiation of uniform solid-fuel-layer targets

Henipavirus Mediated Membrane Fusion, Virus Entry and Targeted Therapeutics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitar B. Nikolov

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The Paramyxoviridae genus Henipavirus is presently represented by the type species Hendra and Nipah viruses which are both recently emerged zoonotic viral pathogens responsible for repeated outbreaks associated with high morbidity and mortality in Australia, Southeast Asia, India and Bangladesh. These enveloped viruses bind and enter host target cells through the coordinated activities of their attachment (G and class I fusion (F envelope glycoproteins. The henipavirus G glycoprotein interacts with host cellular B class ephrins, triggering conformational alterations in G that lead to the activation of the F glycoprotein, which facilitates the membrane fusion process. Using the recently published structures of HeV-G and NiV-G and other paramyxovirus glycoproteins, we review the features of the henipavirus envelope glycoproteins that appear essential for mediating the viral fusion process, including receptor binding, G-F interaction, F activation, with an emphasis on G and the mutations that disrupt viral infectivity. Finally, recent candidate therapeutics for henipavirus-mediated disease are summarized in light of their ability to inhibit HeV and NiV entry by targeting their G and F glycoproteins.

Progress towards a high-gain and robust target design for heavy ion fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henestroza, Enrique; Grant Logan, B. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

2012-07-15

Recently [E. Henestroza et al., Phys. Plasmas 18, 032702 (2011)], a new inertial-fusion target configuration, the X-target, using one-sided axial illumination has been explored. This class of target uses annular and solid-profile heavy ion beams to compress and ignite deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel that fills the interior of metal cases that have side-view cross sections in the shape of an 'X.' X-targets using all-DT-filled metal cases imploded by three annular ion beams resulted in fuel densities of {approx}50 g/cm{sup 3} at peak compression, and fusion gains of {approx}50, comparable to heavy ion driven hohlraum targets [D. A. Callahan-Miller and M. Tabak, Phys. Plasmas 7, 2083 (2000)]. This paper discusses updated X-target configurations that incorporate inside the case a propellant (plastic) and a pusher (aluminum) surrounding the DT fuel. The updated configurations are capable of assembling higher fuel areal densities {approx}2 g/cm{sup 2} using two annular beams to implode the target to peak DT densities {approx}100 g/cm{sup 3}, followed by a fast-ignition solid ion beam which heats the high-density fuel to thermonuclear temperatures in {approx}200 ps to start the burn propagation, obtaining gains of {approx}300. These targets have been modeled using the radiation-hydrodynamics code HYDRA [M. M. Marinak et al., Phys. Plasmas 8, 2275 (2001)] in two- and three- dimensions to study the properties of the implosion as well as the ignition and burn propagation phases. At typical Eulerian mesh resolutions of a few microns, the aluminum-DT interface shows negligible Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) and Richtmyer-Meshkov instability growth; also, the shear flow of the DT fuel as it slides along the metal X-target walls, which drives the RT and Kelvin Helmholtz instabilities, does not have a major effect on the burning rate. An analytic estimate of the RT instability process at the Al-DT interface shows that the aluminum spikes generated during the pusher deceleration phase

Studies on radiation symmetrization in heavy-ion driven hohlraum targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Temporal, M.; Atzeni, S.

1993-01-01

Radiation symmetrization within spherical, ellipsoidal and cylindral hohlraum targets for heavy ion inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is studied by means of a 3-D numerical, static model, in which realistic assumptions are made concerning the geometry of the system and, particularly, of the radiation converters. Among the systems so far studied, only spherical hohlraums with six converters achieve the illumination symmetry of the fusion capsule considered necessary for ICF applications. A parametric study of cylindrical hohlraums enlightens the effect of several parameter changes, and suggests directions for further studies, aiming at the design of two-converter targets

High pressure deuterium-tritium gas target vessels for muon-catalyzed fusion experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caffrey, A.J.; Spaletta, H.W.; Ware, A.G.; Zabriskie, J.M.; Hardwick, D.A.; Maltrud, H.R.; Paciotti, M.A.

1989-01-01

In experimental studies of muon-catalyzed fusion, the density of the hydrogen gas mixture is an important parameter. Catalysis of up to 150 fusions per muon has been observed in deuterium-tritium gas mixtures at liquid hydrogen density; at room temperature, such densities require a target gas pressure of the order of 1000 atmospheres (100 MPa, 15,000 psi). We report here the design considerations for hydrogen gas target vessels for muon-catalyzed fusion experiments that operate at 1000 and 10,000 atmospheres. The 1000 atmosphere high pressure target vessels are fabricated of Type A-286 stainless steel and lined with oxygen-free, high-conductivity (OFHC) copper to provide a barrier to hydrogen permeation of the stainless steel. The 10,000 atmosphere ultrahigh pressure target vessels are made from 18Ni (200 grade) maraging steel and are lined with OFHC copper, again to prevent hydrogen permeation of the steel. In addition to target design features, operating requirements, fabrication procedures, and secondary containment are discussed. 13 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

Fusion energy research with lasers, direct drive targets, and dry wall chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sethian, J.D.; Obenschain, S.P.; Myers, M.

2003-01-01

We are carrying out a coordinated, focused effort to develop Laser Inertial Fusion Energy. The key components are developed in concert with one another and the science and engineering issues are addressed concurrently. Significant progress has been made in this program: We are evaluating target designs that show it could be possible to achieve the high gains (>100) needed for a practical fusion system. These have a low density CH foam that is wicked with solid DT, and over coated with a thin high-Z layer. Significant advances have been made with the two types of laser are being developed: Krypton Fluoride (KrF) gas lasers and Diode Pumped Solid State Lasers (DPPSL). Both have the potential to meet the fusion energy requirements for rep-rate, efficiency, durability and cost. This paper also presents the advances in development of chamber operating windows (target survival plus no wall erosion), final optics (aluminum at grazing incidence has high reflectivity and exceeds required laser damage threshold), target fabrication (advanced foams and high Z overcoats), and target injection (new facility for target injection and tracking studies). (author)

Multiple-beam laser–plasma interactions in inertial confinement fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myatt, J. F., E-mail: jmya@lle.rochester.edu; Zhang, J.; Maximov, A. V. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299 (United States); Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627 (United States); Short, R. W.; Seka, W.; Edgell, D. H.; Michel, D. T.; Igumenshchev, I. V. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299 (United States); Froula, D. H. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0171 (United States); Hinkel, D. E.; Michel, P.; Moody, J. D. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551-0808 (United States)

2014-05-15

The experimental evidence for multiple-beam laser-plasma instabilities of relevance to laser driven inertial confinement fusion at the ignition scale is reviewed, in both the indirect and direct-drive approaches. The instabilities described are cross-beam energy transfer (in both indirectly driven targets on the NIF and in direct-drive targets), multiple-beam stimulated Raman scattering (for indirect-drive), and multiple-beam two-plasmon decay instability (in direct drive). Advances in theoretical understanding and in the numerical modeling of these multiple beam instabilities are presented.

Electrostatics, small particles, and laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendricks, C.D.

1978-01-01

The success of any Inertial Confinement Fusion system for the production of useful power depends critically on the production of suitable targets. This is true whether the arrangement is that proposed by Nuckolls et al. or some other arrangement. The target must have characteristics such as material composition, structure, and surface finish which are tailored to the laser pulse length, energy, peak and average power and pulse shape. To provide useful power on a continuous basis, it is likely that the repetition rate will be 1.0 to 10 per second. Thus, in a 24 hour running period 864,000 targets may be necessary and one must be placed at the focal point of the laser every tenth of a second. For economic operation it is necessary that the targets be produced at costs of less than $1.00 per target

Electrostatic levitation and transport of laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, W.L.; Hendricks, C.D.

1980-01-01

Several levitation concepts have been evaluated resulting in the electrostatic quadrupole being chosen as the most universal. A levitator has been constructed to handle laser fusion targets during and between the processing steps. The levitator is based on a quadrupole rail which is segmented to provide electrically controlled transport and confinement along the rail. This device has demonstrated transport both vertical and horizontal of targets with appropriate mass to size ratios and exhibits remarkably stable confinement at atmospheric pressure

Magnetized target fusion: An ultra high energy approach in an unexplored parameter space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindemuth, I.R.

1994-01-01

Magnetized target fusion is a concept that may lead to practical fusion applications in a variety of settings. However, the crucial first step is to demonstrate that it works as advertised. Among the possibilities for doing this is an ultrahigh energy approach to magnetized target fusion, one powered by explosive pulsed power generators that have become available for application to thermonuclear fusion research. In a collaborative effort between Los Alamos and the All-Russian Scientific Institute for Experimental Physics (VNIIEF) a very powerful helical generator with explosive power switching has been used to produce an energetic magnetized plasma. Several diagnostics have been fielded to ascertain the properties of this plasma. We are intensively studying the results of the experiments and calculationally analyzing the performance of this experiment

Assessment of ion kinetic effects in shock-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions using fusion burn imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenberg, M. J.; Séguin, F. H.; Rinderknecht, H. G.; Zylstra, A. B.; Li, C. K.; Sio, H.; Johnson, M. Gatu; Frenje, J. A.; Petrasso, R. D.; Amendt, P. A.; Wilks, S. C.; Pino, J.; Atzeni, S.; Hoffman, N. M.; Kagan, G.; Molvig, K.; Glebov, V. Yu.; Stoeckl, C.; Seka, W.; Marshall, F. J.

2015-01-01

The significance and nature of ion kinetic effects in D 3 He-filled, shock-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions are assessed through measurements of fusion burn profiles. Over this series of experiments, the ratio of ion-ion mean free path to minimum shell radius (the Knudsen number, N K ) was varied from 0.3 to 9 in order to probe hydrodynamic-like to strongly kinetic plasma conditions; as the Knudsen number increased, hydrodynamic models increasingly failed to match measured yields, while an empirically-tuned, first-step model of ion kinetic effects better captured the observed yield trends [Rosenberg et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 185001 (2014)]. Here, spatially resolved measurements of the fusion burn are used to examine kinetic ion transport effects in greater detail, adding an additional dimension of understanding that goes beyond zero-dimensional integrated quantities to one-dimensional profiles. In agreement with the previous findings, a comparison of measured and simulated burn profiles shows that models including ion transport effects are able to better match the experimental results. In implosions characterized by large Knudsen numbers (N K  ∼ 3), the fusion burn profiles predicted by hydrodynamics simulations that exclude ion mean free path effects are peaked far from the origin, in stark disagreement with the experimentally observed profiles, which are centrally peaked. In contrast, a hydrodynamics simulation that includes a model of ion diffusion is able to qualitatively match the measured profile shapes. Therefore, ion diffusion or diffusion-like processes are identified as a plausible explanation of the observed trends, though further refinement of the models is needed for a more complete and quantitative understanding of ion kinetic effects

Assessment of ion kinetic effects in shock-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions using fusion burn imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosenberg, M. J., E-mail: mros@lle.rochester.edu; Séguin, F. H.; Rinderknecht, H. G.; Zylstra, A. B.; Li, C. K.; Sio, H.; Johnson, M. Gatu; Frenje, J. A.; Petrasso, R. D. [Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Amendt, P. A.; Wilks, S. C.; Pino, J. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Atzeni, S. [Dipartimento SBAI, Università di Roma “La Sapienza” and CNISM, Via A. Scarpa 14-16, I-00161 Roma (Italy); Hoffman, N. M.; Kagan, G.; Molvig, K. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); Glebov, V. Yu.; Stoeckl, C.; Seka, W.; Marshall, F. J. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States); and others

2015-06-15

The significance and nature of ion kinetic effects in D{sup 3}He-filled, shock-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions are assessed through measurements of fusion burn profiles. Over this series of experiments, the ratio of ion-ion mean free path to minimum shell radius (the Knudsen number, N{sub K}) was varied from 0.3 to 9 in order to probe hydrodynamic-like to strongly kinetic plasma conditions; as the Knudsen number increased, hydrodynamic models increasingly failed to match measured yields, while an empirically-tuned, first-step model of ion kinetic effects better captured the observed yield trends [Rosenberg et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 185001 (2014)]. Here, spatially resolved measurements of the fusion burn are used to examine kinetic ion transport effects in greater detail, adding an additional dimension of understanding that goes beyond zero-dimensional integrated quantities to one-dimensional profiles. In agreement with the previous findings, a comparison of measured and simulated burn profiles shows that models including ion transport effects are able to better match the experimental results. In implosions characterized by large Knudsen numbers (N{sub K} ∼ 3), the fusion burn profiles predicted by hydrodynamics simulations that exclude ion mean free path effects are peaked far from the origin, in stark disagreement with the experimentally observed profiles, which are centrally peaked. In contrast, a hydrodynamics simulation that includes a model of ion diffusion is able to qualitatively match the measured profile shapes. Therefore, ion diffusion or diffusion-like processes are identified as a plausible explanation of the observed trends, though further refinement of the models is needed for a more complete and quantitative understanding of ion kinetic effects.

Review of target studies for heavy ion fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindl, J.D.; Bangerter, R.D.; Mark, J.W.K.; Pan, Y.L.

1986-01-01

We present an updated set of gain curves for radiation driven ion beam targets. The improved target performance calculated with nuclear spin polarized fuel will also be discussed. We discuss the conditions required for efficient conversion to x-rays of ion beam energy. These requirements are compared with those obtained for lasers. Recent results on symmetry requirements for direct drive ion beam targets are presented

Kaliski's explosive driven fusion experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, J.

1979-01-01

An experiment performed by a group in Poland on the production of DD fusion neutrons by purely explosive means is discussed. A method for multiplying shock velocities ordinarily available from high explosives by a factor of ten is described, and its application to DD fusion experiments is discussed

Robust Ground Target Detection by SAR and IR Sensor Fusion Using Adaboost-Based Feature Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sungho; Song, Woo-Jin; Kim, So-Hyun

2016-01-01

Long-range ground targets are difficult to detect in a noisy cluttered environment using either synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images or infrared (IR) images. SAR-based detectors can provide a high detection rate with a high false alarm rate to background scatter noise. IR-based approaches can detect hot targets but are affected strongly by the weather conditions. This paper proposes a novel target detection method by decision-level SAR and IR fusion using an Adaboost-based machine learning scheme to achieve a high detection rate and low false alarm rate. The proposed method consists of individual detection, registration, and fusion architecture. This paper presents a single framework of a SAR and IR target detection method using modified Boolean map visual theory (modBMVT) and feature-selection based fusion. Previous methods applied different algorithms to detect SAR and IR targets because of the different physical image characteristics. One method that is optimized for IR target detection produces unsuccessful results in SAR target detection. This study examined the image characteristics and proposed a unified SAR and IR target detection method by inserting a median local average filter (MLAF, pre-filter) and an asymmetric morphological closing filter (AMCF, post-filter) into the BMVT. The original BMVT was optimized to detect small infrared targets. The proposed modBMVT can remove the thermal and scatter noise by the MLAF and detect extended targets by attaching the AMCF after the BMVT. Heterogeneous SAR and IR images were registered automatically using the proposed RANdom SAmple Region Consensus (RANSARC)-based homography optimization after a brute-force correspondence search using the detected target centers and regions. The final targets were detected by feature-selection based sensor fusion using Adaboost. The proposed method showed good SAR and IR target detection performance through feature selection-based decision fusion on a synthetic database generated

Robust Ground Target Detection by SAR and IR Sensor Fusion Using Adaboost-Based Feature Selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sungho Kim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Long-range ground targets are difficult to detect in a noisy cluttered environment using either synthetic aperture radar (SAR images or infrared (IR images. SAR-based detectors can provide a high detection rate with a high false alarm rate to background scatter noise. IR-based approaches can detect hot targets but are affected strongly by the weather conditions. This paper proposes a novel target detection method by decision-level SAR and IR fusion using an Adaboost-based machine learning scheme to achieve a high detection rate and low false alarm rate. The proposed method consists of individual detection, registration, and fusion architecture. This paper presents a single framework of a SAR and IR target detection method using modified Boolean map visual theory (modBMVT and feature-selection based fusion. Previous methods applied different algorithms to detect SAR and IR targets because of the different physical image characteristics. One method that is optimized for IR target detection produces unsuccessful results in SAR target detection. This study examined the image characteristics and proposed a unified SAR and IR target detection method by inserting a median local average filter (MLAF, pre-filter and an asymmetric morphological closing filter (AMCF, post-filter into the BMVT. The original BMVT was optimized to detect small infrared targets. The proposed modBMVT can remove the thermal and scatter noise by the MLAF and detect extended targets by attaching the AMCF after the BMVT. Heterogeneous SAR and IR images were registered automatically using the proposed RANdom SAmple Region Consensus (RANSARC-based homography optimization after a brute-force correspondence search using the detected target centers and regions. The final targets were detected by feature-selection based sensor fusion using Adaboost. The proposed method showed good SAR and IR target detection performance through feature selection-based decision fusion on a synthetic

Energetics of semi-catalyzed-deuterium, light-water-moderated, fusion-fission toroidal reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jassby, D.L.; Towner, H.H.; Greenspan, E.; Schneider, A.; Misolovin, A.; Gilai, D.

1978-07-01

The semi-catalyzed-deuterium Light-Water Hybrid Reactor (LWHR) comprises a lithium-free light-water-moderated blanket with U 3 Si fuel driven by a deuterium-based fusion-neutron source, with complete burn-up of the tritium but almost no burn-up of the helium-3 reaction product. A one-dimensional model for a neutral-beam-driven tokamak plasma is used to determine the operating modes under which the fusion energy multiplication Q/sub p/ can be equal to or greater than 0.5. Thermonuclear, beam-target, and energetic-ion reactions are taken into account. The most feasible operating conditions for Q/sub p/ approximately 0.5 are tau/sub E/ = 2 to 4 x 10 14 cm -3 s, = 10 to 20 keV, and E/sub beam/ = 500 to 1000 keV, with approximately 40% of the fusion energy produced by beam-target reactions. Illustrative parameters of LWHRs are compared with those of an ignited D-T reactor

An Efficient Method for Identifying Gene Fusions by Targeted RNA Sequencing from Fresh Frozen and FFPE Samples.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan A Scolnick

Full Text Available Fusion genes are known to be key drivers of tumor growth in several types of cancer. Traditionally, detecting fusion genes has been a difficult task based on fluorescent in situ hybridization to detect chromosomal abnormalities. More recently, RNA sequencing has enabled an increased pace of fusion gene identification. However, RNA-Seq is inefficient for the identification of fusion genes due to the high number of sequencing reads needed to detect the small number of fusion transcripts present in cells of interest. Here we describe a method, Single Primer Enrichment Technology (SPET, for targeted RNA sequencing that is customizable to any target genes, is simple to use, and efficiently detects gene fusions. Using SPET to target 5701 exons of 401 known cancer fusion genes for sequencing, we were able to identify known and previously unreported gene fusions from both fresh-frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE tissue RNA in both normal tissue and cancer cells.

Electrolytic coating of microparticles for laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayer, A.; Catlett, D.S.

1977-04-01

An electroplating apparatus for applying uniform metallic coatings that have excellent surface finishes to discrete microparticles is described. The device is used to electrodeposit metals onto thin-walled metal, metallized glass, or plastic mandrels. The apparatus and process were developed for fabrication of microsphere pressure vessels to be used as targets in laser fusion research

The Multifaceted Role of SNARE Proteins in Membrane Fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jing; Pluhackova, Kristyna; Böckmann, Rainer A

2017-01-01

Membrane fusion is a key process in all living organisms that contributes to a variety of biological processes including viral infection, cell fertilization, as well as intracellular transport, and neurotransmitter release. In particular, the various membrane-enclosed compartments in eukaryotic cells need to exchange their contents and communicate across membranes. Efficient and controllable fusion of biological membranes is known to be driven by cooperative action of SNARE proteins, which constitute the central components of the eukaryotic fusion machinery responsible for fusion of synaptic vesicles with the plasma membrane. During exocytosis, vesicle-associated v-SNARE (synaptobrevin) and target cell-associated t-SNAREs (syntaxin and SNAP-25) assemble into a core trans-SNARE complex. This complex plays a versatile role at various stages of exocytosis ranging from the priming to fusion pore formation and expansion, finally resulting in the release or exchange of the vesicle content. This review summarizes current knowledge on the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying exocytosis triggered and catalyzed by SNARE proteins. Particular attention is given to the function of the peptidic SNARE membrane anchors and the role of SNARE-lipid interactions in fusion. Moreover, the regulatory mechanisms by synaptic auxiliary proteins in SNARE-driven membrane fusion are briefly outlined.

Burnup studies of the subcritical fusion-driven in-zinerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, C. M.; Gudowski, W.; Venneri, F.

2007-01-01

A fusion-driven subcritical core, 'In-Zinerator', has been proposed for nuclear waste transmutation [1]. In this concept, a powerful Z-pinch neutron source will produce pulses of 14 MeV neutrons that multiply in a surrounding subcritical core consisting of spent fuel from the LWR fuel cycle or from deep burn high temperature reactors. The proposed design has pulse frequency 0.1 Hz and a thermal power of 3 GWth. The Z-pinch fusion experiment is located at Sandia Laboratories, USA, and can today fire once a day. However, investigations have been made how to increase the frequency to several fires per minute. Each fire yields 300 MJ corresponding to 1020 neutrons per pulse. The source chamber will in the In-Zinerator concept be surrounded by spent fuel to reach an effective multiplication factor, k e ff, of 0.97. The core will be cooled by liquid lead. In this paper, the burnup of different fuel compositions in the In-Zinerator will be studied as function of initial k e ff. The Monte Carlo based continuous energy burnup code MCB [2][3]will be used. References: [1] B.B. Cipiti, Fusion Transmutation of Waste and the Role of the In-Zinerator in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Sandia Report SAND2006-3522, Sandia National Laboratories, USA, 2006. [2] J. Cetnar, J Wallenius and W Gudowski, MCB: A continuous energy Monte-Carlo burnup simulation code, Actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation, Proc. of the Fifth Int. Information Exchange Meeting, Mol, Belgium, 25-27 November 1998, 523, OECD/NEA, 1998. [3] http://www.nea.fr/abs/html/nea-1643.html

Early and late HIV-1 membrane fusion events are impaired by sphinganine lipidated peptides that target the fusion site.

Science.gov (United States)

Klug, Yoel A; Ashkenazi, Avraham; Viard, Mathias; Porat, Ziv; Blumenthal, Robert; Shai, Yechiel

2014-07-15

Lipid-conjugated peptides have advanced the understanding of membrane protein functions and the roles of lipids in the membrane milieu. These lipopeptides modulate various biological systems such as viral fusion. A single function has been suggested for the lipid, binding to the membrane and thus elevating the local concentration of the peptide at the target site. In the present paper, we challenged this argument by exploring in-depth the antiviral mechanism of lipopeptides, which comprise sphinganine, the lipid backbone of DHSM (dihydrosphingomyelin), and an HIV-1 envelope-derived peptide. Surprisingly, we discovered a partnership between the lipid and the peptide that impaired early membrane fusion events by reducing CD4 receptor lateral diffusion and HIV-1 fusion peptide-mediated lipid mixing. Moreover, only the joint function of sphinganine and its conjugate peptide disrupted HIV-1 fusion protein assembly and folding at the later fusion steps. Via imaging techniques we revealed for the first time the direct localization of these lipopeptides to the virus-cell and cell-cell contact sites. Overall, the findings of the present study may suggest lipid-protein interactions in various biological systems and may help uncover a role for elevated DHSM in HIV-1 and its target cell membranes.

Preliminary analysis of a target factory for laser fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherohman, J.W.; Hendricks, C.D.

1980-01-01

An analysis of a target factory leading to the determination of production expressions has provided for the basis of a parametric study. Parameters involving the input and output rate of a process system, processing yield factors, and multiple processing steps and production lines have been used to develop an understanding of their dependence on the rate of target injection for laser fusion. Preliminary results have indicated that a parametric study of this type will be important in the selection of processing methods to be used in the final production scheme of a target factory

Ubiquitin fusion expression and tissue-dependent targeting of hG-CSF in transgenic tobacco

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (hG-CSF) is an important human cytokine which has been widely used in oncology and infection protection. To satisfy clinical needs, expression of recombinant hG-CSF has been studied in several organisms, including rice cell suspension culture and transient expression in tobacco leaves, but there was no published report on its expression in stably transformed plants which can serve as a more economical expression platform with potential industrial application. Results In this study, hG-CSF expression was investigated in transgenic tobacco leaves and seeds in which the accumulation of hG-CSF could be enhanced through fusion with ubiquitin by up to 7 fold in leaves and 2 fold in seeds, leading to an accumulation level of 2.5 mg/g total soluble protein (TSP) in leaves and 1.3 mg/g TSP in seeds, relative to hG-CSF expressed without a fusion partner. Immunoblot analysis showed that ubiquitin was processed from the final protein product, and ubiquitination was up-regulated in all transgenic plants analyzed. Driven by CaMV 35S promoter and phaseolin signal peptide, hG-CSF was observed to be secreted into apoplast in leaves but deposited in protein storage vacuole (PSV) in seeds, indicating that targeting of the hG-CSF was tissue-dependent in transgenic tobacco. Bioactivity assay showed that hG-CSF expressed in both seeds and leaves was bioactive to support the proliferation of NFS-60 cells. Conclusions In this study, the expression of bioactive hG-CSF in transgenic plants was improved through ubiquitin fusion strategy, demonstrating that protein expression can be enhanced in both plant leaves and seeds through fusion with ubiquitin and providing a typical case of tissue-dependent expression of recombinant protein in transgenic plants. PMID:21985646

Method for selecting hollow microspheres for use in laser fusion targets

Science.gov (United States)

Farnum, Eugene H.; Fries, R. Jay; Havenhill, Jerry W.; Smith, Maurice Lee; Stoltz, Daniel L.

1976-01-01

Hollow microspheres having thin and very uniform wall thickness are useful as containers for the deuterium and tritium gas mixture used as a fuel in laser fusion targets. Hollow microspheres are commercially available; however, in commercial lots only a very small number meet the rigid requirements for use in laser fusion targets. Those meeting these requirements may be separated from the unsuitable ones by subjecting the commercial lot to size and density separations and then by subjecting those hollow microspheres thus separated to an external pressurization at which those which are aspherical or which have nonuniform walls are broken and separating the sound hollow microspheres from the broken ones.

Progress in the pulsed power Inertial Confinement Fusion program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quintenz, J.P.; Matzen, M.K.; Mehlhorn, T.A.

1996-01-01

Pulsed power accelerators are being used in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) research. In order to achieve our goal of a fusion yield in the range of 200 - 1000 MJ from radiation-driven fusion capsules, it is generally believed that ∼10 MJ of driver energy must be deposited within the ICF target in order to deposit ∼1 MJ of radiation energy in the fusion capsule. Pulsed power represents an efficient technology for producing both these energies and these radiation environments in the required short pulses (few tens of ns). Two possible approaches are being developed to utilize pulsed power accelerators in this effort: intense beams of light ions and z- pinches. This paper describes recent progress in both approaches. Over the past several years, experiments have successfully answered many questions critical to ion target design. Increasing the ion beam power and intensity are our next objectives. Last year, the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator H (PBFA II) was modified to generate ion beams in a geometry that will be required for high yield applications. This 2048 modification has resulted in the production of the highest power ion beam to be accelerated from an extraction ion diode. We are also evaluating fast magnetically-driven implosions (z-pinches) as platforms for ICF ablator physics and EOS experiments. Z-pinch implosions driven by the 20 TW Saturn accelerator have efficiently produced high x- ray power (> 75 TW) and energy (> 400 kJ). Containing these x-ray sources within a hohlraum produces a unique large volume (> 6000 mm 3 ), long lived (>20 ns) radiation environment. In addition to studying fundamental ICF capsule physics, there are several concepts for driving ICF capsules with these x-ray sources. Progress in increasing the x-ray power on the Saturn accelerator and promise of further increases on the higher power PBFA II accelerator will be described

Source driven breeding thermal power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenspan, E.; Ben-Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Beersheba

1978-03-01

The feasibility of fusion devices operating in the semi-catalyzed deuterium (SCD) mode and of high energy proton accelerators to provide the neutron sources for driving subcritical breeding light water power reactors is assessed. The assessment is done by studying the energy balance of the resulting source driven light water reactors (SDLWR) and comparing it with the energy balance of the reference light water hybrid reactors (LWHR) driven by a D-T neutron source (DT-LWHR). The conditions the non-DT neutron sources should satisfy in order to make the SDLWR viable power reactors are identified. It is found that in order for a SCD-LWHR to have the same overall efficiency as a DT-LWHR, the fusion energy gain of the SCD device should be at least one half that the DT device. The efficienct of ADLWRs using uranium targets is comparable with that of DT-LWHRs having a fusion energy gain of unity. Advantages and disadvantages of the DT-LWHR, SCD-LWHR and ADLWR are discussed. (aurthor)

The Role of Strong Coupling in Z-Pinch-Driven Approaches to High Yield Inertial Confinement Fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MEHLHORN, THOMAS A.; DESJARLAIS, MICHAEL P.; HAILL, THOMAS A.; LASH, JOEL S.; ROSENTHAL, STEPHEN E.; SLUTZ, STEPHEN A.; STOLTZ, PETER H.; VESEY, ROGER A.; OLIVER, B.

1999-01-01

Peak x-ray powers as high as 280 ± 40 TW have been generated from the implosion of tungsten wire arrays on the Z Accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories. The high x-ray powers radiated by these z-pinches provide an attractive new driver option for high yield inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The high x-ray powers appear to be a result of using a large number of wires in the array which decreases the perturbation seed to the magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor (MRT) instability and diminishes other 3-D effects. Simulations to confirm this hypothesis require a 3-D MHD code capability, and associated databases, to follow the evolution of the wires from cold solid through melt, vaporization, ionization, and finally to dense imploded plasma. Strong coupling plays a role in this process, the importance of which depends on the wire material and the current time history of the pulsed power driver. Strong coupling regimes are involved in the plasmas in the convolute and transmission line of the powerflow system. Strong coupling can also play a role in the physics of the z-pinch-driven high yield ICF target. Finally, strong coupling can occur in certain z-pinch-driven application experiments

Polyvinyl alcohol coating of polystyrene inertial confinement fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Annamalai, P.; Lee, M.C.; Crawley, R.L.; Downs, R.L.

1985-01-01

An inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target made of polystyrene is first levitated in an acoustic field. The surface of the target is then etched using an appropriate solution (e.g., cyclohexane) to enhance the wetting characteristics. A specially prepared polyvinyl alcohol solution is atomized using an acoustic atomizer and deposited on the surface of the target. The solution is air dried to form a thin coating (2 μm) on the target (outside diameter approx.350--850 μm). Thicker coatings are obtained by repeated applications of the coating solution. Preliminary results indicate that uniform coatings may be achievable on the targets with a background surface smoothness in the order of 1000 A

Fusion-based multi-target tracking and localization for intelligent surveillance systems

Science.gov (United States)

Rababaah, Haroun; Shirkhodaie, Amir

2008-04-01

In this paper, we have presented two approaches addressing visual target tracking and localization in complex urban environment. The two techniques presented in this paper are: fusion-based multi-target visual tracking, and multi-target localization via camera calibration. For multi-target tracking, the data fusion concepts of hypothesis generation/evaluation/selection, target-to-target registration, and association are employed. An association matrix is implemented using RGB histograms for associated tracking of multi-targets of interests. Motion segmentation of targets of interest (TOI) from the background was achieved by a Gaussian Mixture Model. Foreground segmentation, on other hand, was achieved by the Connected Components Analysis (CCA) technique. The tracking of individual targets was estimated by fusing two sources of information, the centroid with the spatial gating, and the RGB histogram association matrix. The localization problem is addressed through an effective camera calibration technique using edge modeling for grid mapping (EMGM). A two-stage image pixel to world coordinates mapping technique is introduced that performs coarse and fine location estimation of moving TOIs. In coarse estimation, an approximate neighborhood of the target position is estimated based on nearest 4-neighbor method, and in fine estimation, we use Euclidean interpolation to localize the position within the estimated four neighbors. Both techniques were tested and shown reliable results for tracking and localization of Targets of interests in complex urban environment.

Ultrasmooth plasma polymerized coatings for laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Letts, S.A.; Myers, D.W.; Witt, L.A.

1980-01-01

Coatings for laser fusion were deposited up to 135μm thick by plasma polymerization onto 140 μm diameter DT filled glass microspheres. Ultrasmooth surfaces (no defect higher than 0.1 μm) were achieved by eliminating particulate contamination. Process generated particles were eliminated by determining the optimum operating conditions of power (20 watts), gas flow (0.3 sccm trans-2-butene, 10.0 sccm hydrogen), and pressure (75 millitorr), and maintaining these conditions through feedback control. From a study of coating defects grown over known surface irregularities, a quantitative relationship between irregularity size, film thickness, and defect size was determined. This relationship was used to set standards for the maximum microshell surface irregularity tolerable in the production of hydrocarbon or fluorocarbon coated laser fusion targets

Direct drive target survival during injection in an inertial fusion energy power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petzoldt, R.W.; Goodin, D.T.; Nikroo, A.; Stephens, E.; Alexander, N.B.; Gallix, R.; Siegel, N.; Raffray, A.R.; Mau, T.K.; Tillack, M.; Najmabadi, F.; Krasheninnikov, S.I.

2002-01-01

In inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant designs, the fuel is a spherical layer of frozen DT contained in a target that is injected at high velocity into the reaction chamber. For direct drive, typically laser beams converge at the centre of the chamber (CC) to compress and heat the target to fusion conditions. To obtain the maximum energy yield from the fusion reaction, the frozen DT layer must be at about 18.5 K and the target must maintain a high degree of spherical symmetry and surface smoothness when it reaches the CC. During its transit in the chamber the cryogenic target is heated by radiation from the hot chamber wall. The target is also heated by convection as it passes through the rarefied fill-gas used to control chamber wall damage by x-rays and debris from the target explosion. This article addresses the temperature limits at the target surface beyond which target uniformity may be damaged. It concentrates on direct drive targets because fuel warm up during injection is not currently thought to be an issue for present indirect drive designs and chamber concepts. Detailed results of parametric radiative and convective heating calculations are presented for direct-drive targets during injection into a dry-wall reaction chamber. The baseline approach to target survival utilizes highly reflective targets along with a substantially lower chamber wall temperature and fill-gas pressure than previously assumed. Recently developed high-Z material coatings with high heat reflectivity are discussed and characterized. The article also presents alternate target protection methods that could be developed if targets with inherent survival features cannot be obtained within a reasonable time span. (author)

Studies on the robustness of shock-ignited laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atzeni, S; Schiavi, A; Marocchino, A

2011-01-01

Several aspects of the sensitivity of a shock-ignited inertial fusion target to variation of parameters and errors or imperfections are studied by means of one-dimensional and two-dimensional numerical simulations. The study refers to a simple all-DT target, initially proposed for fast ignition (Atzeni et al 2007 Phys. Plasmas 7 052702) and subsequently shown to be also suitable for shock ignition (Ribeyre et al 2009 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 51 015013). It is shown that the growth of both Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) at the ablation front is reduced by laser pulses with an adiabat-shaping picket. An operating window for the parameters of the ignition laser spike is described; the threshold power depends on beam focusing and synchronization with the compression pulse. The time window for spike launch widens with beam power, while the minimum spike energy is independent of spike power. A large parametric scan indicates good tolerance (at the level of a few percent) to target mass and laser power errors. 2D simulations indicate that the strong igniting shock wave plays an important role in reducing deceleration-phase RTI growth. Instead, the high hot-spot convergence ratio (ratio of initial target radius to hot-spot radius at ignition) makes ignition highly sensitive to target mispositioning.

Production of direct drive cylindrical targets for inertial confinement fusion experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elliott, N.E.; Day, R.D.; Hatch, D.J.; Sandoval, D.L.; Gomez, V.M.; Pierce, T.H.; Elliott, J.E.; Manzanares, R.

2002-01-01

We have made targets with cylindrical geometry for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments. These targets are used in hydrodynamic experiments on the OMEGA laser at the University of Rochester. The cylindrical design allows the study of three dimensional hydrodynamic effects in a pseudo 2D mode, simplifying data gathering and analysis. Direct drive refers to the fact that the target is illuminated directly by approximately 50 laser beams and is imploded by the material pressure generated from ablation of the outside of the target. The production of cylindrical targets involves numerous steps. These steps are shared in common with many other types of ICF targets but no other single target type encompasses such a wide range of fabrication techniques. These targets consist of a large number of individual parts, all fabricated from commercially purchased raw material, requiring many machining, assembly, electroplating and chemical process steps. Virtually every manufacturing and assembly process we currently possess is involved in the production of these targets. The generic target consists of a plastic cylinder (ablator) that is roughly lmm in diameter by 2.25mm long. The wall of the cylinder is roughly 0.07mm thick. There is an aluminum cylinder 0.5mm wide and O.Olmm thick centered on the inside of the plastic cylinder and coaxial with the outside plastic cylinder. The outside of this aluminum band has surface finishes of differing random average roughness. The required average surface roughness is determined in advance by experimental design based on the amount of turbulent mix to be observed. The interior of the cylinder is filled with low density polystyrene foam that is made in house. To produce a finished target additional features are added to each target. X-ray backlighters are cantilevered off the target that allow time resolved x-ray images of the imploding target to be recorded during the experiment. The x-ray backlighters are driven by additional

Overview of US heavy-ion fusion progress and plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logan, B.G.

2004-01-01

Significant experimental and theoretical progress has been made in the U.S. heavy ion fusion program on high-current sources, transport, final focusing, chambers and targets for inertial fusion energy (IFE) driven by induction linac accelerators seek to provide the scientific and technical basis for the Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX), an integrated source-to-target physics experiment recently included in the list of future facilities planned by the U.S. Department of Energy. To optimize the design of IBX and future inertial fusion energy drivers, current HIF-VNL research is addressing several key issues (representative, not inclusive): gas and electron cloud effects which can exacerbate beam loss at high beam perveance and magnet aperture fill factors; ballistic neutralized and assisted-pinch focusing of neutralized heavy ion beams; limits on longitudinal compression of both neutralized and un-neutralized heavy ion bunches; and tailoring heavy ion beams for uniform target energy deposition for high energy density physics (HEDP) studies.

Low-density hydrocarbon foams for laser fusion targets: Progress report, 1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haendler, B.L.; Buckley, S.R.; Chen, C.

1988-06-01

This report describes progress made in the development of direct-drive hydrocarbon foam targets for laser inertial confinement fusion during 1987. The foam materials are polystyrene, resorcinol-formaldehyde, carbonized resorcinol-formaldehyde, and cellulose acetate. The processes for making the foams, their properties, characterization techniques, and the relationship of their properties to target specifications are presented. Progress in the creation and testing of prototype targets is also described

Fabrication of cryogenic inertial-confinement-fusion targets using target free-fall technique. Report No. 2-82

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K.; Murphy, M.J.

1982-04-01

Techniques for fabricating cryogenic inertial confinement fusion targets (i.e., spherical shells containing a uniform layer of DT ice) are investigated using target free-fall concept. Detection and characterization of the moving targets are effected by optoelectronic means, of which the principal is an RF ac-interferometer. This interferometer system demonstrates, for the first time, the speed capabilities of the phase-modulation ac-interferometry. New techiques developed for handling, holding, launching, and transporting targets are also described. Results obtained at both room and cryogenic temperatures are presented

Fusion reactor handling operations with cable-driven parallel robots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Izard, Jean-Baptiste, E-mail: jeanbaptiste.izard@tecnalia.com; Michelin, Micael; Baradat, Cédric

2015-10-15

Highlights: • CDPR allow 6DOF positioning of loads using cable as links without payload swag. • Conceptual design of a CDPR for carrying and positioning tokamak sectors is given. • A CDPR for threading stellarator coils (6D trajectory following) is provided. • Both designs are capable of fullfilling the required precision without tooling. - Abstract: Cable-driven parallel robots (CDPR) are in their concept cranes with inclined cables which allow control of all the degrees of freedom of its payload, and therefore stability of all the degrees of freedom, including rotations. The workspace of a CDPR is only limited by the length of the cables, and the payload capacity related to the mass of the whole robot is very important. Besides, the control being based on kinematic models, the behavior of a CDPR is really that of a robot capable of automated trajectories or remote handling. The present paper gives a presentation of two use case studies based on some of the assembly phases and remote handling actions as designed for the recent fusion machines. Based on the use cases already in place in fusion reactor baselines, the opportunity of using CDPR for assembly of structural elements and coils is discussed. Finally, prospects for remote handling equipment from the reactor in hot cells are envisioned based on current CDPR research.

Broad target cell selectivity of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus glycoprotein-mediated cell fusion and virion entry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaleeba, Johnan A.R.; Berger, Edward A.

2006-01-01

The molecular mechanism of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV, human herpesvirus 8) entry is poorly understood. We tested a broad variety of cell types of diverse species and tissue origin for their ability to function as targets in a quantitative reporter gene assay for KSHV-glycoprotein-mediated cell fusion. Several human, non-human primate, and rabbit cell lines were efficient targets, whereas rodent and all human lymphoblastoid cell lines were weak targets. Parallel findings were obtained with a virion entry assay using a recombinant KSHV encoding a reporter gene. No correlation was observed between target cell activity and surface expression of α3β1 integrin, a proposed KSHV receptor. We hypothesize that target cell permissiveness in both the cell fusion and virion entry assays reflects the presence of a putative KSHV fusion-entry receptor

Binding and Fusion of Extracellular Vesicles to the Plasma Membrane of Their Cell Targets.

Science.gov (United States)

Prada, Ilaria; Meldolesi, Jacopo

2016-08-09

Exosomes and ectosomes, extracellular vesicles of two types generated by all cells at multivesicular bodies and the plasma membrane, respectively, play critical roles in physiology and pathology. A key mechanism of their function, analogous for both types of vesicles, is the fusion of their membrane to the plasma membrane of specific target cells, followed by discharge to the cytoplasm of their luminal cargo containing proteins, RNAs, and DNA. Here we summarize the present knowledge about the interactions, binding and fusions of vesicles with the cell plasma membrane. The sequence initiates with dynamic interactions, during which vesicles roll over the plasma membrane, followed by the binding of specific membrane proteins to their cell receptors. Membrane binding is then converted rapidly into fusion by mechanisms analogous to those of retroviruses. Specifically, proteins of the extracellular vesicle membranes are structurally rearranged, and their hydrophobic sequences insert into the target cell plasma membrane which undergoes lipid reorganization, protein restructuring and membrane dimpling. Single fusions are not the only process of vesicle/cell interactions. Upon intracellular reassembly of their luminal cargoes, vesicles can be regenerated, released and fused horizontally to other target cells. Fusions of extracellular vesicles are relevant also for specific therapy processes, now intensely investigated.

Muon-catalyzed fusion experiment target and detector system. Preliminary design report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, S.E.; Watts, K.D.; Caffrey, A.J.; Walter, J.B.

1982-03-01

We present detailed plans for the target and particle detector systems for the muon-catalyzed fusion experiment. Requirements imposed on the target vessel by experimental conditions and safety considerations are delineated. Preliminary designs for the target vessel capsule and secondary containment vessel have been developed which meet these requirements. In addition, the particle detection system is outlined, including associated fast electronics and on-line data acquisition. Computer programs developed to study the target and detector system designs are described

X-ray spectroscopy from fusion plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glenzer, S H.

1998-01-01

Our understanding of laser energy coupling into laser-driven inertial confinement fusion targets largely depends on our ability to accurately measure and simulate the plasma conditions in the underdense corona and in high density capsule implosions. X-ray spectroscopy is an important technique which has been applied to measure the total absorption of laser energy into the fusion target, the fraction of laser energy absorbed by hot electrons, and the conditions in the fusion capsule in terms of density and temperature. These parameters provide critical benchmarking data for performance studies of the fusion target and for radiation-hydrodynamic and laser-plasma interaction simulations. Using x-ray spectroscopic techniques for these tasks has required its application to non-standard conditions where kinetics models have not been extensively tested. In particular, for the conditions in high density implosions, where electron temperatures achieve 1 - 2 keV and electron densities reach 10 24 cm -3 evolving on time scales of 21 cm -3 and which am independently diagnosed with Thomson scattering and stimulated Raman scattering. We find that kinetics modeling is in good agreement with measured intensities of the dielectronic satellites of the He-β line (n= l-3) of Ar XVII. Applying these findings to the experimental results of capsule implosions provides additional evidence of temperature gradients at peak compression

Laser driven inertial fusion: the physical basis of current and recently proposed ignition experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atzeni, S

2009-01-01

A brief overview of the inertial fusion principles and schemes is presented. The bases for the laser driven ignition experiments programmed for the near future at the National Ignition Facility are outlined. These experiments adopt indirect-drive and aim at central ignition. The principles of alternate approaches, based on direct-drive and different routes to ignition (fast ignition and shock ignition) are also discussed. Gain curves are compared and discussed.

Heavy ion fusion- Using heavy ions to make electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Celata, C.M.

2004-01-01

The idea of using nuclear fusion as a source of commercial electrical power has been pursued worldwide since the 1950s. Two approaches, using magnetic and inertial confinement of the reactants, are under study. This paper describes the difference between the two approaches, and discusses in more detail the heavy-ion-driven inertial fusion concept. A multibeam induction linear accelerator would be used to bring ∼100 heavy ion beams to a few GeV. The beams would then heat and compress a target of solid D-T. This approach is unique among fusion concepts in its ability to protect the reaction chamber wall from neutrons and debris

Targeting the Conserved Fusion Loop of HAP2 Inhibits the Transmission of Plasmodium berghei and falciparum

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Fiona Angrisano

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Summary: Inhibiting transmission of Plasmodium is a central strategy in malarial eradication, and the biological process of gamete fusion during fertilization is a proven target for this approach. The lack of a structure or known molecular function of current anti-malarial vaccine targets has previously been a hindrance in the development of transmission-blocking vaccines. Structure/function studies have indicated that the conserved gamete membrane fusion protein HAP2 is a class II viral fusion protein. Here, we demonstrate that targeting a function-critical site of the fusion/cd loop with species-specific antibodies reduces Plasmodium berghei transmission in vivo by 58.9% and in vitro fertilization by up to 89.9%. A corresponding reduction in P. falciparum transmission (75.5%/36.4% reductions in intensity/prevalence is observed in complimentary field studies. These results emphasize conserved mechanisms of fusion in Apicomplexa, while highlighting an approach to design future anti-malarial transmission-blocking vaccines. : Angrisano et al. find that the HAP2 cd-loop can be targeted as an anti-malarial intervention, is immunogenic across multiple plasmodial species, can induce antibodies that specifically recognize the sexual stages of the parasitic life cycle, and can mediate transmission-blocking immunity in the lab and the field. Keywords: HAP2, malaria, transmission, fusion, vaccine

Data fusion for target tracking and classification with wireless sensor network

Science.gov (United States)

Pannetier, Benjamin; Doumerc, Robin; Moras, Julien; Dezert, Jean; Canevet, Loic

2016-10-01

In this paper, we address the problem of multiple ground target tracking and classification with information obtained from a unattended wireless sensor network. A multiple target tracking (MTT) algorithm, taking into account road and vegetation information, is proposed based on a centralized architecture. One of the key issue is how to adapt classical MTT approach to satisfy embedded processing. Based on track statistics, the classification algorithm uses estimated location, velocity and acceleration to help to classify targets. The algorithms enables tracking human and vehicles driving both on and off road. We integrate road or trail width and vegetation cover, as constraints in target motion models to improve performance of tracking under constraint with classification fusion. Our algorithm also presents different dynamic models, to palliate the maneuvers of targets. The tracking and classification algorithms are integrated into an operational platform (the fusion node). In order to handle realistic ground target tracking scenarios, we use an autonomous smart computer deposited in the surveillance area. After the calibration step of the heterogeneous sensor network, our system is able to handle real data from a wireless ground sensor network. The performance of system is evaluated in a real exercise for intelligence operation ("hunter hunt" scenario).

Numerical simulations to model laser-driven coil-capacitor targets for generation of kilo-Tesla magnetic fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Schillaci

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A coil-capacitor target is modeled using FEM simulations and analytical calculations, which allow to explain the time evolution of such complex target during magnetic field production driven by the flow of an extremely high current generated through the interaction with a high power laser. The numerical model includes a detailed study of the magnetic field produced by the coil-capacitor target, both in the static and transient cases, as well as magnetic force and Joule heating. The model is validated by experimental data reported in literature and can be of interest for several applications. As an example, the combination of two synchronized nanosecond lasers with the purpose of producing a plasma responsible of the proton-boron (p+ + 11B → 8.5 MeV + 3α fusion reaction, and energizing two multi-turn coils with the main purpose of confining such a plasma could enhance the reaction rate. The preliminary conceptual design of a magnetic mirror configuration to be used for confining protons and boron ions up to a few MeV/u in a region of less than 1 mm2 is briefly reported.

Numerical simulations to model laser-driven coil-capacitor targets for generation of kilo-Tesla magnetic fields

Science.gov (United States)

Schillaci, F.; De Marco, M.; Giuffrida, L.; Fujioka, S.; Zhang, Z.; Korn, G.; Margarone, D.

2018-02-01

A coil-capacitor target is modeled using FEM simulations and analytical calculations, which allow to explain the time evolution of such complex target during magnetic field production driven by the flow of an extremely high current generated through the interaction with a high power laser. The numerical model includes a detailed study of the magnetic field produced by the coil-capacitor target, both in the static and transient cases, as well as magnetic force and Joule heating. The model is validated by experimental data reported in literature and can be of interest for several applications. As an example, the combination of two synchronized nanosecond lasers with the purpose of producing a plasma responsible of the proton-boron (p+ + 11B → 8.5 MeV + 3α) fusion reaction, and energizing two multi-turn coils with the main purpose of confining such a plasma could enhance the reaction rate. The preliminary conceptual design of a magnetic mirror configuration to be used for confining protons and boron ions up to a few MeV/u in a region of less than 1 mm2 is briefly reported.

FY2014 FES (Fusion Energy Sciences) Theory & Simulation Performance Target, Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fu, Guoyong [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Budny, Robert [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Gorelenkov, Nikolai [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Poli, Francesca [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Chen, Yang [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); McClenaghan, Joseph [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Lin, Zhihong [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Spong, Don [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bass, Eric [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States); Waltz, Ron [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)

2014-10-14

We report here the work done for the FY14 OFES Theory Performance Target as given below: "Understanding alpha particle confinement in ITER, the world's first burning plasma experiment, is a key priority for the fusion program. In FY 2014, determine linear instability trends and thresholds of energetic particle-driven shear Alfven eigenmodes in ITER for a range of parameters and profiles using a set of complementary simulation models (gyrokinetic, hybrid, and gyrofluid). Carry out initial nonlinear simulations to assess the effects of the unstable modes on energetic particle transport". In the past year (FY14), a systematic study of the alpha-driven Alfven modes in ITER has been carried out jointly by researchers from six institutions involving seven codes including the transport simulation code TRANSP (R. Budny and F. Poli, PPPL), three gyrokinetic codes: GEM (Y. Chen, Univ. of Colorado), GTC (J. McClenaghan, Z. Lin, UCI), and GYRO (E. Bass, R. Waltz, UCSD/GA), the hybrid code M3D-K (G.Y. Fu, PPPL), the gyro-fluid code TAEFL (D. Spong, ORNL), and the linear kinetic stability code NOVA-K (N. Gorelenkov, PPPL). A range of ITER parameters and profiles are specified by TRANSP simulation of a hybrid scenario case and a steady-state scenario case. Based on the specified ITER equilibria linear stability calculations are done to determine the stability boundary of alpha-driven high-n TAEs using the five initial value codes (GEM, GTC, GYRO, M3D-K, and TAEFL) and the kinetic stability code (NOVA-K). Both the effects of alpha particles and beam ions have been considered. Finally, the effects of the unstable modes on energetic particle transport have been explored using GEM and M3D-K.

Cryogenic hydrogen fuel for controlled inertial confinement fusion (formation of reactor-scale cryogenic targets)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aleksandrova, I. V.; Koresheva, E. R., E-mail: elena.koresheva@gmail.com; Krokhin, O. N. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Lebedev Physical Institute (Russian Federation); Osipov, I. E. [Power Efficiency Centre, Inter RAO UES (Russian Federation)

2016-12-15

In inertial fusion energy research, considerable attention has recently been focused on low-cost fabrication of a large number of targets by developing a specialized layering module of repeatable operation. The targets must be free-standing, or unmounted. Therefore, the development of a target factory for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is based on methods that can ensure a cost-effective target production with high repeatability. Minimization of the amount of tritium (i.e., minimization of time and space at all production stages) is a necessary condition as well. Additionally, the cryogenic hydrogen fuel inside the targets must have a structure (ultrafine layers—the grain size should be scaled back to the nanometer range) that supports the fuel layer survivability under target injection and transport through the reactor chamber. To meet the above requirements, significant progress has been made at the Lebedev Physical Institute (LPI) in the technology developed on the basis of rapid fuel layering inside moving free-standing targets (FST), also referred to as the FST layering method. Owing to the research carried out at LPI, unique experience has been gained in the development of the FST-layering module for target fabrication with an ultrafine fuel layer, including a reactor- scale target design. This experience can be used for the development of the next-generation FST-layering module for construction of a prototype of a target factory for power laser facilities and inertial fusion power plants.

On the efficiency of conical targets for laser thermonuclear fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borovskij, A.V.; Korobkin, V.V.

1981-01-01

Advantages and drawbacks of conical targets (CT) for laser fusion (LF) are discussed. Possibility of the laser power reduction, laser pulse lengthening and neutron yield increase are analyzed for an ideal conical target with absolutely rigid and heat-proof walls as compared to a spherical target of the same mass. A simple theory is suggested which makes it possible to take into account an effect of walls on the fusion process in the conical target with gaseous fuel and heavy shell. Energy losses due to wall deformations and heat conduction are estimated. An influence of these effects on the neutron yield is estimated. CT used in the LF experiments are found to have serious drawbacks in comparison with spherical ones. These drawbacks are connected with the effect of walls on the processes taking place in CT. Analysis of CT, for which the effect of walls is not significant, points up some definite advantages of CT as compared with spherical one. These advantages are the possibility of laser pulse lengthening and laser power reduction in comparison with the irradiation of a sphere of an equal mass. These two positive qualities are connected with the fact that CT has large linear dimensions [ru

An induction Linac driven heavy-ion fusion systems model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuckerman, D.S.; Driemeyer, D.E.; Waganer, L.M.; Dudziak, D.J.

1988-01-01

A computerized systems model of a heavy-ion fusion (HIF) reactor power plant is presented. The model can be used to analyze the behavior and projected costs of a commercial power plant using an induction linear accelerator (Linac) as a driver. Each major component of the model (targets, reactor cavity, Linac, beam transport, power flow, balance of plant, and costing) is discussed. Various target, reactor cavity, Linac, and beam transport schemes are examined and compared. The preferred operating regime for such a power plant is also examined. The results show that HIF power plants can compete with other advanced energy concepts at the 1000-MW (electric) power level [cost of electricity (COE) -- 50 mill/kW . h] provided that the cost savings predicted for Linacs using higher charge-state ions (+3) can be realized

Evaluation of Cytochalasin B-Induced Membrane Vesicles Fusion Specificity with Target Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Gomzikova

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Extracellular vesicles (EV represent a promising vector system for biomolecules and drug delivery due to their natural origin and participation in intercellular communication. As the quantity of EVs is limited, it was proposed to induce the release of membrane vesicles from the surface of human cells by treatment with cytochalasin B. Cytochalasin B-induced membrane vesicles (CIMVs were successfully tested as a vector for delivery of dye, nanoparticles, and a chemotherapeutic. However, it remained unclear whether CIMVs possess fusion specificity with target cells and thus might be used for more targeted delivery of therapeutics. To answer this question, CIMVs were obtained from human prostate cancer PC3 cells. The diameter of obtained CIMVs was 962,13 ± 140,6 nm. We found that there is no statistically significant preference in PC3 CIMVs fusion with target cells of the same type. According to our observations, the greatest impact on CIMVs entry into target cells is by the heterophilic interaction of CIMV membrane receptors with the surface proteins of target cells.

Micromachining of inertial confinement fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gobby, P.L.; Salzer, L.J.; Day, R.D.

1996-01-01

Many experiments conducted on today's largest inertial confinement fusion drive lasers require target components with sub-millimeter dimensions, precisions of a micron or less and surface finishes measured in nanometers. For metal and plastic, techniques using direct machining with diamond tools have been developed that yield the desired parts. New techniques that will be discussed include the quick-flip locator, a magnetically held kinematic mount that has allowed the direct machining of millimeter-sized beryllium hemishells whose inside and outside surface are concentric to within 0.25 micron, and an electronic version of a tracer lathe which has produced precise azimuthal variations of less than a micron

Target design for heavy ion beam fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer-ter-Vehn, J.; Metzler, N.

1981-07-01

Target design for Heavy Ion Beam Fusion and related physics are discussed. First, a modified version of the Kidder-Bodner model for pellet gain is presented and is used to define the working point (Esub(beam) = 4.8 MJ, Gain 83) for a reactor size target. Secondly, stopping of heavy ions in hot dense plasma is investigated and numerical results for stopping powers and ranges of 10 GeV Bi-ions in Pb, Li, and PbLi-alloy are given. Finally, results of an explicit implosion calculation, using the 1-D code MINIHY, are discussed in detail. The hydrodynamic efficiency is found to be about 5%. Special attention is given to the shock sequence leading to the ignition configuration. Also the growth of Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the absorber-pusher interface is estimated. (orig.)

Progress and prospects of ion-driven fast ignition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez, Juan C.; Albright, Brian J.; Flippo, Kirk A.; Gautier, D. Cort; Hegelich, Bjoern M.; Schmitt, Mark J.; Yin Lin; Honrubia, J.J.; Temporal, M.

2009-01-01

Fusion fast ignition (FI) initiated by laser-driven ion beams is a promising concept examined in this paper. FI based on a beam of quasi-monoenergetic ions (protons or heavier ions) has the advantage of a more localized energy deposition, which minimizes the required total beam energy, bringing it close to the ∼10 kJ minimum required for fuel densities ∼500 g cm -3 . High-current, laser-driven ion beams are most promising for this purpose. Because they are born neutralized in picosecond timescales, these beams may deliver the power density required to ignite the compressed DT fuel, ∼10 kJ/10 ps into a spot 20 μm in diameter. Our modelling of ion-based FI include high fusion gain targets and a proof of principle experiment. That modelling indicates the concept is feasible, and provides confirmation of our understanding of the operative physics, a firmer foundation for the requirements, and a better understanding of the optimization trade space. An important benefit of the scheme is that such a high-energy, quasi-monoenergetic ignitor beam could be generated far from the capsule (≥1 cm away), eliminating the need for a reentrant cone in the capsule to protect the ion-generation laser target, a tremendous practical benefit. This paper summarizes the ion-based FI concept, the integrated ion-driven FI modelling, the requirements on the ignitor beam derived from that modelling, and the progress in developing a suitable laser-driven ignitor ion beam.

Storage and Containment of Nuclear Targets for Pulsed Fission-Fusion Testing

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The combined fission-fusion fuel target is the heart of an engine concept that can open the solar system to fast and efficient human exploration. This is a unique...

Suppression of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability due to self-radiation in a multiablation target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujioka, Shinsuke; Sunahara, Atsushi; Nishihara, Katsunobu; Johzaki, Tomoyuki; Shiraga, Hiroyuki; Shigemori, Keisuke; Nakai, Mitsuo; Ikegawa, Tadashi; Murakami, Masakatsu; Nagai, Keiji; Norimatsu, Takayoshi; Azechi, Hiroshi; Yamanaka, Tatsuhiko; Ohnishi, Naofumi

2004-01-01

A scheme to suppress the Rayleigh-Taylor instability has been investigated for a direct-drive inertial fusion target. In a high-Z doped-plastic target, two ablation surfaces are formed separately--one driven by thermal radiation and the other driven by electron conduction. The growth of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability is significantly suppressed on the radiation-driven ablation surface inside the target due to the large ablation velocity and long density scale length. A significant reduction of the growth rate was observed in simulations and experiments using a brominated plastic target. A new direct-drive pellet was designed using this scheme

A flexible data fusion architecture for persistent surveillance using ultra-low-power wireless sensor networks

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, Jeffrey A.; McLaughlin, Keith L.; Sereno, Thomas J.

2011-06-01

We have developed a flexible, target-driven, multi-modal, physics-based fusion architecture that efficiently searches sensor detections for targets and rejects clutter while controlling the combinatoric problems that commonly arise in datadriven fusion systems. The informational constraints imposed by long lifetime requirements make systems vulnerable to false alarms. We demonstrate that our data fusion system significantly reduces false alarms while maintaining high sensitivity to threats. In addition, mission goals can vary substantially in terms of targets-of-interest, required characterization, acceptable latency, and false alarm rates. Our fusion architecture provides the flexibility to match these trade-offs with mission requirements unlike many conventional systems that require significant modifications for each new mission. We illustrate our data fusion performance with case studies that span many of the potential mission scenarios including border surveillance, base security, and infrastructure protection. In these studies, we deployed multi-modal sensor nodes - including geophones, magnetometers, accelerometers and PIR sensors - with low-power processing algorithms and low-bandwidth wireless mesh networking to create networks capable of multi-year operation. The results show our data fusion architecture maintains high sensitivities while suppressing most false alarms for a variety of environments and targets.

Electron Shock Ignition of Inertial Fusion Targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shang, W. L.; Betti, R.; Hu, S. X.; Woo, K.; Hao, L.

2017-01-01

Here, it is shown that inertial fusion targets designed with low implosion velocities can be shock ignited using laser–plasma interaction generated hot electrons (hot-e) to obtain high-energy gains. These designs are robust to multimode asymmetries and are predicted to ignite even for significantly distorted implosions. Electron shock ignition requires tens of kilojoules of hot-e, which can only be produced on a large laser facility like the National Ignition Facility, with the laser to hot-e conversion efficiency greater than 10% at laser intensities ~10 16 W/cm 2 .

Knudsen and inverse Knudsen layer effect on tail ion distribution and fusion reactivity in inertial confinement fusion targets

Science.gov (United States)

McDevitt, C. J.; Tang, X.-Z.; Guo, Z.; Berk, H. L.

2014-10-01

A series of reduced models are used to study the fast ion tail in the vicinity of a transition layer between plasmas at disparate temperatures and densities, which is typical of the gas-pusher interface in inertial confinement fusion targets. Emphasis is placed on utilizing progressively more comprehensive models in order to identify the essential physics for computing the fast ion tail at energies comparable to the Gamow peak. The resulting fast ion tail distribution is subsequently used to compute the fusion reactivity as a function of collisionality and temperature. It is found that while the fast ion distribution can be significantly depleted in the hot spot, leading to a reduction of the fusion reactivity in this region, a surplus of fast ions is present in the neighboring cold region. The presence of this fast ion surplus in the neighboring cold region is shown to lead to a partial recovery of the fusion yield lost in the hot spot.

Mirror position display equipment for the target chamber mirror mounts of the LASL HELIOS laser fusion facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wells, F.D.; Remington, D.A.

1979-01-01

Equipment has been fabricated which records the absolute positions of sixteen mirror mounts used to direct and focus eight high-energy laser beams for research in laser induced fusion. Each mirror mount is driven by three stepping motors, controlled to produce the motions of Focus, Tilt, and Rotate relative to the target. Stepping of the motors is sensed by incremental optical encoders coupled to the motor drive shafts. Outputs from the encoder tracks are multiplexed to a microprocessor which transmits motor step information via a fiber optical data link to a Mirror Position Display chassis. This unit accumulates the steps, stores the motor positions, displays mirror position data to the operator, and provides the equipment control functions. Standby battery power is included to retain the motor step data in the event of power failure

Alternative divertor target concepts for next step fusion devices

Science.gov (United States)

Mazul, I. V.

2016-12-01

The operational conditions of a divertor target in the next steps of fusion devices are more severe in comparison with ITER. The current divertor designs and technologies have a limited application concerning these conditions, and so new design concepts/technologies are required. The main reasons which practically prevent the use of the traditional motionless solid divertor target are analyzed. We describe several alternative divertor target concepts in this paper. The comparative analysis of these concepts (including the advantages and the drawbacks) is made and the prospects for their practical implementation are prioritized. The concept of the swept divertor target with a liquid metal interlayer between the moving armour and motionless heat-sink is presented in more detail. The critical issues of this design are listed and outlined, and the possible experiments are presented.

Environmental release targets for fusion power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulden, W.; Raskob, W.

2005-01-01

Within the European fission community, so called European Utility Requirements were developed to define common targets, criteria and evaluation methods for, amongst others, safety, environmental protection and public health with respect to future nuclear fission power plant development. In the case of severe accidents, the objective is to restrict the radiological consequences to the vicinity of the plant, i.e., to avoid early and late countermeasures such as evacuation or relocation of the population, and to restrict food banning to small areas and the first year after the accident. Within the European Fusion Technology Programme, a methodology is being developed in compliance with these European Utility Requirements, to define design requirements for future fusion reactors. First results are presented. Concerning food banning, calculations revealed extremely conservative values for tritium in EU regulations and recommendations. This does not affect assessments for fission reactors, but is an overestimation of the tritium dose impact from ingestion. Therefore, in compliance with scientific justification, considerably higher maximum permissible activity levels for tritium should be considered

Direct-indirect mixed implosion mode in heavy ion inertial fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawata, S.; Miyazawa, K.; Kikuchi, T.; Someya, T.

2007-01-01

In order to realize an effective implosion, beam illumination non-uniformity on a fuel target must be suppressed less than a few percent. In this study, a direct-indirect mixture implosion mode is proposed and discussed in heavy ion beam (HIB) inertial confinement fusion (HIF) in order to release sufficient fusion energy in a robust manner. On the other hand, the HIB illumination non-uniformity depends strongly on a target displacement dz from the center of a fusion reactor chamber. In a direct-driven implosion mode, dz of ∼20 μm was tolerable, and in an indirect-implosion mode, dz of ∼100 μm was allowable. In the direct-indirect mixture mode target, a low-density foam layer is inserted, and the radiation energy is confined in the foam layer. In the foam layer, the radiation transport is expected to smooth the HIB illumination non-uniformity in the lateral direction. Two-dimensional implosion simulations are performed, and show that the HIB illumination non-uniformity is well smoothed in the direct-indirect mixture target. Our simulation results present that a large pellet displacement of approximately a few hundred microns is allowed in order to obtain a sufficient fusion energy output in HIF

Development of target capsules for muon catalyzed fusion experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watts, K.D.; Jones, S.E.; Caffrey, A.J.

1983-01-01

A series of Muon Catalyzed Fusion experiments has been conducted at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility to determine how many fusion reactions one muon would catalyze under various temperature, pressure, contamination, and tritium concentration conditions. Target capsules to contain deuterium and tritium at elevated temperatures and pressures were engineered for a maximum temperature of 540 K (512 0 F) and a maximum pressure of 103 MPa (15,000 psig). Experimental data collected with these capsules indicated that the number of fusion reactions per muon continued to increase with temperature up to the 540-K design limit. Theory had indicated that the reaction rate should peak at approximately 540 K, but this was not confirmed during the experiments. A second generation of capsules which have a maximum design temperature of 800 K (980 0 F) and a maximum design pressure of 103 MPa (15,000 psig) has now been engineered. These new capsules will be used to further study the muon catalysis rate versus deuterium-tritium mixture temperature

Effects of non-local electron transport in one-dimensional and two-dimensional simulations of shock-ignited inertial confinement fusion targets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marocchino, A.; Atzeni, S.; Schiavi, A. [Dipartimento SBAI, Università di Roma “La Sapienza” and CNISM, Roma 00161 (Italy)

2014-01-15

In some regions of a laser driven inertial fusion target, the electron mean-free path can become comparable to or even longer than the electron temperature gradient scale-length. This can be particularly important in shock-ignited (SI) targets, where the laser-spike heated corona reaches temperatures of several keV. In this case, thermal conduction cannot be described by a simple local conductivity model and a Fick's law. Fluid codes usually employ flux-limited conduction models, which preserve causality, but lose important features of the thermal flow. A more accurate thermal flow modeling requires convolution-like non-local operators. In order to improve the simulation of SI targets, the non-local electron transport operator proposed by Schurtz-Nicolaï-Busquet [G. P. Schurtz et al., Phys. Plasmas 7, 4238 (2000)] has been implemented in the DUED fluid code. Both one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) simulations of SI targets have been performed. 1D simulations of the ablation phase highlight that while the shock profile and timing might be mocked up with a flux-limiter; the electron temperature profiles exhibit a relatively different behavior with no major effects on the final gain. The spike, instead, can only roughly be reproduced with a fixed flux-limiter value. 1D target gain is however unaffected, provided some minor tuning of laser pulses. 2D simulations show that the use of a non-local thermal conduction model does not affect the robustness to mispositioning of targets driven by quasi-uniform laser irradiation. 2D simulations performed with only two final polar intense spikes yield encouraging results and support further studies.

Effects of non-local electron transport in one-dimensional and two-dimensional simulations of shock-ignited inertial confinement fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marocchino, A.; Atzeni, S.; Schiavi, A.

2014-01-01

In some regions of a laser driven inertial fusion target, the electron mean-free path can become comparable to or even longer than the electron temperature gradient scale-length. This can be particularly important in shock-ignited (SI) targets, where the laser-spike heated corona reaches temperatures of several keV. In this case, thermal conduction cannot be described by a simple local conductivity model and a Fick's law. Fluid codes usually employ flux-limited conduction models, which preserve causality, but lose important features of the thermal flow. A more accurate thermal flow modeling requires convolution-like non-local operators. In order to improve the simulation of SI targets, the non-local electron transport operator proposed by Schurtz-Nicolaï-Busquet [G. P. Schurtz et al., Phys. Plasmas 7, 4238 (2000)] has been implemented in the DUED fluid code. Both one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) simulations of SI targets have been performed. 1D simulations of the ablation phase highlight that while the shock profile and timing might be mocked up with a flux-limiter; the electron temperature profiles exhibit a relatively different behavior with no major effects on the final gain. The spike, instead, can only roughly be reproduced with a fixed flux-limiter value. 1D target gain is however unaffected, provided some minor tuning of laser pulses. 2D simulations show that the use of a non-local thermal conduction model does not affect the robustness to mispositioning of targets driven by quasi-uniform laser irradiation. 2D simulations performed with only two final polar intense spikes yield encouraging results and support further studies

Effects of non-local electron transport in one-dimensional and two-dimensional simulations of shock-ignited inertial confinement fusion targets

Science.gov (United States)

Marocchino, A.; Atzeni, S.; Schiavi, A.

2014-01-01

In some regions of a laser driven inertial fusion target, the electron mean-free path can become comparable to or even longer than the electron temperature gradient scale-length. This can be particularly important in shock-ignited (SI) targets, where the laser-spike heated corona reaches temperatures of several keV. In this case, thermal conduction cannot be described by a simple local conductivity model and a Fick's law. Fluid codes usually employ flux-limited conduction models, which preserve causality, but lose important features of the thermal flow. A more accurate thermal flow modeling requires convolution-like non-local operators. In order to improve the simulation of SI targets, the non-local electron transport operator proposed by Schurtz-Nicolaï-Busquet [G. P. Schurtz et al., Phys. Plasmas 7, 4238 (2000)] has been implemented in the DUED fluid code. Both one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) simulations of SI targets have been performed. 1D simulations of the ablation phase highlight that while the shock profile and timing might be mocked up with a flux-limiter; the electron temperature profiles exhibit a relatively different behavior with no major effects on the final gain. The spike, instead, can only roughly be reproduced with a fixed flux-limiter value. 1D target gain is however unaffected, provided some minor tuning of laser pulses. 2D simulations show that the use of a non-local thermal conduction model does not affect the robustness to mispositioning of targets driven by quasi-uniform laser irradiation. 2D simulations performed with only two final polar intense spikes yield encouraging results and support further studies.

Moving target detection based on temporal-spatial information fusion for infrared image sequences

Science.gov (United States)

Toing, Wu-qin; Xiong, Jin-yu; Zeng, An-jun; Wu, Xiao-ping; Xu, Hao-peng

2009-07-01

Moving target detection and localization is one of the most fundamental tasks in visual surveillance. In this paper, through analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional approaches about moving target detection, a novel approach based on temporal-spatial information fusion is proposed for moving target detection. The proposed method combines the spatial feature in single frame and the temporal properties within multiple frames of an image sequence of moving target. First, the method uses the spatial image segmentation for target separation from background and uses the local temporal variance for extracting targets and wiping off the trail artifact. Second, the logical "and" operator is used to fuse the temporal and spatial information. In the end, to the fusion image sequence, the morphological filtering and blob analysis are used to acquire exact moving target. The algorithm not only requires minimal computation and memory but also quickly adapts to the change of background and environment. Comparing with other methods, such as the KDE, the Mixture of K Gaussians, etc., the simulation results show the proposed method has better validity and higher adaptive for moving target detection, especially in infrared image sequences with complex illumination change, noise change, and so on.

Heavy ion inertial fusion: interface between target gain, accelerator phase space and reactor beam transport revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barletta, W.A.; Fawley, W.M.; Judd, D.L.; Mark, J.W.K.; Yu, S.S.

1984-01-01

Recently revised estimates of target gain have added additional optimistic inputs to the interface between targets, accelerators and fusion chamber beam transport. But it remains valid that neutralization of the beams in the fusion chamber is useful if ion charge state Z > 1 or if > 1 kA per beamlet is to be propagated. Some engineering and economic considerations favor higher currents

Signal processing, sensor fusion, and target recognition; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 20-22, 1992

Science.gov (United States)

Libby, Vibeke; Kadar, Ivan

Consideration is given to a multiordered mapping technique for target prioritization, a neural network approach to multiple-target-tracking problems, a multisensor fusion algorithm for multitarget multibackground classification, deconvolutiom of multiple images of the same object, neural networks and genetic algorithms for combinatorial optimization of sensor data fusion, classification of atmospheric acoustic signals from fixed-wing aircraft, and an optics approach to sensor fusion for target recognition. Also treated are a zoom lens for automatic target recognition, a hybrid model for the analysis of radar sensors, an innovative test bed for developing and assessing air-to-air noncooperative target identification algorithms, SAR imagery scene segmentation using fractal processing, sonar feature-based bandwidth compression, laboratory experiments for a new sonar system, computational algorithms for discrete transform using fixed-size filter matrices, and pattern recognition for power systems.

Overview of US heavy ion fusion research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logan, B.G.; Bieniosek, F.M.; Celata, C.M.; Henestroza, E.; Kwan, J.W.; Lee, E.P.; Leitner, M.; Roy, P.K.; Seidl, P.A.; Eylon, S.; Vay, J-L.; Waldron, W.L.; Yu, S.S.; Barnard, J.J.; Callahan, D.A.; Cohen, R.H.; Friedman, A.; Grote, D.P; Covo, Kireeff M.; Meier, W.R.; Molvik, A.W.; Lund, S.M.; Davidson, R.C.; Efthimion, P.C.; Gilson, E.P.; Grisham, L.R.; Kaganovich, I.D.; Qin, H.; Startsev, E.A.; Rose, D.V.; Welch, D.R.; Olson, C.L.; Kishek, R.A.; O'Shea, P.; Haber, I.; Prost, L.R.; Prost, L.

2004-01-01

Significant experimental and theoretical progress has been made in the U.S. heavy ion fusion program on high-current sources, injectors, transport, final focusing, chambers and targets for high energy density physics (HEDP) and inertial fusion energy (IFE) driven by induction linac accelerators. One focus of present research is the beam physics associated with quadrupole focusing of intense, space-charge dominated heavy-ion beams, including gas and electron cloud effects at high currents, and the study of long-distance-propagation effects such as emittance growth due to field errors in scaled experiments. A second area of emphasis in present research is the introduction of background plasma to neutralize the space charge of intense heavy ion beams and assist in focusing the beams to a small spot size. In the near future, research will continue in the above areas, and a new area of emphasis will be to explore the physics of neutralized beam compression and focusing to high intensities required to heat targets to high energy density conditions as well as for inertial fusion energy

Overview of US heavy ion fusion research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logan, G.; Bieniosek, F.; Celata, C.; Henestroza, E.; Kwan, J.; Lee, E.P.; Leitner, M.; Prost, L.; Roy, P.; Seidl, P.A.; Eylon, S.; Vay, J.-L.; Waldron, W.; Yu, S.; Barnard, J.; Callahan, D.; Cohen, R.; Friedman, A.; Grote, D.; Kireeff Covo, M.; Meier, W.R.; Molvik, A.; Lund, S.; Davidson, R.; Efthimion, P.; Gilson, E.; Grisham, L.; Kaganovich, I.; Qin, H.; Startsev, E.; Rose, D.; Welch, D.; Olson, C.; Kishek, R.; O'Shea, P.; Haber, I.

2005-01-01

Significant experimental and theoretical progress has been made in the U.S. heavy ion fusion program on high-current sources, injectors, transport, final focusing, chambers and targets for high energy density physics (HEDP) and inertial fusion energy (IFE) driven by induction linac accelerators. One focus of present research is the beam physics associated with quadrupole focusing of intense, space-charge dominated heavy-ion beams, including gas and electron cloud effects at high currents, and the study of long-distance-propagation effects such as emittance growth due to field errors in scaled experiments. A second area of emphasis in present research is the introduction of background plasma to neutralize the space charge of intense heavy ion beams and assist in focusing the beams to a small spot size. In the near future, research will continue in the above areas, and a new area of emphasis will be to explore the physics of neutralized beam compression and focusing to high intensities required to heat targets to high energy density conditions as well as for inertial fusion energy. (author)

Information-management data base for fusion-target fabrication processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reynolds, J.

1982-01-01

A computer-based data-management system has been developed to handle data associated with target-fabrication processes including glass microballoon characterization, gas filling, materials coating, and storage locations. The system provides automatic data storage and computation, flexible data-entry procedures, fast access, automated report generation, and secure data transfer. It resides on a CDC CYBER 175 computer and is compatible with the CDC data-base-language Query Update, but is based on custom FORTRAN software interacting directly with the CYBER's file-management system. The described data base maintains detailed, accurate, and readily available records of fusion targets information

Information management data base for fusion target fabrication processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reynolds, J.

1983-01-01

A computer-based data management system has been developed to handle data associated with target fabrication processes including glass microballoon characterization, gas filling, materials coating, and storage locations. The system provides automatic data storage and computation, flexible data entry procedures, fast access, automated report generation, and secure data transfer. It resides on a CDC CYBER 175 computer and is compatible with the CDC data base language Query Update, but is based on custom fortran software interacting directly with the CYBER's file management system. The described data base maintains detailed, accurate, and readily available records of fusion targets information

Fabrication and characterization of cryogenic targets for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rieger, H.; Kim, K.

1979-08-01

A new technique has been developed which is capable of fabricating uniform cryogenic targets for use in inertial confinement fusion. The essence of the technique is to directly wet a target with a cold helium gas jet, which results in freezing of the DT mixture contained in the target. A controlled amount of current is pulsed through a heater wire surrounding the target, giving rise to fast evaporation and refreezing of the DT-condensate into a uniform layer. Experiments, which have been performed with D 2 -filled glass microshells, successfully produce uniform layers of both liquid and solid D 2 inside the glass shells. A set of data illustrating the technique is presented and analyzed

Distributed ISAR Subimage Fusion of Nonuniform Rotating Target Based on Matching Fourier Transform.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuanyuan; Fu, Yaowen; Zhang, Wenpeng

2018-06-04

In real applications, the image quality of the conventional monostatic Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) for the maneuvering target is subject to the strong fluctuation of Radar Cross Section (RCS), as the target aspect varies enormously. Meanwhile, the maneuvering target introduces nonuniform rotation after translation motion compensation which degrades the imaging performance of the conventional Fourier Transform (FT)-based method in the cross-range dimension. In this paper, a method which combines the distributed ISAR technique and the Matching Fourier Transform (MFT) is proposed to overcome these problems. Firstly, according to the characteristics of the distributed ISAR, the multiple channel echoes of the nonuniform rotation target from different observation angles can be acquired. Then, by applying the MFT to the echo of each channel, the defocused problem of nonuniform rotation target which is inevitable by using the FT-based imaging method can be avoided. Finally, after preprocessing, scaling and rotation of all subimages, the noncoherent fusion image containing all the RCS information in all channels can be obtained. The accumulation coefficients of all subimages are calculated adaptively according to the their image qualities. Simulation and experimental data are used to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, and fusion image with improved recognizability can be obtained. Therefore, by using the distributed ISAR technique and MFT, subimages of high-maneuvering target from different observation angles can be obtained. Meanwhile, by employing the adaptive subimage fusion method, the RCS fluctuation can be alleviated and more recognizable final image can be obtained.

Electroless or autocatalytic coating of microparticles for laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayer, A.; Catlett, D.S.

1977-04-01

Use of a novel device for applying uniform metallic coatings to spherical microparticles is described. The apparatus deposits electroless metal coatings on hollow, thin-walled metal or sensitized nonmetallic micromandrels. The apparatus and process were developed for fabrication of microsphere pressure vessels for use as targets in laser-initiated fusion research

Conceptual design and issues of the laser inertial fusion test (LIFT) reactor—targets and chamber systems

Science.gov (United States)

Norimatsu, T.; Kozaki, Y.; Shiraga, H.; Fujita, H.; Okano, K.; Members of LIFT Design Team

2017-11-01

We present the conceptual design of an experimental laser fusion plant known as the laser inertial fusion test (LIFT) reactor. The conceptual design aims at technically connecting a single-shot experiment and a commercial power plant. The LIFT reactor is designed on a three-phase scheme, where each phase has specific goals and the dedicated chambers of each phase are driven by the same laser. Technical issues related to the chamber technology including radiation safety to repeat burst mode operation are discussed in this paper.

Low-density hydrocarbon foams for laser fusion targets: Progress report, 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, C.; Cook, R.C.; Haendler, B.L.; Hair, L.M.; Kong, F.M.; Letts, S.A.

1987-06-01

We describe progress made during 1986 in the development of direct-drive hydrocarbon foam targets for laser fusion. The foam materials are polystyrene and resorcinolformaldehyde. The processes for making the foams, their properties, characterization techniques, and the relationships of their properties to target specifications are presented. In the final section, we discuss statistical experimental design techniques that are being used to optimize the foams. 12 refs., 14 figs., 2 tabs

Present status and future prospects for direct drive laser fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodner, S.E.

1986-01-01

If one assumes that the best short wavelength laser will have an efficiency of 5--7%, and if one assumes that reasonable cost electricity requires that the product of laser efficiency and pellet gain be greater than 10--15, then pellet grains for laser fusion must be at least 150--300. The only laser fusion concept with any potential for energy applications then seems to be directly driven targets with moderately thin shells and 1/4 micron KrF laser light. This direct drive concept has potential pellet energy gains of 200--300

Opimization of fusion-driven fissioning systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapin, D.L.; Mills, R.G.

1976-01-01

Potential advantages of hybrid or fusion/fission systems can be exploited in different ways. With selection of the 238 U-- 239 Pu fuel cycle, we show that the system has greatest value as a power producer. Numerical examples of relative revenue from power production vs. 239 Pu production are discussed, and possible plant characteristics described. The analysis tends to show that the hybrid may be more economically attractive than pure fusion systems

Inertial Confinement Fusion Target Component Fabrication and Technology Development report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinman, D.

1994-03-01

On December 30, 1990, the US Department of Energy entered into a contract with General Atomics (GA) to be the Inertial Confinement Fusion Target Component Fabrication and Technology Development Support contractor. This report documents the technical activities which took place under this contract during the period of October 1, 1992 through September 30, 1993. During this period, GA was assigned 18 tasks in support of the Inertial Confinement Fusion program and its laboratories. These tasks included ''Capabilities Activation'' and ''Capabilities Demonstration'' to enable us to begin production of glass and composite polymer capsules. Capsule delivery tasks included ''Small Glass Shell Deliveries'' and ''Composite Polymer Capsules'' for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). We also were asked to provide direct ''Onsite Support'' at LLNL and LANL. We continued planning for the transfer of ''Micromachining Equipment from Rocky Flats'' and established ''Target Component Micromachining and Electroplating Facilities'' at GA. We fabricated over 1100 films and filters of 11 types for Sandia National Laboratory and provided full-time onsite engineering support for target fabrication and characterization. We initiated development of methods to make targets for the Naval Research Laboratory. We investigated spherical interferometry, built an automated capsule sorter, and developed an apparatus for calorimetric measurement of fuel fill for LLNL. We assisted LANL in the ''Characterization of Opaque b-Layered Targets.'' We developed deuterated and UV-opaque polymers for use by the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR/LLE) and devised a triple-orifice droplet generator to demonstrate the controlled-mass nature of the microencapsulation process

Fusion of Sendai virus with vesicles of oligomerizable lipids: a microcalorimetric analysis of membrane fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravoo, B J; Weringa, W D; Engberts, J B

2000-01-01

Sendai virus fuses efficiently with small and large unilamellar vesicles of the lipid 1,2-di-n-hexadecyloxypropyl-4- (beta-nitrostyryl) phosphate (DHPBNS) at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C, as shown by lipid mixing assays and electron microscopy. However, fusion is strongly inhibited by oligomerization of the head groups of DHPBNS in the bilayer vesicles. The enthalpy associated with fusion of Sendai virus with DHPBNS vesicles was measured by isothermal titration microcalorimetry, comparing titrations of Sendai virus into (i) solutions of DHPBNS vesicles (which fuse with the virus) and (ii) oligomerized DHPBNS vesicles (which do not fuse with the virus), respectively. The observed heat effect of fusion of Sendai virus with DHPBNS vesicles is strongly dependent on the buffer medium, reflecting a partial charge neutralization of the Sendai F and HN proteins upon insertion into the negatively-charged vesicle membrane. No buffer effect was observed for the titration of Sendai virus into oligomerized DHPBNS vesicles, indicating that inhibition of fusion is a result of inhibition of insertion of the fusion protein into the target membrane. Fusion of Sendai virus with DHPBNS vesicles is endothermic and entropy-driven. The positive enthalpy term is dominated by heat effects resulting from merging of the protein-rich viral envelope with the lipid vesicle bilayers rather than by the fusion of the viral with the vesicle bilayers per se. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Progress in heavy ion driven inertial fusion energy: From scaled experiments to the integrated research experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnard, J.J.; Ahle, L.E.; Baca, D.; Bangerter, R.O.; Bieniosek, F.M.; Celata, C.M.; Chacon-Golcher, E.; Davidson, R.C.; Faltens, A.; Friedman, A.; Franks, R.M.; Grote, D.P.; Haber, I.; Henestroza, E.; Hoon, M.J.L. de; Kaganovich, I.; Karpenko, V.P.; Kishek, R.A.; Kwan, J.W.; Lee, E.P.; Logan, B.G.; Lund, S.M.; Meier, W.R.; Molvik, A.W.; Olson, C.; Prost, L.R.; Qin, H.; Rose, D.; Sabbi, G.-L.; Sangster, T.C.; Seidl, P.A.; Sharp, W.M.; Shuman, D.; Vay, J.-L.; Waldron, W.L.; Welch, D.; Yu, S.S.

2001-01-01

The promise of inertial fusion energy driven by heavy ion beams requires the development of accelerators that produce ion currents (∼100's Amperes/beam) and ion energies (∼1-10 GeV) that have not been achieved simultaneously in any existing accelerator. The high currents imply high generalized perveances, large tune depressions, and high space charge potentials of the beam center relative to the beam pipe. Many of the scientific issues associated with ion beams of high perveance and large tune depression have been addressed over the last two decades on scaled experiments at Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, the University of Maryland, and elsewhere. The additional requirement of high space charge potential (or equivalently high line charge density) gives rise to effects (particularly the role of electrons in beam transport) which must be understood before proceeding to a large scale accelerator. The first phase of a new series of experiments in Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory (HIF VNL), the High Current Experiments (HCX), is now being constructed at LBNL. The mission of the HCX will be to transport beams with driver line charge density so as to investigate the physics of this regime, including constraints on the maximum radial filling factor of the beam through the pipe. This factor is important for determining both cost and reliability of a driver scale accelerator. The HCX will provide data for design of the next steps in the sequence of experiments leading to an inertial fusion energy power plant. The focus of the program after the HCX will be on integration of all of the manipulations required for a driver. In the near term following HCX, an Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX) of the same general scale as the HCX is envisioned. The step which bridges the gap between the IBX and an engineering test facility for fusion has been designated the Integrated Research Experiment (IRE). The IRE (like the IBX) will provide an

Enhancing potency of siRNA targeting fusion genes by optimization outside of target sequence.

Science.gov (United States)

Gavrilov, Kseniya; Seo, Young-Eun; Tietjen, Gregory T; Cui, Jiajia; Cheng, Christopher J; Saltzman, W Mark

2015-12-01

Canonical siRNA design algorithms have become remarkably effective at predicting favorable binding regions within a target mRNA, but in some cases (e.g., a fusion junction site) region choice is restricted. In these instances, alternative approaches are necessary to obtain a highly potent silencing molecule. Here we focus on strategies for rational optimization of two siRNAs that target the junction sites of fusion oncogenes BCR-ABL and TMPRSS2-ERG. We demonstrate that modifying the termini of these siRNAs with a terminal G-U wobble pair or a carefully selected pair of terminal asymmetry-enhancing mismatches can result in an increase in potency at low doses. Importantly, we observed that improvements in silencing at the mRNA level do not necessarily translate to reductions in protein level and/or cell death. Decline in protein level is also heavily influenced by targeted protein half-life, and delivery vehicle toxicity can confound measures of cell death due to silencing. Therefore, for BCR-ABL, which has a long protein half-life that is difficult to overcome using siRNA, we also developed a nontoxic transfection vector: poly(lactic-coglycolic acid) nanoparticles that release siRNA over many days. We show that this system can achieve effective killing of leukemic cells. These findings provide insights into the implications of siRNA sequence for potency and suggest strategies for the design of more effective therapeutic siRNA molecules. Furthermore, this work points to the importance of integrating studies of siRNA design and delivery, while heeding and addressing potential limitations such as restricted targetable mRNA regions, long protein half-lives, and nonspecific toxicities.

Intense ion beams for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehlhorn, T.A.

1997-01-01

Intense beams of light of heavy ions are being studied as inertial confinement fusion (ICF) drivers for high yield and energy. Heavy and light ions have common interests in beam transport, targets, and alternative accelerators. Self-pinched transport is being jointly studied. This article reviews the development of intense ion beams for ICF. Light-ion drivers are highlighted because they are compact, modular, efficient and low cost. Issues facing light ions are: (1) decreasing beam divergence; (2) increasing beam brightness; and (3) demonstrating self-pinched transport. Applied-B ion diodes are favored because of efficiency, beam brightness, perceived scalability, achievable focal intensity, and multistage capability. A light-ion concept addressing these issues uses: (1) an injector divergence of ≤ 24 mrad at 9 MeV; (2) two-stage acceleration to reduce divergence to ≤ 12 mrad at 35 MeV; and (3) self-pinched transport accepting divergences up to 12 mrad. Substantial progress in ion-driven target physics and repetitive ion diode technology is also presented. Z-pinch drivers are being pursued as the shortest pulsed power path to target physics experiments and high-yield fusion. However, light ions remain the pulsed power ICF driver of choice for high-yield fusion energy applications that require driver standoff and repetitive operation. 100 refs

Progress on z-pinch inertial fusion energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olson, C.; Rochau, G.; Matzen, M.K.

2005-01-01

The goal of z-pinch inertial fusion energy (IFE) is to extend the single-shot z-pinch inertial confinement fusion (ICF) results on Z to a repetitive-shot z-pinch power plant concept for the economical production of electricity. Z produces up to 1.8 MJ of x-rays at powers as high as 230 TW. Recent target experiments on Z have demonstrated capsule implosion convergence ratios of 14-21 with a double-pinch driven target, and DD neutron yields up to 8x10exp10 with a dynamic hohlraum target. For z-pinch IFE, a power plant concept is discussed that uses high-yield IFE targets (3 GJ) with a low rep-rate per chamber (0.1 Hz). The concept includes a repetitive driver at 0.1 Hz, a Recyclable Transmission Line (RTL) to connect the driver to the target, high-yield targets, and a thick-liquid wall chamber. Recent funding by a U.S. Congressional initiative for $4M for FY04 is supporting research on RTLs, repetitive pulsed power drivers, shock mitigation, full RTL cycle planned experiments, high-yield IFE targets, and z-pinch power plant technologies. Recent results of research in all of these areas are discussed, and a Road Map for Z-Pinch IFE is presented. (author)

Incremental diagnostic value of targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion versus 14-fragments prostatic biopsy. A prospective controlled study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mariotti, Guilherme C.; Falsarella, Priscila M.; Garcia, Rodrigo G.; Queiroz, Marcos R.G.; Lemos, Gustavo C.; Baroni, Ronaldo H.

2018-01-01

To compare the incremental diagnostic value of targeted biopsy using real-time multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and transrectal ultrasound (mpMRI-TRUS) fusion to conventional 14-cores biopsy. Uni-institutional, institutional review board (IRB) approved prospective blinded study comparing TRUS-guided random and targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion, in 100 consecutive men. We included men with clinical-laboratorial suspicious for prostate cancer and Likert score ≥ 3 mp-MRI. Patients previously diagnosed with prostate cancer were excluded. All patients were submitted to 14-cores TRUS-guided biopsy (mpMRI data operator-blinded), followed by targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion. There was an overall increase in cancer detection rate, from 56% with random technique to 62% combining targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion; incremental diagnosis was even more relevant for clinically significant lesions (Gleason ≥ 7), diagnosing 10% more clinically significant lesions with fusion biopsy technique. Diagnosis upgrade occurred in 5 patients that would have negative results in random biopsies and had clinically significant tumours with the combined technique, and in 5 patients who had the diagnosis of significant tumours after fusion biopsy and clinically insignificant tumours in random biopsies(p=0.0010). Targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion has incremental diagnostic value in comparison to conventional random biopsy, better detecting clinically significant prostate cancers. (orig.)

Incremental diagnostic value of targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion versus 14-fragments prostatic biopsy. A prospective controlled study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mariotti, Guilherme C.; Falsarella, Priscila M.; Garcia, Rodrigo G.; Queiroz, Marcos R.G. [Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Department of Interventional Radiology, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Lemos, Gustavo C. [Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Department of Urology, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Baroni, Ronaldo H. [Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Department of Radiology, Sao Paulo (Brazil)

2018-01-15

To compare the incremental diagnostic value of targeted biopsy using real-time multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and transrectal ultrasound (mpMRI-TRUS) fusion to conventional 14-cores biopsy. Uni-institutional, institutional review board (IRB) approved prospective blinded study comparing TRUS-guided random and targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion, in 100 consecutive men. We included men with clinical-laboratorial suspicious for prostate cancer and Likert score ≥ 3 mp-MRI. Patients previously diagnosed with prostate cancer were excluded. All patients were submitted to 14-cores TRUS-guided biopsy (mpMRI data operator-blinded), followed by targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion. There was an overall increase in cancer detection rate, from 56% with random technique to 62% combining targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion; incremental diagnosis was even more relevant for clinically significant lesions (Gleason ≥ 7), diagnosing 10% more clinically significant lesions with fusion biopsy technique. Diagnosis upgrade occurred in 5 patients that would have negative results in random biopsies and had clinically significant tumours with the combined technique, and in 5 patients who had the diagnosis of significant tumours after fusion biopsy and clinically insignificant tumours in random biopsies(p=0.0010). Targeted biopsy using mpMRI-TRUS fusion has incremental diagnostic value in comparison to conventional random biopsy, better detecting clinically significant prostate cancers. (orig.)

Interplay between parametric instabilities in fusion - relevant laser plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huller, St.

2003-01-01

The control of parametric instabilities plays an important role in laser fusion. They are driven by the incident laser beams in the underdense plasma surrounding a fusion capsule and hinder the absorption process of incident laser light which is necessary to heat the fusion target. Due to its high intensity and power, the laser light modifies the plasma density dynamically, such that two or more parametric instabilities compete, in particular stimulated Brillouin scattering and the filamentation instability. The complicated interplay between these parametric instabilities is studied in detail by developing an adequate model accompanied by numerical simulations with multidimensional codes. The model is applied to generic and to smoothed laser beams, which are necessary to limit parametric instabilities, with parameters close to experimental conditions. (author)

Summary of inertial fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindl, J.

2003-01-01

There has been rapid progress in inertial fusion since the last IAEA meeting. This progress spans the construction of ignition facilities, a wide range of target concepts, and the pursuit of integrated programs to develop fusion energy using lasers and ion beams. Two ignition facilities are under construction (NIF in the U.S. and LMJ in France) and both projects are progressing toward an initial experimental capability. The LIL prototype beamline for LMJ and the first 4 beams of NIF will be available for experiments in about 1 year. Ignition experiments are expected to begin in 7-9 years at both facilities. There is steady progress in the target science and target fabrication in preparation for indirect drive ignition experiments on NIF and LMJ. Advanced target designs may lead to 5-10 times more yield than initial target designs. There has been excellent progress on the science of ion beam and z-pinch driven indirect drive targets. Excellent progress on direct-drive targets have been obtained at the University of Rochester. This includes improved performance of targets with a pulse shape predicted to result in reduced hydrodynamic instability. Rochester has also obtained encouraging results from initial cryogenic implosions. There is widespread interest in the science of fast ignition because of its potential for achieving higher target gain with lower driver energy and relaxed target fabrication requirements. Researchers from Osaka have achieved outstanding implosion and heating results from the Gekko Petawatt facility. A broad based program to develop lasers and ions beams for IFE is under way with excellent progress in drivers, chambers, target fabrication and target injection. KrF and Diode Pumped Solid-State lasers (DPSSL) are being developed in conjunction with dry-wall chambers and direct drive targets. Induction accelerators for heavy ions are being developed in conjunction with thick-liquid protected wall chambers and indirect-drive targets. (author)

The distribution of BRAF gene fusions in solid tumors and response to targeted therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Jeffrey S; Wang, Kai; Chmielecki, Juliann; Gay, Laurie; Johnson, Adrienne; Chudnovsky, Jacob; Yelensky, Roman; Lipson, Doron; Ali, Siraj M; Elvin, Julia A; Vergilio, Jo-Anne; Roels, Steven; Miller, Vincent A; Nakamura, Brooke N; Gray, Adam; Wong, Michael K; Stephens, Philip J

2016-02-15

Although the BRAF V600E base substitution is an approved target for the BRAF inhibitors in melanoma, BRAF gene fusions have not been investigated as anticancer drug targets. In our study, a wide variety of tumors underwent comprehensive genomic profiling for hundreds of known cancer genes using the FoundationOne™ or FoundationOne Heme™ comprehensive genomic profiling assays. BRAF fusions involving the intact in-frame BRAF kinase domain were observed in 55 (0.3%) of 20,573 tumors, across 12 distinct tumor types, including 20 novel BRAF fusions. These comprised 29 unique 5' fusion partners, of which 31% (9) were known and 69% (20) were novel. BRAF fusions included 3% (14/531) of melanomas; 2% (15/701) of gliomas; 1.0% (3/294) of thyroid cancers; 0.3% (3/1,062) pancreatic carcinomas; 0.2% (8/4,013) nonsmall-cell lung cancers and 0.2% (4/2,154) of colorectal cancers, and were enriched in pilocytic (30%) vs. nonpilocytic gliomas (1%; p < 0.0001), Spitzoid (75%) vs. nonSpitzoid melanomas (1%; p = 0.0001), acinar (67%) vs. nonacinar pancreatic cancers (<1%; p < 0.0001) and papillary (3%) vs. nonpapillary thyroid cancers (0%; p < 0.03). Clinical responses to trametinib and sorafenib are presented. In conclusion, BRAF fusions are rare driver alterations in a wide variety of malignant neoplasms, but enriched in Spitzoid melanoma, pilocytic astrocytomas, pancreatic acinar and papillary thyroid cancers. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of UICC.

Intense light-ion beams provide a robust, common-driver path toward ignition, gain, and commercial fusion energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramirez, J.J.; Cook, D.L.

1993-01-01

Intense light-ion beams are being developed for investigations of inertial confinement fusion (ICF). This effort has concentrated on developing the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator II (PBFA II) at Sandia as a driver for ICF target experiments, on design concepts for a high-yield, high-gain Laboratory Microfusion Facility (LMF), and on a comprehensive system study of a light-ion beam-driven commercial fusion reactor (LIBRA). Reports are given on the status of design concepts and research in these areas. (author)

Cost Modeling for Fabrication of Direct Drive Inertial Fusion Energy Targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rickman, William Samuel; Goodin, Daniel T.

2003-01-01

Chemical engineering analyses are underway for a commercial-scale [1000-MW(electric)] divinyl benzene foam-based Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) Target Fabrication Facility (TFF). This facility is designed to supply 500,000, 4-mm-outer diameter targets per day - coated via interfacial polycondensation, dried with supercritical CO 2 , sputter coated with Au and/or Pd, and filled with deuterium-tritium layered at cryogenic temperatures and injected into the fusion chamber. Such targets would be used in a direct-drive IFE power plant.The work uses manufacturing processes being developed in the laboratory, chemical engineering scaleup principles, and established cost-estimating methods. The plant conceptual design includes a process flow diagram, mass and energy balances, equipment sizing and sketches, storage tanks, and facility views.The cost estimate includes both capital and operating costs. Initial results for a TFF dedicated to one 1000-MW(electric) plant indicate that the costs per target are well within the commercially viable range. Larger TFF plants [3000 MW(electric)] are projected to lead to significantly reduced costs per injected target. Additional cost reductions are possible by producing dried, sputter-coated empty shells at a central facility that services multiple power plants.The results indicate that the installed capital cost is about $100 million and the annual operating costs will be about $20 million, for a cost per target of about $0.17 each. These design and cost projections assume that a significant process development and scaleup program is successfully completed for all of the basic unit operations included in the facility

Charged--particle beam implosion of fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauser, M.J.; Sweeney, M.A.

1975-01-01

This paper discusses the calculated behavior of fusion targets consisting of solid shells filled with DT gas, irradiated by high power electron or ion beams. The current required for breakeven with gold shells is 500 to 1000 MA, independent of target radius and nearly independent of beam voltage in the 1 / 2 to 1 MeV range. Above 1 MeV the breakeven current increases because of the increased bremsstrahlung production by the beam electrons. By using a diamond ablator and a gold pusher, the breakeven current is reduced to 220 MA. The ion current required for breakeven (about 10 MA of protons) is independent of proton voltage above 10 MeV with gold shell targets. Below 10 MeV the range of the proton becomes too short for efficient coupling, and the required current increases, but the power does not. Various aspects of the symmetry and stability of the implosion are discussed. One finds that the relatively long deposition lengths of electrons result in relatively small growths of the Rayleigh--Taylor instability during the acceleration of the pusher, resulting in a relatively stable implosion

Etching of LiNbO/sub 3/ by laser-driven fusion of salts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashby, C.I.H.; Brannon, P.J.

1987-01-01

Lithium niobate exhibits low reactivity with most chemical etchants. Consequently, etching a LiNbO/sub 3/ surface to produce optical structures such as ridge waveguides or grooves for fiber coupling normally requires relatively slow processes such as ion milling. The authors have developed a laser-driven chemical etching process for etching highly unreactive ionic solids based on the fusion of salts in the molten phase and show that the etch rate can be more than 100 times faster than ion milling rates. This process involves spatially localized melting of LiNbO/sub 3/ by high-power density laser pulses with photon energies in excess of the band gap of LiNbO/sub 3/. While molten, LiNbO/sub 3/ undergoes reaction with a surface coating of KF to form niobium oxyfluoride anions by fusion of the salts. The resulting solid is highly water soluble. The insolubility of LiNbO/sub 3/ permits subsequent removal of only the irradiated area by rinsing in water. Surface morphology is determined by laser power density. The process exhibits a wavelength dependence

Conceptual design of a 10-MJ driver for a high gain target development facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olson, R.E.

1987-01-01

Commercial application of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) will require inexpensive, high gain (>80) fusion targets. It is thought that the development of such targets will require a 5 to 10 year search effort utilizing a dedicated nuclear research facility with a driver capable of providing a 10 MJ, 300 to 1000 TW pulse of on-target energy. The Terget Development Facility (TDF) is a light ion driven concept for such a facility. A TDF driver based upon extrapolations from present-day pulsed power technology is described in the present paper

Simulations of intense heavy ion beams propagating through a gaseous fusion target chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Welch, D.R.; Rose, D.V.; Oliver, B.V.; Genoni, T.C.; Clark, R.E.; Olson, C.L.; Yu, S.S.

2002-01-01

In heavy-ion inertial confinement fusion (HIF), an ion beam is transported several meters through the reactor chamber to the target. This standoff distance mitigates damage to the accelerator from the target explosion. For the high perveance beams and millimeter-scale targets under consideration, the transport method is largely determined by the degree of ion charge and current neutralization in the chamber. This neutralization becomes increasingly difficult as the beam interacts with the ambient chamber environment and strips to higher charge states. Nearly complete neutralization permits neutralized-ballistic transport (main-line HIF transport method), where the ion beam enters the chamber at roughly 3-cm radius and focuses onto the target. In the backup pinched-transport schemes, the beam is first focused outside the chamber before propagating at small radius to the target. With nearly complete charge neutralization, the large beam divergence is contained by a strong magnetic field resulting from roughly 50-kA net current. In assisted-pinched transport, a preformed discharge channel provides the net current and the discharge plasma provides nearly complete charge and current neutralization of the beam. In self-pinched transport, the residual net current results solely from the beam-driven breakdown of the ambient gas. Using hybrid particle-in-cell simulation codes, the behavior of HIF driver-scale beams in these three transport modes is examined. Simulations of neutralized ballistic transport, at a few-mTorr flibe pressure, show excellent neutralization given a preformed or photoionized (from the heated target) plasma. Two- and three-dimensional simulations of assisted-pinch transport in roughly 1-Torr Xe show the importance of attaining >1-μs magnetic diffusion time to limit self-field effects and achieve good transport efficiency. For Xe gas pressures ranging from 10-150 mTorr, calculations predict a robust self-magnetic force sufficient for self

TALE-PvuII fusion proteins--novel tools for gene targeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Yanik, Mert; Alzubi, Jamal; Lahaye, Thomas; Cathomen, Toni; Pingoud, Alfred; Wende, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) consist of zinc fingers as DNA-binding module and the non-specific DNA-cleavage domain of the restriction endonuclease FokI as DNA-cleavage module. This architecture is also used by TALE nucleases (TALENs), in which the DNA-binding modules of the ZFNs have been replaced by DNA-binding domains based on transcription activator like effector (TALE) proteins. Both TALENs and ZFNs are programmable nucleases which rely on the dimerization of FokI to induce double-strand DNA cleavage at the target site after recognition of the target DNA by the respective DNA-binding module. TALENs seem to have an advantage over ZFNs, as the assembly of TALE proteins is easier than that of ZFNs. Here, we present evidence that variant TALENs can be produced by replacing the catalytic domain of FokI with the restriction endonuclease PvuII. These fusion proteins recognize only the composite recognition site consisting of the target site of the TALE protein and the PvuII recognition sequence (addressed site), but not isolated TALE or PvuII recognition sites (unaddressed sites), even at high excess of protein over DNA and long incubation times. In vitro, their preference for an addressed over an unaddressed site is > 34,000-fold. Moreover, TALE-PvuII fusion proteins are active in cellula with minimal cytotoxicity.

Calculation of fusion gain in fast ignition with magnetic target by relativistic electrons and protons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parvazian, A.; Javani, A.

2010-01-01

Fast ignition is a new method for inertial confinement fusion in which the compression and ignition steps are separated. In the first stage, fuel is compressed by laser or ion beams. In the second phase, relativistic electrons are generated by pettawat laser in the fuel. Also, in the second phase 5-35 MeV protons can be generated in the fuel. Electrons or protons can penetrate in to the ultra-dense fuel and deposit their energy in the fuel. More recently, cylindrical rather than spherical fuel chambers with magnetic control in the plasma domain have been also considered. This is called magnetized target fusion. Magnetic field has effects on relativistic electrons energy deposition rate in fuel. In this work, fast ignition method in cylindrical fuel chambers is investigated and transportation of the relativistic electrons and protons is calculated using MCNPX and FLUKA codes with 0.25 and 0.5 tesla magnetic field in single and dual hot spot. Furthermore, the transfer rate of relativistic electrons and high energy protons to the fuel and fusion gain are calculated. The results show that the presence of external magnetic field guarantees higher fusion gain, and relativistic electrons are much more appropriate objects for ignition. Magnetized target fusion in dual hot spot can be considered as an appropriate substitution for the current inertial confinement fusion techniques.

Relativistic electron transport in a solid target: study of heating in the framework of inertial fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinolli, E.

2003-04-01

This work is dedicated to the study of the energy deposition of fast electrons in matter. This topic is of prime importance for inertial fusion driven by laser since relativistic electrons are produced in laser-matter interaction for a laser operating in ultra-intense regime. This thesis is made up of: a theoretical chapter dealing with the generation and transport of fast electrons, of 2 chapters reporting experimental data obtained with optical and X-rays diagnostics at the laser facilities of LULI in France and RAL in U.K., and of a chapter dedicated to the simulation of electron transport by using a Monte-Carlo code combined to a hybrid collisional-electromagnetic PIC code. A new spectrometer has been designed: the detection of Kα rays coming from a fluorescent layer embedded in the target has allowed us to assess the size of the electron beam and the level of ionisation. (A.C.)

Tolerance of laser-driven microshell targets to fluorescence and prepulse energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leonard, T.; Moncur, N.K.; Sullivan, D.

1976-01-01

Glass-shell targets currently being used for laser-fusion experiments are susceptible to damage by preenergy from the laser. This energy can result from amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) throughout the laser chain during the period of high-population inversion or it can take the form of a short prepulse nanoseconds before the main laser pulse. We point out the energy levels which a typical target can tolerate in the form of ASE and prepulses. These energies are low enough that special precautions must be taken to prevent significant perturbations of the target or its environment before the main laser pulse

Laser-driven polarized H/D sources and targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clasie, B.; Crawford, C.; Dutta, D.; Gao, H.; Seely, J.; Xu, W.

2005-01-01

Traditionally, Atomic Beam Sources are used to produce targets of nuclear polarized hydrogen (H) or deuterium (D) for experiments using storage rings. Laser-Driven Sources (LDSs) offer a factor of 20-30 gain in the target thickness (however, with lower polarization) and may produce a higher overall figure of merit. The LDS is based on the technique of spin-exchange optical pumping where alkali vapor is polarized by absorbing circularly polarized laser photons. The H or D atoms are nuclear-polarized through spin-exchange collisions with the polarized alkali vapor and through subsequent hyperfine interactions during frequent H-H or D-D collisions

Conceptual design considerations and neutronics of lithium fall laser fusion target chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meier, W.R.; Thomson, W.B.

1978-01-01

Atomics International and Lawrence Livermore Laboratory are involved in the conceptual design of a laser fusion power plant incorporating the lithium fall target chamber. In this paper we discuss some of the more important design considerations for the target chamber and evaluate its nuclear performance. Sizing and configuration of the fall, hydraulic effects, and mechanical design considerations are addressed. The nuclear aspects examined include tritium breeding, energy deposition, and radiation damage

Transmutation of 126Sn in spallation targets of accelerator-driven systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Chi Young; Saito, Masaki; Sagara, Hiroshi

2009-01-01

The practical feasibility of 126 Sn transmutation in spallation targets of accelerator-driven systems was evaluated from the viewpoints of accumulation of radioactive spallation products and neutron production as well as transmutation amount of 126 Sn. A cylindrical liquid 126 Sn target whose length depends on proton beam energy was described, based on a Pb-Bi target design of accelerator-driven system being developed in JAEA. A proton beam of 1.5 GeV-20 mA was estimated to give the transmutation rate of 126 Sn 6.4 kg/yr, which corresponds to the amount of 126 Sn annually discharged in 27 LWRs of 1 GWt and 33 GWd/THM. The equilibrium radioactivity of spallation products would reach 9% of that of 126 Sn transmuted in the spallation target, and the equilibrium toxicity would be just 3%. Some parametric analyses showed that the effective half-life of 126 Sn could be reduced through a proper reduction of the target size. The 126 Sn target was calculated to produce 40 neutrons per proton of 1.5 GeV and give a neutron spectrum very similar to that of the reference Pb-Bi target. As a result, the transmutation of 126 Sn in the spallation target has a high feasibility in terms of better transmutation performance and comparable target performance. (author)

Conceptual design of a 6-10 MJ driver for a high gain target development facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olson, R.E.

1986-01-01

Commercial application of inertial confinement fusion would require low yield (≅200-500 MJ), high gain (≥80) fusion targets. It is thought that the development off such targets would reqiure a 5-10 year research program utilizing one or more dedicated nuclear facilities with drivers capable of delivering on-target pulses of 6-10 MJ at the rate of several shots per day. The ''Target Development Facility'' (TDF) is the light ion driven version of such a facility. A TDF driver concept based upon reasonable extrapolation from present-day technology is described in this paper

Target injection and tracking for inertial fusion energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petzoldt, R.W. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); Moir, R.W. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)

1996-11-01

In an inertial fusion power plant, several cryogenic targets must be injected each second into a reaction chamber with speeds of about 100 m s{sup -1}. This speed can be achieved with an acceleration in the range from 1000 to 10 000 m s{sup -2}. The total accuracy of driver beam pointing and target position prediction must be less than {+-}0.6 mm for a 3 mm beam spot radius. A 0.1 {mu}m thick dual membrane supporting the capsule in the hohlraum will allow nearly 2000 m s{sup -2} acceleration. The strength of frozen DT in the capsule is calculated to allow acceleration in excess of 10 000 m s{sup -2} if the DT temperature is less than 17 K. A gas gun is the preferred device for injecting indirect drive targets owing to its simplicity and proven reliability. The amount of gas required for each target (about 10-100 mg) is acceptable. A revolver loading mechanism is recommendced with a cam-operated poppet valve to control the gas flow. Slots near the muzzle of the gun barrel are recommended to vent gas and thereby to improve accuracy and to aid gas pumping. Optical target tracking and electronic timing devices can predict target arrival time with sufficient accuracy. Target steering by electrostatic deflection of the in-flight target is shown to be feasible and would avoid the need to point the beams actively. Calculations show that induced tumble from electrostatically steering the target is not excessive. An experiment has been designed to develop target injection and to verify the predicted accuracy of sequential injection and tracking of multiple targets. (orig.)

Method for nondestructive fuel assay of laser fusion targets

Science.gov (United States)

Farnum, Eugene H.; Fries, R. Jay

1976-01-01

A method for nondestructively determining the deuterium and tritium content of laser fusion targets by counting the x rays produced by the interaction of tritium beta particles with the walls of the microballoons used to contain the deuterium and tritium gas mixture under high pressure. The x rays provide a direct measure of the tritium content and a means for calculating the deuterium content using the initial known D-T ratio and the known deuterium and tritium diffusion rates.

The Argonne laser-driven D target: Recent developments and progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fedchak, J.A.; Bailey, K.; Cummings, W.J.

1997-01-01

The first direct measurements of nuclear tensor polarization p zz in a laser-driven polarized D target have been performed at Argonne. We present p zz and electron polarization P e data taken at a magnetic field of 600 G in the optical pumping cell. These results are highly indicative that spin-temperature equilibrium is achieved in the system. To prevent spin relaxation of D and K atoms as well as the molecular recombination of D atoms, the walls of the laser-driven D target are coated with organosilane compounds. We discuss a new coating technique, the open-quotes afterwashclose quotes, developed at Argonne which has yielded stable atomic fraction results when the coating is exposed to K. We also present new coating techniques for glass and Cu substrates

Conceptual study on high performance blanket in a spherical tokamak fusion-driven transmuter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yixue; Wu Yican

2000-01-01

A preliminary conceptual design on high performance dual-cooled blanket of fusion-driven transmuter is presented based on neutronic calculation. The dual-cooled system has some attractive advantages when utilized in transmutation of HLW (High Level Wastes). The calculation results show that this kind of blanket could safely transmute about 6 ton minor actinides (produced by 170 GW(e) Year PWRs approximately) and 0.4 ton fission products per year, and output 12 GW thermal power. In addition, the variation of power and critical factor of this blanket is relatively little during its 1-year operation period. This blanket is also tritium self-sustainable

The US inertial confinement fusion (ICF) ignition programme and the inertial fusion energy (IFE) programme

Science.gov (United States)

Lindl, J. D.; Hammel, B. A.; Logan, B. Grant; Meyerhofer, David D.; Payne, S. A.; Sethian, John D.

2003-12-01

There has been rapid progress in inertial fusion in the past few years. This progress spans the construction of ignition facilities, a wide range of target concepts and the pursuit of integrated programmes to develop fusion energy using lasers, ion beams and z-pinches. Two ignition facilities are under construction, the national ignition facility (NIF) in the United States and the laser megajoule (LMJ) in France, and both projects are progressing towards an initial experimental capability. The laser integration line prototype beamline for LMJ and the first four beams of NIF will be available for experiments in 2003. The full 192 beam capability of NIF will be available in 2009 and ignition experiments are expected to begin shortly after that time. There is steady progress in target science and target fabrication in preparation for indirect-drive ignition experiments on NIF. Advanced target designs may lead to 5 10 times more yield than initial target designs. There has also been excellent progress on the science of ion beam and z-pinch-driven indirect-drive targets. Excellent progress on direct-drive targets has been obtained on the Omega laser at the University of Rochester. This includes improved performance of targets with a pulse shape predicted to result in reduced hydrodynamic instability. Rochester has also obtained encouraging results from initial cryogenic implosions. There is widespread interest in the science of fast ignition because of its potential for achieving higher target gain with lower driver energy and relaxed target fabrication requirements. Researchers from Osaka have achieved outstanding implosion and heating results from the Gekko XII Petawatt facility and implosions suitable for fast ignition have been tested on the Omega laser. A broad-based programme to develop lasers and ion beams for inertial fusion energy (IFE) is under way with excellent progress in drivers, chambers, target fabrication and target injection. KrF and diode pumped solid

The US inertial confinement fusion (ICF) ignition programme and the inertial fusion energy (IFE) programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindl, J D; Hammel, B A; Logan, B Grant; Meyerhofer, David D; Payne, S A; Sethian, John D

2003-01-01

There has been rapid progress in inertial fusion in the past few years. This progress spans the construction of ignition facilities, a wide range of target concepts and the pursuit of integrated programmes to develop fusion energy using lasers, ion beams and z-pinches. Two ignition facilities are under construction, the national ignition facility (NIF) in the United States and the laser megajoule (LMJ) in France, and both projects are progressing towards an initial experimental capability. The laser integration line prototype beamline for LMJ and the first four beams of NIF will be available for experiments in 2003. The full 192 beam capability of NIF will be available in 2009 and ignition experiments are expected to begin shortly after that time. There is steady progress in target science and target fabrication in preparation for indirect-drive ignition experiments on NIF. Advanced target designs may lead to 5-10 times more yield than initial target designs. There has also been excellent progress on the science of ion beam and z-pinch-driven indirect-drive targets. Excellent progress on direct-drive targets has been obtained on the Omega laser at the University of Rochester. This includes improved performance of targets with a pulse shape predicted to result in reduced hydrodynamic instability. Rochester has also obtained encouraging results from initial cryogenic implosions. There is widespread interest in the science of fast ignition because of its potential for achieving higher target gain with lower driver energy and relaxed target fabrication requirements. Researchers from Osaka have achieved outstanding implosion and heating results from the Gekko XII Petawatt facility and implosions suitable for fast ignition have been tested on the Omega laser. A broad-based programme to develop lasers and ion beams for inertial fusion energy (IFE) is under way with excellent progress in drivers, chambers, target fabrication and target injection. KrF and diode pumped solid

Overview of US heavy-ion fusion progress and plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logan, G.; Bieniosek, F.; Celata, C.; Henestroza, E.; Kwan, J.; Lee, E.P.; Leitner, M.; Prost, L.; Roy, P.; Seidl, P.A.; Eylon, S.; Vay, J.-L.; Waldron, W.; Yu, S.; Barnard, J.; Callahan, D.; Cohen, R.; Friedman, A.; Grote, D.; Kireeff Covo, M.; Meier, W.R.; Molvik, A.; Lund, S.; Davidson, R.; Efthimion, P.; Gilson, E.; Grisham, L.; Kaganovich, I.; Qin, H.; Startsev, E.; Rose, D.; Welch, D.; Olson, C.; Kishek, R.; O'Shea, P.; Haber, I.

2005-01-01

Significant experimental and theoretical progress has been made in the US heavy-ion fusion program on high-current sources, injectors, transport, final focusing, chambers and targets for high-energy density physics (HEDP) and inertial fusion energy (IFE) driven by induction linac accelerators. One focus of present research is the beam physics associated with quadrupole focusing of intense, space-charge dominated heavy-ion beams, including gas and electron cloud effects at high currents, and the study of long-distance-propagation effects such as emittance growth due to field errors in scaled experiments. A second area of emphasis in present research is the introduction of background plasma to neutralize the space charge of intense heavy-ion beams and assist in focusing the beams to a small spot size. In the near future, research will continue in the above areas, and a new area of emphasis will be to explore the physics of neutralized beam compression and focusing to high intensities required to heat targets to high-energy density conditions as well as for inertial fusion energy

Development of position measurement unit for flying inertial fusion energy target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuji, R; Endo, T; Yoshida, H; Norimatsu, T

2016-01-01

We have reported the present status in the development of a position measurement unit (PMU) for a flying inertial fusion energy (IFE) target. The PMU, which uses Arago spot phenomena, is designed to have a measurement accuracy smaller than 1 μm. By employing divergent, pulsed orthogonal laser beam illumination, we can measure the time and the target position at the pulsed illumination. The two-dimensional Arago spot image is compressed into one-dimensional image by a cylindrical lens for real-time processing. The PMU are set along the injection path of the flying target. The local positions of the target in each PMU are transferred to the controller and analysed to calculate the target trajectory. Two methods are presented to calculate the arrival time and the arrival position of the target at the reactor centre. (paper)

Development of position measurement unit for flying inertial fusion energy target

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuji, R.; Endo, T.; Yoshida, H.; Norimatsu, T.

2016-03-01

We have reported the present status in the development of a position measurement unit (PMU) for a flying inertial fusion energy (IFE) target. The PMU, which uses Arago spot phenomena, is designed to have a measurement accuracy smaller than 1 μm. By employing divergent, pulsed orthogonal laser beam illumination, we can measure the time and the target position at the pulsed illumination. The two-dimensional Arago spot image is compressed into one-dimensional image by a cylindrical lens for real-time processing. The PMU are set along the injection path of the flying target. The local positions of the target in each PMU are transferred to the controller and analysed to calculate the target trajectory. Two methods are presented to calculate the arrival time and the arrival position of the target at the reactor centre.

Target technologies for laser inertial confinement fusion: state-of-the-art and future perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Lin; Du Kai

2013-01-01

Targets are physical base of the laser inertial confinement fusion (ICF) researches. The quality of the targets has extremely important influences on the reliabilities and degree of precision of the ICF experimental results. The characteristics of the ICF targets, such as complexity and microscale, high precision, determine that the target fabrication process must be a system engineering. This paper presents progresses on the fabrication technologies of ICF targets. The existing problem and the future needs of ICF target fabrication technologies are also discussed. (authors)

Driven reconnection in magnetic fusion experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fitzpatrick, R.

1995-11-01

Error fields (i.e. small non-axisymmetric perturbations of the magnetic field due to coil misalignments, etc.) are a fact of life in magnetic fusion experiments. What effects do error fields have on plasma confinement? How can any detrimental effects be alleviated? These, and other, questions are explored in detail in this lecture using simple resistive magnetohydrodynamic (resistance MHD) arguments. Although the lecture concentrates on one particular type of magnetic fusion device, namely, the tokamak, the analysis is fairly general and could also be used to examine the effects of error fields on other types of device (e.g. Reversed Field Pinches, Stellerators, etc.)

Fusion-driven sub-critical dual-cooled waste transmutation blanket: design and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Weihua; Wu Yican; Ke Yan; Kang Zhicheng; Wang Hongyan; Huang Qunying

2003-01-01

The Fusion-Driven Sub-critical System (FDS) is one of the Chinese programs to be further developed for fusion application. Its Dual-cooled Waste Transmutation Blanket (DWTB), as one the most important part of the FDS is cooled by helium and liquid metal, and have the features of safety, tritium self-sustaining, high efficiency and feasibility. Its conceptual design has been finished. This paper is mainly involved with the basic structure design and thermal-hydraulics analysis of DWTB. On the basis of a three-dimensional (3-D) model of radial-toroidal sections of the segment box, thermal temperature gradients and structure analysis made with a comprehensive finite element method (FEM) have been performed with the computer code ANSYS5.7 and computational fluid dynamic finite element codes. The analysis refers to the steady-state operating condition of an outboard blanket segment. Furthermore, the mechanical loads due to coolant pressure in normal operating conditions have been also taken into account. All the above loads have been combined as an input for a FEM stress analysis and the resulting stress distribution has been evaluated. Finally, the structure design and Pb-17Li flow velocity has been optimized according to the calculations and analysis

Method for nondestructive fuel assay of laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farnum, E.H.; Fries, R.J.

1976-01-01

A method is described for nondestructively determining the deuterium and tritium content of laser fusion targets by counting the x rays produced by the interaction of tritium beta particles with the walls of the microballoons used to contain the deuterium and tritium gas mixture under high pressure. The x rays provide a direct measure of the tritium content and a means for calculating the deuterium content using the initial known D-T ratio and the known deuterium and tritium diffusion rates

Critical Path Driven Cosynthesis for Heterogeneous Target Architectures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn-Jørgensen, Peter; Madsen, Jan

1997-01-01

This paper presents a critical path driven algorithm to produce a static schedule of a single-rate system onto a heterogeneous target architecture. Our algorithm is a list based scheduling algorithm which concurrently assigns tasks to processors and allocates nets to interprocessor communication........ Experimental results show that our algorithm is able to find good results, as compared to other methods, in small amount of CPU time....

A Decision Fusion Framework for Treatment Recommendation Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mei, Jing; Liu, Haifeng; Li, Xiang; Xie, Guotong; Yu, Yiqin

2015-01-01

Treatment recommendation is a nontrivial task--it requires not only domain knowledge from evidence-based medicine, but also data insights from descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analysis. A single treatment recommendation system is usually trained or modeled with a limited (size or quality) source. This paper proposes a decision fusion framework, combining both knowledge-driven and data-driven decision engines for treatment recommendation. End users (e.g. using the clinician workstation or mobile apps) could have a comprehensive view of various engines' opinions, as well as the final decision after fusion. For implementation, we leverage several well-known fusion algorithms, such as decision templates and meta classifiers (of logistic and SVM, etc.). Using an outcome-driven evaluation metric, we compare the fusion engine with base engines, and our experimental results show that decision fusion is a promising way towards a more valuable treatment recommendation.

Indirect drive targets for fusion power

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amendt, Peter A.; Miles, Robin R.

2016-10-11

A hohlraum for an inertial confinement fusion power plant is disclosed. The hohlraum includes a generally cylindrical exterior surface, and an interior rugby ball-shaped surface. Windows over laser entrance holes at each end of the hohlraum enclose inert gas. Infrared reflectors on opposite sides of the central point reflect fusion chamber heat away from the capsule. P2 shields disposed on the infrared reflectors help assure an enhanced and more uniform x-ray bath for the fusion fuel capsule.

Characterization of a structural intermediate of flavivirus membrane fusion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karin Stiasny

2007-02-01

Full Text Available Viral membrane fusion proceeds through a sequence of steps that are driven by triggered conformational changes of viral envelope glycoproteins, so-called fusion proteins. Although high-resolution structural snapshots of viral fusion proteins in their prefusion and postfusion conformations are available, it has been difficult to define intermediate structures of the fusion pathway because of their transient nature. Flaviviruses possess a class II viral fusion protein (E mediating fusion at acidic pH that is converted from a dimer to a trimer with a hairpin-like structure during the fusion process. Here we show for tick-borne encephalitis virus that exposure of virions to alkaline instead of acidic pH traps the particles in an intermediate conformation in which the E dimers dissociate and interact with target membranes via the fusion peptide without proceeding to the merger of the membranes. Further treatment to low pH, however, leads to fusion, suggesting that these monomers correspond to an as-yet-elusive intermediate required to convert the prefusion dimer into the postfusion trimer. Thus, the use of nonphysiological conditions allows a dissection of the flavivirus fusion process and the identification of two separate steps, in which membrane insertion of multiple copies of E monomers precedes the formation of hairpin-like trimers. This sequence of events provides important new insights for understanding the dynamic process of viral membrane fusion.

Technique for thick polymer coating of inertial-confinement-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, M.C.; Feng, I.; Wang, T.G.; Kim, H.

1983-01-01

A novel technique has been developed to coat a thick layer (15--50 μm) of polymer materials on inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) targets. In this technique, the target and the coating material are independently positioned and manipulated. The coating material is first dissolved in an appropriate solvent to form a polymer solution. The solution is then atomized, transported, and allowed to coalesce into a droplet in a stable acoustic levitating field. The ICF target mounted on a stalk is moved into the acoustic field by manipulating a three-dimensional (3-D) positioner to penetrate the surface membrane of the droplet and thus the target is immersed in the levitated coating solution. The 3-D coordinates of the target inside the droplet are obtained using two orthogonally placed television cameras. The target is positioned at the geometric center of the droplet and maintained at that location by continuously manipulating the 3-D device until the coating layer is dried. Tests of this technique using a polymer solution have been highly successful

Controlled thermonuclear fusion

CERN Document Server

Bobin, Jean Louis

2014-01-01

The book is a presentation of the basic principles and main achievements in the field of nuclear fusion. It encompasses both magnetic and inertial confinements plus a few exotic mechanisms for nuclear fusion. The state-of-the-art regarding thermonuclear reactions, hot plasmas, tokamaks, laser-driven compression and future reactors is given.

Neuraminidase treatment of respiratory syncytial virus-infected cells or virions, but not target cells, enhances cell-cell fusion and infection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barretto, Naina; Hallak, Louay K.; Peeples, Mark E.

2003-01-01

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection of HeLa cells induces fusion, but transient expression of the three viral glycoproteins induces fusion poorly, if at all. We found that neuraminidase treatment of RSV-infected cells to remove sialic acid (SA) increases fusion dramatically and that the same treatment of transiently transfected cells expressing the three viral glycoproteins, or even cells expressing the fusion (F) protein alone, results in easily detectable fusion. Neuraminidase treatment of the effector cells, expressing the viral glycoproteins, enhanced fusion while treatment of the target cells did not. Likewise, infectivity was increased by treating virions with neuraminidase, but not by treating target cells. Reduction of charge repulsion by removal of the negatively charged SA is unlikely to explain this effect, since removal of negative charges from either membrane would reduce charge repulsion. Infection with neuraminidase-treated virus remained heparan-sulfate-dependent, indicating that a novel attachment mechanism is not revealed by SA removal. Interestingly, neuraminidase enhancement of RSV infectivity was less pronounced in a virus expressing both the G and the F glycoproteins, compared to virus expressing only the F glycoprotein, possibly suggesting that the G protein sterically hinders access of the neuraminidase to its fusion-enhancing target

THE RAPID FUSION AFTER AN LBO COMPARATIVE TAX LAW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed EL GDAIHI

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Practitioners refer to "fast fusion" as the action, of acquisition of controlling interest with leverage effect, which results in the fusion of the acquired company with the mother company. The aim of such a merger may be financial as the buyer captures not only the outcome of the takeover company but directly its liquidity, the repayment of the loan would be made not only by way of a divided but by direct use of the entire cash flow of the target via the merged firm. Moreover, such a transaction will enable the banker, as last lender to the holding, to directly take a guarantee over the assets of the target. However, the fusion is essentially driven by a desire for tax optimization; it will impute the expenses of the holding on the taxable profits of the acquired company. This process of rapid fusion is very interesting from a tax point of view, but its admission was controversial by the jurisprudence, which by hypothesis is important because this holding was indebted so as to obtain a maximum leverage. This company was chosen in particular because of its ability to pay dividends to the holding regularly to enable it to meet the deadlines of the loan.

Laser driven compression and neutron generation with spherical shell targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, P.M.; Hammerling, P.; Johnson, R.R.; Kubis, J.J.; Mayer, F.J.

1977-01-01

Laser-driven implosion experiments using DT-gas-filled spherical glass-shell targets are described. Neutron yields to 5 x 10 7 are produced from implosions of small ( -- 55 μm-diameter) targets spherically illuminated with an on-target laser power of 0.4 terawatt. Nuclear reaction product diagnostics, X-ray pinhole photographs, fast-ion spectra and X-ray measurements are used in conjunction with hydrodynamic computer code simulations to investigate the implosion phenomenology as well as the target corona evolution. Simulations using completely classical effects are not able to describe the full range of experimental data. Electron or radiation preheating may be required to explain some implosion measurements. (auth.)

Plasma processed coating of laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, W.L.; Letts, S.A.; Myers, D.W.; Crane, J.K.; Illige, J.D.; Hatcher, C.W.

1979-01-01

Coatings for laser fusion targets have been deposited in an inductively coupled discharge device by plasma polymerization. Two feed gases were used: perfluoro-2-butene, which produced a fluorocarbon coating (CF 1 3 ) with a density of 1.8 g/cc, and trans-2-butene which produced a hydrocarbon coating (CH 1 3 ) with a density of 1.0 g/cc. Uniform pin-hole free films have been deposited to a thickness of up to 30 μm of fluorocarbon and up to 110 μm of hydrocarbon. The effect of process variables on surface smoothness has been investigated. The basic defect in the coating has been found to result from shadowing by a small surface irregularity in an anisotropic coating flux

Overview of U.S. heavy ion fusion progress and plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logan, G.; Bieniosek, F.; Celata, C.; Henestroza, E.; Kwan, J; Lee, E.P.; Leitner, M.; Prost, L.; Roy, P.; Seidl, P.A.; Eylon, S.; Vay, J.-L.; Waldron, W.; Yu, S.; Barnard, J.; Callahan, D.; Cohen, R.; Friedman, A.; Grote, D.; Kireeff Covo, M.; Meier, W.R.; Molvik, A.; Lund, S.; Davidson, R.; Efthimion, P.; Gilson, E.; Grisham, L.; Kaganovich, I.; Qin, H.; Startsev, E.; Rose, D.; Welch, D.; Olson, C.; Kishek, R.; O'Shea, P.; Haber, I.

2004-01-01

Significant experimental and theoretical progress has been made in the U.S. heavy ion fusion program on high-current sources, injectors, transport, final focusing, chambers and targets for high energy density physics (HEDP) and inertial fusion energy (IFE) driven by induction linac accelerators. One focus of present research is the beam physics associated with quadrupole focusing of intense, space-charge dominated heavy-ion beams, including gas and electron cloud effects at high currents, and the study of long-distance-propagation effects such as emittance growth due to field errors in scaled experiments. A second area of emphasis in present research is the introduction of background plasma to neutralize the space charge of intense heavy ion beams and assist in focusing the beams to a small spot size. In the near future, research will continue in the above areas, and a new area of emphasis will be to explore the physics of neutralized beam compression and focusing to high intensities required to heat targets to high energy density conditions as well as for inertial fusion energy

Inertial fusion energy; L'energie de fusion inertielle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Decroisette, M.; Andre, M.; Bayer, C.; Juraszek, D. [CEA Bruyeres-le-Chatel, Dir. des Systemes d' Information (CEA/DIF), 91 (France); Le Garrec, B. [CEA Centre d' Etudes Scientifiques et Techniques d' Aquitaine, 33 - Le Barp (France); Deutsch, C. [Paris-11 Univ., 91 - Orsay (France); Migus, A. [Institut d' Optique Centre scientifique, 91 - Orsay (France)

2005-07-01

We first recall the scientific basis of inertial fusion and then describe a generic fusion reactor with the different components: the driver, the fusion chamber, the material treatment unit, the target factory and the turbines. We analyse the options proposed at the present time for the driver and for target irradiation scheme giving the state of art for each approach. We conclude by the presentation of LMJ (laser Megajoule) and NIF (national ignition facility) projects. These facilities aim to demonstrate the feasibility of laboratory DT ignition, first step toward Inertial Fusion Energy. (authors)

TALE-PvuII Fusion Proteins – Novel Tools for Gene Targeting

Science.gov (United States)

Yanik, Mert; Alzubi, Jamal; Lahaye, Thomas; Cathomen, Toni; Pingoud, Alfred; Wende, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) consist of zinc fingers as DNA-binding module and the non-specific DNA-cleavage domain of the restriction endonuclease FokI as DNA-cleavage module. This architecture is also used by TALE nucleases (TALENs), in which the DNA-binding modules of the ZFNs have been replaced by DNA-binding domains based on transcription activator like effector (TALE) proteins. Both TALENs and ZFNs are programmable nucleases which rely on the dimerization of FokI to induce double-strand DNA cleavage at the target site after recognition of the target DNA by the respective DNA-binding module. TALENs seem to have an advantage over ZFNs, as the assembly of TALE proteins is easier than that of ZFNs. Here, we present evidence that variant TALENs can be produced by replacing the catalytic domain of FokI with the restriction endonuclease PvuII. These fusion proteins recognize only the composite recognition site consisting of the target site of the TALE protein and the PvuII recognition sequence (addressed site), but not isolated TALE or PvuII recognition sites (unaddressed sites), even at high excess of protein over DNA and long incubation times. In vitro, their preference for an addressed over an unaddressed site is > 34,000-fold. Moreover, TALE-PvuII fusion proteins are active in cellula with minimal cytotoxicity. PMID:24349308

Breakup and fusion cross sections of the 6Li nucleus with targets of mass A = 58, 144 and 208

Science.gov (United States)

Mukeru, B.; Rampho, G. J.; Lekala, M. L.

2018-04-01

We use the continuum discretized coupled channels method to investigate the effects of continuum-continuum coupling on the breakup and fusion cross sections of the weakly bound 6Li nucleus with the 58Ni, 144Sm and 208Pb nuclear targets. The cross sections were analyzed at incident energies E cm below, close to and above the Coulomb barrier V B. We found that for the medium and heavy targets, the breakup cross sections are enhanced at energies below the Coulomb barrier (E cm/V B ≤ 0.8) owing to these couplings. For the lighter target, relatively small enhancement of the breakup cross sections appear at energies well below the barrier (E cm/V B ≤ 0.6). At energies E cm/V B > 0.8 for medium and heavy targets, and E cm/V B > 0.6 for the light target, the continuum-continuum couplings substantially suppress the breakup cross sections. On the other hand, the fusion cross sections are enhanced at energies E cm/V B fusion cross sections. We also compared the breakup and fusion cross sections, and found that below the barrier, the breakup cross sections are more dominant regardless of whether continuum-continuum couplings are included.

Aurora: A short-pulse multikilojoule KrF inertial fusion laser system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosocha, L.A.

1985-01-01

Aurora is a laser system that serves as an operating technology demonstration prototype for large-scale high-energy KrF laser systems of interest for inertial fusion applications. This system will incorporate the following elements to achieve an end-to-end 248-nm laser fusion concept demonstration: an injection-locked oscillator-amplifier front end; an optical angular multiplexer to produce 96 encoded optical channels each of 5-nsec duration; a chain of four electron-beam-driven KrF laser amplifiers; automated alignment systems for beam alignment; a decoder to provide for pulse compression of some fraction of the total beam train to be delivered to target, and a target chamber to house and diagnose fusion targets. The front end configuration uses a stable resonator master oscillator to drive an injection-locked unstable resonator slave oscillator. An extension of existing technology has been used to develop an electrooptic switchout at 248 nm that produces a 5-nsec pulse from the longer slave oscillator pulse. This short pulse is amplified by a postamplifier. Using these discharge lasers, the front end then delivers at least 250 mJ of KrF laser light output to the optical encoder

Developing a commercial production process for 500,000 targets per day: A key challenge for inertial fusion energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodin, D.T.; Alexander, N.B.; Besenbruch, G.E.; Bozek, A.S.; Brown, L.C.; Flint, G.W.; Kilkenny, J.D.; McQuillan, B.W.; Nikroo, A.; Paguio, R.R.; Petzoldt, R.W.; Schroen, D.G.; Sheliak, J.D.; Vermillion, B.A.; Carlson, L.C.; Goodman, P.; Maksaereekul, W.; Raffray, R.; Spalding, J.; Tillack, M.S.

2006-01-01

As is true for current-day commercial power plants, a reliable and economic fuel supply is essential for the viability of future Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) [Energy From Inertial Fusion, edited by W. J. Hogan (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1995)] power plants. While IFE power plants will utilize deuterium-tritium (DT) bred in-house as the fusion fuel, the 'target' is the vehicle by which the fuel is delivered to the reaction chamber. Thus the cost of the target becomes a critical issue in regard to fuel cost. Typically six targets per second, or about 500 000/day are required for a nominal 1000 MW(e) power plant. The electricity value within a typical target is about $3, allocating 10% for fuel cost gives only 30 cents per target as-delivered to the chamber center. Complicating this economic goal, the target supply has many significant technical challenge - fabricating the precision fuel-containing capsule, filling it with DT, cooling it to cryogenic temperatures, layering the DT into a uniform layer, characterizing the finished product, accelerating it to high velocity for injection into the chamber, and tracking the target to steer the driver beams to meet it with micron-precision at the chamber center

Microfabricated Ion Beam Drivers for Magnetized Target Fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Persaud, Arun; Seidl, Peter; Ji, Qing; Ardanuc, Serhan; Miller, Joseph; Lal, Amit; Schenkel, Thomas

2015-11-01

Efficient, low-cost drivers are important for Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF). Ion beams offer a high degree of control to deliver the required mega joules of driver energy for MTF and they can be matched to several types of magnetized fuel targets, including compact toroids and solid targets. We describe an ion beam driver approach based on the MEQALAC concept (Multiple Electrostatic Quadrupole Array Linear Accelerator) with many beamlets in an array of micro-fabricated channels. The channels consist of a lattice of electrostatic quadrupoles (ESQ) for focusing and of radio-frequency (RF) electrodes for ion acceleration. Simulations with particle-in-cell and beam envelope codes predict >10x higher current densities compared to state-of-the-art ion accelerators. This increase results from dividing the total ion beam current up into many beamlets to control space charge forces. Focusing elements can be biased taking advantage of high breakdown electric fields in sub-mm structures formed using MEMS techniques (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems). We will present results on ion beam transport and acceleration in MEMS based beamlets. Acknowledgments: This work is supported by the U.S. DOE under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Safety and environmental advantages of using tritium-lean targets for inertial fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arzeni, S.; Latkowski, J. F.; Logan, B. G.; Meier, W. R.; Moir, R. W.; Perkins, L. J.; Sanz, J.

1999-01-01

While traditional inertial fusion energy target designs typically use equimolar portions of deuterium and tritium and have areal densities (ρr) of ∼ 3 g/cm 2 , significant safety and environmental (S and E) advantages may be obtained through the use of high-density (ρr ∼ 10 g/cm 2 ) targets with tritium components as low as 0.5%. Such targets would absorb much of the neutron energy within the target and could be self-sufficient from a tritium breeding point of view. Tritium self-sufficiency within the target would free target chamber designers from the need to use lithium-bearing blanket materials, while low inventories within each target would translate into low inventories in target fabrication facilities. Absorption of much of the neutron energy within the target, the extremely low tritium inventories, and the greatly moderated neutron spectrum, make ''tritium-lean'' targets appear quite attractive from an S and E perspective

Fusion--fission hybrid concepts for laser-induced fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maniscalco, J.

1976-01-01

Fusion-fission hybrid concepts are viewed as subcritical fission reactors driven and controlled by high-energy neutrons from a laser-induced fusion reactor. Blanket designs encompassing a substantial portion of the spectrum of different fission reactor technologies are analyzed and compared by calculating their fissile-breeding and fusion-energy-multiplying characteristics. With a large number of different fission technologies to choose from, it is essential to identify more promising hybrid concepts that can then be subjected to in-depth studies that treat the engineering safety, and economic requirements as well as the neutronic aspects. In the course of neutronically analyzing and comparing several fission blanket concepts, this work has demonstrated that fusion-fission hybrids can be designed to meet a broad spectrum of fissile-breeding and fusion-energy-multiplying requirements. The neutronic results should prove to be extremely useful in formulating the technical scope of future studies concerned with evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of hybrid concepts for laser-induced fusion

First use of a laser-driven polarized H/D target at the IUCF cooler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, K.; Brack, J.; Cadman, R. V.; Cummings, W. J.; Fedchak, J.; Fox, B.; Gao, H.; Grosshauser, C.; Holt, R. J.; Jones, C.; Kinney, E.; Kowalczyk, R.; Lu, Z.-T.; Miller, M. A.; Nagengast, W.; Owen, B.; Rith, K.; Schmidt, F.; Schulte, E.; Sowinski, J.; Sperisen, F.; Stenger, J.; Thorsland, E.; Williamson, S.

1997-01-01

The HERMES Laser-Driven Target Task Force (Argonne, Erlangen and Illinois) is charged with developing a polarized H/D target for use in the HERA ring at DESY. Rapid progress was made in the beginning of 1996, leading us to the decision to test the target in a realistic experimental environment. In particular, polarizations of 0.6 and flows above 10 18 atoms·s -1 have been achieved on the bench. The laser-driven target and a simple detector system are currently installed in Cooler storage ring at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility in order to test its applicability to nuclear physics experiments. Target polarizations are being measured using the rvec H(p, p) and rvec D(p, p) reactions. Initial tests were reasonably successful and the target is well along toward becoming viable for nuclear physics

Electrostatic levitation, control and transport in high rate, low cost production of inertial confinement fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendricks, C.D.; Johnson, W.L.

1979-01-01

Inertial confinement fusion requires production of power plant grade targets at high rates and process yield. A review of present project specifications and techniques to produce targets is discussed with special emphasis on automating the processes and combining them with an electrostatic transport and suspension system through the power plant target factory

Laser induced ablatively driven interfacial nonlinear fluid instabilities in multilayer targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manoranjan Khan; Gupta, M.R.; Mandal, L.K.; Roy, S.; Banerjee, R.

2010-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. High power laser driven shock waves in condensed matter have important application for studying equation of state (EOS) and high pressure physics. This is an important phenomenon in fuel compression for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments where multilayer targets of differing shock impedance are interacted by laser induced shocks. The interface between the two fluid becomes unstable when driven by the impulsive force (Richtmyer-Meshkov) due to such a shock wave or a continuously acting force e.g., gravity (Rayleigh-Taylor). In the nonlinear stage, the fluid interface is found to develop structures having finger-like shapes. The structures resemble a bubble (spike) accordingly as a lighter (heavier) fluid pushes in a heavier (lighter) fluid. These effects need to be mitigated for efficient compression in ICF experiment. We have studied the effect of density variation on R-T and R-M instability on the temporal development of nonlinear two fluid interfacial structures like bubble and spike. It is shown that the velocity of bubble or spike decreases leading to stabilization if the density of the fluids leads to lowering of the Atwood number. The Atwood number A = ρ a -ρ b / ρ a +ρ b changes to A* = ρ a *ρ b */ ρ a *ρ b * where ρ* m = ρ m (1-1/γ m ), m = [a,b], assuming ρ a > ρ b . It has been seen that the stabilization or destabilization (depending on the algebraic sign of the gradient) will be proportional to the pressure p 0 at the interface. The set of equation describing the dynamics of the bubbles and spikes in presence of fluid density variation are not analytically integrable in closed form. All the results are derived by numerical methods and are represented and interpreted. Analytical calculations are performed (not presented here) to modify the dynamical boundary condition between the two fluids and we have finally arrived at the following expression for the asymptotic bubble velocity ν b 2 = 2(r

Hohlraum targets for HIDIF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramis, R.; Ramirez, J.; Meyer-ter-Vehn, J.

2000-01-01

An optimized high gain IFE indirect target design is presented. Beam parameters (5 MJ of 5 GeV Bi + ions in 10-20 ns and focal spot of 3 mm radius) are in agreement to the ones considered recently for the European Study Group on Heavy Ion Driven Inertial Fusion (HIDIF). The energy yield is close to 530 MJ, giving a large enough gain appropriate for industrial energy production. Numerical and analytical modeling are described and discussed. (authors)

On stimulated scattering of laser light in inertial fusion energy targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolic, Lj; Skoric, M.M.; Ishiguro, S.; Sato, T.

2002-11-01

Propagation of a laser light through regions of an underdense plasma is an active research topic in laser fusion. In particular, a large effort has been invested in studies of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) which can reflect laser energy and produce energetic particles to preheat a fusion energy target. Experiments, theory and simulations agree on a complex interplay between various laser-plasma instabilities. By particle-in-cell simulations of an underdense electron-plasma, we have found, apart from the standard SRS, a strong backscattering near the electron plasma frequency at densities beyond the quarter critical. This novel instability, recognized in recent experiments as stimulated laser scattering on a trapped electron-acoustic mode (SEAS), is absent from a classical theory of laser-parametric instabilities. A parametric excitation of SEAS instability, is explained by a three-wave resonant decay of the incident laser light into a standing backscattered wave and a slow trapped electron acoustic wave (ω p ). Large SEAS pulsations, eventually suppressed by relativistic heating of electrons, are observed in our simulations. This phenomenon seems relevant to future hohlraum target and fast ignition experiments. (author)

Flunarizine Prevents Hepatitis C Virus Membrane Fusion in a Genotype-dependent Manner by Targeting the Potential Fusion Peptide within E1

Science.gov (United States)

Perin, Paula M.; Haid, Sibylle; Brown, Richard J. P.; Doerrbecker, Juliane; Schulze, Kai; Zeilinger, Carsten; von Schaewen, Markus; Heller, Brigitte; Vercauteren, Koen; Luxenburger, Eva; Baktash, Yasmine M.; Vondran, Florian W. R.; Speerstra, Sietkse; Awadh, Abdullah; Mukhtarov, Furkat; Schang, Luis M; Kirschning, Andreas; Müller, Rolf; Guzman, Carlos A.; Kaderali, Lars; Randall, Glenn; Meuleman, Philip; Ploss, Alexander; Pietschmann, Thomas

2015-01-01

To explore mechanisms of hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication we screened a compound library including licensed drugs. Flunarizine, a diphenylmethylpiperazine used to treat migraine, inhibited HCV cell entry in vitro and in vivo in a genotype-dependent fashion. Analysis of mosaic viruses between susceptible and resistant strains revealed that E1 and E2 glycoproteins confer susceptibility to flunarizine. Time of addition experiments and single particle tracking of HCV demonstrated that flunarizine specifically prevents membrane fusion. Related phenothiazines and pimozide also inhibited HCV infection and preferentially targeted HCV genotype 2 viruses. However, phenothiazines and pimozide exhibited improved genotype coverage including the difficult to treat genotype 3. Flunarizine-resistant HCV carried mutations within the alleged fusion peptide and displayed cross-resistance to these compounds, indicating that these drugs have a common mode of action. Conclusion: These observations reveal novel details about HCV membrane fusion. Moreover, flunarizine and related compounds represent first-in-class HCV fusion inhibitors that merit consideration for repurposing as cost-effective component of HCV combination therapies. PMID:26248546

US Heavy Ion Beam Research for Energy Density Physics Applications and Fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, R.C.; Logan, B.G.; Barnard, J.J.; Bieniosek, F.M.; Briggs, R.J.; Callahan D.A.; Kireeff Covo, M.; Celata, C.M.; Cohen, R.H.; Coleman, J.E.; Debonnel, C.S.; Grote, D.P.; Efthimiom, P.C.; Eylon, S.; Friedman, A.; Gilson, E.P.; Grisham, L.R.; Henestroza, E.; Kaganovich, I.D.; Kwan, J.W.; Lee, E.P.; Lee, W.W.; Leitner, M.; Lund, S.M.; Meier, W.R.; Molvik, A.W.; Olson, C.L.; Penn, G.E.; Qin, H.; Roy, P.K.; Rose, D.V.; Sefkow, A.; Seidl, P.A.; Sharp, W.M.; Startsev, E.A.; Tabak, M.; Thoma, C.; Vay, J-L; Wadron, W.L.; Wurtele, J.S.; Welch, D.R.; Westenskow, G.A.; Yu, S.S.

2005-01-01

Key scientific results from recent experiments, modeling tools, and heavy ion accelerator research are summarized that explore ways to investigate the properties of high energy density matter in heavy-ion-driven targets, in particular, strongly-coupled plasmas at 0.01 to 0.1 times solid density for studies of warm dense matter, which is a frontier area in high energy density physics. Pursuit of these near-term objectives has resulted in many innovations that will ultimately benefit heavy ion inertial fusion energy. These include: neutralized ion beam compression and focusing, which hold the promise of greatly improving the stage between the accelerator and the target chamber in a fusion power plant; and the Pulse Line Ion Accelerator (PLIA), which may lead to compact, low-cost modular linac drivers

Measurement of pzz of the laser-driven polarized deuterium target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, C.E.; Coulter, K.P.; Holt, R.J.; Poelker, M.; Potterveld, D.P.; Kowalczyk, R.S.; Buchholz, M.; Neal, J.; van den Brand, J.F.J.

1993-01-01

The question of whether nuclei are polarized as a result of H-H (D-D) spin-exchange collisions within the relatively dense gas of a laser-driven source of polarized hydrogen (deuterium) can be addressed directly by measuring the nuclear polarization of atoms from the source. The feasibility of using a polarimeter based on the D + T → n + 4 He reaction to measure the tensor polarization of deuterium in an internal target fed by the laser-driven source has been tested. The device and the measurements necessary to test the spin-exchange polarization theory are described

Laser-driven nuclear-polarized hydrogen internal gas target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seely, J.; Crawford, C.; Clasie, B.; Xu, W.; Dutta, D.; Gao, H.

2006-01-01

We report the performance of a laser-driven polarized internal hydrogen gas target (LDT) in a configuration similar to that used in scattering experiments. This target used the technique of spin-exchange optical pumping to produce nuclear spin polarized hydrogen gas that was fed into a cylindrical storage (target) cell. We present in this paper the performance of the target, methods that were tried to improve the figure-of-merit (FOM) of the target, and a Monte Carlo simulation of spin-exchange optical pumping. The dimensions of the apparatus were optimized using the simulation and the experimental results were in good agreement with the results from the simulation. The best experimental result achieved was at a hydrogen flow rate of 1.1x10 18 atoms/s, where the sample beam exiting the storage cell had 58.2% degree of dissociation and 50.5% polarization. Based on this measurement, the atomic fraction in the storage cell was 49.6% and the density averaged nuclear polarization was 25.0%. This represents the highest FOM for hydrogen from an LDT and is higher than the best FOM reported by atomic beam sources that used storage cells

Ion-driver fast ignition: Reducing heavy-ion fusion driver energy and cost, simplifying chamber design, target fab, tritium fueling and power conversion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logan, G.; Callahan-Miller, D.; Perkins, J.; Caporaso, G.; Tabak, M.; Moir, R.; Meier, W.; Bangerter, Roger; Lee, Ed

1998-01-01

Ion fast ignition, like laser fast ignition, can potentially reduce driver energy for high target gain by an order of magnitude, while reducing fuel capsule implosion velocity, convergence ratio, and required precisions in target fabrication and illumination symmetry, all of which should further improve and simplify IFE power plants. From fast-ignition target requirements, we determine requirements for ion beam acceleration, pulse-compression, and final focus for advanced accelerators that must be developed for much shorter pulses and higher voltage gradients than today's accelerators, to deliver the petawatt peak powers and small focal spots (∼100 (micro)m) required. Although such peak powers and small focal spots are available today with lasers, development of such advanced accelerators is motivated by the greater likely efficiency of deep ion penetration and deposition into pre-compressed 1000x liquid density DT cores. Ion ignitor beam parameters for acceleration, pulse compression, and final focus are estimated for two examples based on a Dielectric Wall Accelerator; (1) a small target with ρr ∼ 2 g/cm 2 for a small demo/pilot plant producing ∼40 MJ of fusion yield per target, and (2) a large target with ρr ∼ 10 g/cm 2 producing ∼1 GJ yield for multi-unit electricity/hydrogen plants, allowing internal T-breeding with low T/D ratios, >75 % of the total fusion yield captured for plasma direct conversion, and simple liquid-protected chambers with gravity clearing. Key enabling development needs for ion fast ignition are found to be (1) ''Close-coupled'' target designs for single-ended illumination of both compressor and ignitor beams; (2) Development of high gradient (>25 MV/m) linacs with high charge-state (q ∼ 26) ion sources for short (∼5 ns) accelerator output pulses; (3) Small mm-scale laser-driven plasma lens of ∼10 MG fields to provide steep focusing angles close-in to the target (built-in as part of each target); (4) beam space charge

Ion-driver fast ignition: Reducing heavy-ion fusion driver energy and cost, simplifying chamber design, target fab, tritium fueling and power conversion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Logan, G.; Callahan-Miller, D.; Perkins, J.; Caporaso, G.; Tabak, M.; Moir, R.; Meier, W.; Bangerter, Roger; Lee, Ed

1998-04-01

Ion fast ignition, like laser fast ignition, can potentially reduce driver energy for high target gain by an order of magnitude, while reducing fuel capsule implosion velocity, convergence ratio, and required precisions in target fabrication and illumination symmetry, all of which should further improve and simplify IFE power plants. From fast-ignition target requirements, we determine requirements for ion beam acceleration, pulse-compression, and final focus for advanced accelerators that must be developed for much shorter pulses and higher voltage gradients than today's accelerators, to deliver the petawatt peak powers and small focal spots ({approx}100 {micro}m) required. Although such peak powers and small focal spots are available today with lasers, development of such advanced accelerators is motivated by the greater likely efficiency of deep ion penetration and deposition into pre-compressed 1000x liquid density DT cores. Ion ignitor beam parameters for acceleration, pulse compression, and final focus are estimated for two examples based on a Dielectric Wall Accelerator; (1) a small target with {rho}r {approx} 2 g/cm{sup 2} for a small demo/pilot plant producing {approx}40 MJ of fusion yield per target, and (2) a large target with {rho}r {approx} 10 g/cm{sup 2} producing {approx}1 GJ yield for multi-unit electricity/hydrogen plants, allowing internal T-breeding with low T/D ratios, >75 % of the total fusion yield captured for plasma direct conversion, and simple liquid-protected chambers with gravity clearing. Key enabling development needs for ion fast ignition are found to be (1) ''Close-coupled'' target designs for single-ended illumination of both compressor and ignitor beams; (2) Development of high gradient (>25 MV/m) linacs with high charge-state (q {approx} 26) ion sources for short ({approx}5 ns) accelerator output pulses; (3) Small mm-scale laser-driven plasma lens of {approx}10 MG fields to provide steep focusing angles

Thermal hydraulics of accelerator driven system windowless targets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno ePanella

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The study of the fluid dynamics of the windowless spallation target of an Accelerator Driven System (ADS is presented. Several target mockup configurations have been investigated: the first one was a symmetrical target, that was made by two concentric cylinders, the other configurations are not symmetrical. In the experiments water has been used as hydraulic equivalent to lead-bismuth eutectic fluid. The experiments have been carried out at room temperature and flow rate up to 24 kg/s. The fluid velocity components have been measured by an ultrasound technique. The velocity field of the liquid within the target region either for the approximately axial-symmetrical configuration or for the not symmetrical ones as a function of the flow rate and the initial liquid level is presented. A comparison of experimental data with the prediction of the finite volume FLUENT code is also presented. Moreover the results of a 2D-3D numerical analysis that investigates the effect on the steady state thermal and flow fields due to the insertion of guide vanes in the windowless target unit of the EFIT project ADS nuclear reactor are presented, by analysing both the cold flow case (absence of power generation and the hot flow case (nominal power generation inside the target unit.

On the Utility of Antiprotons as Drivers for Inertial Confinement Fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perkins, L J; Orth, C D; Tabak, M

2003-10-20

By contrast to the large mass, complexity and recirculating power of conventional drivers for inertial confinement fusion (ICF), antiproton annihilation offers a specific energy of 90MJ/{micro}g and thus a unique form of energy packaging and delivery. In principle, antiproton drivers could provide a profound reduction in system mass for advanced space propulsion by ICF. We examine the physics underlying the use of antiprotons ({bar p}) to drive various classes of high-yield ICF targets by the methods of volumetric ignition, hotspot ignition and fast ignition. The useable fraction of annihilation deposition energy is determined for both {bar p}-driven ablative compression and {bar p}-driven fast ignition, in association with 0-D and 1-D target burn models. Thereby, we deduce scaling laws for the number of injected antiprotons required per capsule, together with timing and focal spot requirements. The kinetic energy of the injected antiproton beam required to penetrate to the desired annihilation point is always small relative to the deposited annihilation energy. We show that heavy metal seeding of the fuel and/or ablator is required to optimize local deposition of annihilation energy and determine that a minimum of {approx}3x10{sup 15} injected antiprotons will be required to achieve high yield (several hundred megajoules) in any target configuration. Target gains - i.e., fusion yields divided by the available p - {bar p} annihilation energy from the injected antiprotons (1.88GeV/{bar p}) - range from {approx}3 for volumetric ignition targets to {approx}600 for fast ignition targets. Antiproton-driven ICF is a speculative concept, and the handling of antiprotons and their required injection precision - temporally and spatially - will present significant technical challenges. The storage and manipulation of low-energy antiprotons, particularly in the form of antihydrogen, is a science in its infancy and a large scale-up of antiproton production over present supply

On the Utility of Antiprotons as Drivers for Inertial Confinement Fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, L J; Orth, C D; Tabak, M

2003-01-01

By contrast to the large mass, complexity and recirculating power of conventional drivers for inertial confinement fusion (ICF), antiproton annihilation offers a specific energy of 90MJ/(micro)g and thus a unique form of energy packaging and delivery. In principle, antiproton drivers could provide a profound reduction in system mass for advanced space propulsion by ICF. We examine the physics underlying the use of antiprotons ((bar p)) to drive various classes of high-yield ICF targets by the methods of volumetric ignition, hotspot ignition and fast ignition. The useable fraction of annihilation deposition energy is determined for both (bar p)-driven ablative compression and (bar p)-driven fast ignition, in association with 0-D and 1-D target burn models. Thereby, we deduce scaling laws for the number of injected antiprotons required per capsule, together with timing and focal spot requirements. The kinetic energy of the injected antiproton beam required to penetrate to the desired annihilation point is always small relative to the deposited annihilation energy. We show that heavy metal seeding of the fuel and/or ablator is required to optimize local deposition of annihilation energy and determine that a minimum of ∼3x10 15 injected antiprotons will be required to achieve high yield (several hundred megajoules) in any target configuration. Target gains - i.e., fusion yields divided by the available p - (bar p) annihilation energy from the injected antiprotons (1.88GeV/(bar p)) - range from ∼3 for volumetric ignition targets to ∼600 for fast ignition targets. Antiproton-driven ICF is a speculative concept, and the handling of antiprotons and their required injection precision - temporally and spatially - will present significant technical challenges. The storage and manipulation of low-energy antiprotons, particularly in the form of antihydrogen, is a science in its infancy and a large scale-up of antiproton production over present supply methods would be

On the utility of antiprotons as drivers for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, L. John; Orth, Charles D.; Tabak, Max

2004-01-01

In contrast to the large mass, complexity and recirculating power of conventional drivers for inertial confinement fusion (ICF), antiproton annihilation offers a specific energy of 90 MJ μg -1 and thus a unique form of energy packaging and delivery. In principle, antiproton drivers could provide a profound reduction in system mass for advanced space propulsion by ICF. We examine the physics underlying the use of antiprotons (p-bar) to drive various classes of high-yield ICF targets by the methods of volumetric ignition, hotspot ignition and fast ignition. The useable fraction of annihilation deposition energy is determined for both p-bar-driven ablative compression and p-bar-driven fast ignition, in association with zero- and one-dimensional target burn models. Thereby, we deduce scaling laws for the number of injected antiprotons required per capsule, together with timing and focal spot requirements. The kinetic energy of the injected antiproton beam required to penetrate to the desired annihilation point is always small relative to the deposited annihilation energy. We show that heavy metal seeding of the fuel and/or ablator is required to optimize local deposition of annihilation energy and determine that a minimum of ∼3 x 10 15 injected antiprotons will be required to achieve high yield (several hundred megajoules) in any target configuration. Target gains-i.e. fusion yields divided by the available p-p-bar annihilation energy from the injected antiprotons (1.88 GeV/p-bar)-range from ∼3 for volumetric ignition targets to ∼600 for fast ignition targets. Antiproton-driven ICF is a speculative concept, and the handling of antiprotons and their required injection precision - temporally and spatially - will present significant technical challenges. The storage and manipulation of low-energy antiprotons, particularly in the form of antihydrogen, is a science in its infancy and a large scale-up of antiproton production over present supply methods would be

Substantial reductions of input energy and peak power requirements in targets for heavy ion fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mark, J.W.K.; Pan, Y.L.

1986-01-01

Two ways of reducing the requirements of the heavy ion driver for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target implosion are described. Compared to estimates of target gain not using these methods, the target input energy and peak power may be reduced by about a factor of two with the use of the hybrid-implosion concept. Another factor of two reduction in input energy may be obtained with the use of spin-polarized DT fuel in the ICF target

Nuclear Propulsion through Direct Conversion of Fusion Energy: The Fusion Driven Rocket

Science.gov (United States)

Slough, John; Pancotti, Anthony; Kirtley, David; Pihl, Christopher; Pfaff, Michael

2012-01-01

The future of manned space exploration and development of space depends critically on the creation of a dramatically more proficient propulsion architecture for in-space transportation. A very persuasive reason for investigating the applicability of nuclear power in rockets is the vast energy density gain of nuclear fuel when compared to chemical combustion energy. Current nuclear fusion efforts have focused on the generation of electric grid power and are wholly inappropriate for space transportation as the application of a reactor based fusion-electric system creates a colossal mass and heat rejection problem for space application.

Accelerators for heavy ion fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bangerter, R.O.

1985-10-01

Large fusion devices will almost certainly produce net energy. However, a successful commercial fusion energy system must also satisfy important engineering and economic constraints. Inertial confinement fusion power plants driven by multi-stage, heavy-ion accelerators appear capable of meeting these constraints. The reasons behind this promising outlook for heavy-ion fusion are given in this report. This report is based on the transcript of a talk presented at the Symposium on Lasers and Particle Beams for Fusion and Strategic Defense at the University of Rochester on April 17-19, 1985

Muon catalyzed fusion at very low temperature: A new target system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulhauser, F.; Beveridge, J.L.; Marshall, G.M.

1994-10-01

Muon catalyzed fusion (μCF) processes are usually studied in gases or liquids. A new target system allows experiments on muonic hydrogen isotopes in solid hydrogen layers at 3K, where processes of the μCF cycle can be separated and the energy dependence of reactions can be measured. Muonic tritium atomic beams with energy of the order of 1 eV have been produced via transfer and emission from solid hydrogen target containing small tritium concentrations. The μt energy distribution overlaps the predicted muonic molecular (dμt) formation resonances. Preliminary time of flight results are shown. (author). 9 refs., 5 figs

Direct and indirect targets of the E2A-PBX1 leukemia-specific fusion protein.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christofer Diakos

Full Text Available E2A-PBX1 is expressed as a result of the t(1;19 chromosomal translocation in nearly 5% of cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The E2A-PBX1 chimeric transcription factor contains the N-terminal transactivation domain of E2A (TCF3 fused to the C-terminal DNA-binding homeodomain of PBX1. While there is no doubt of its oncogenic potential, the mechanisms of E2A-PBX1-mediated pre-B cell transformation and the nature of direct E2A-PBX1 target genes and pathways remain largely unknown. Herein we used chromatin immunoprecipitation assays (ChIP-chip to identify direct targets of E2A-PBX1, and we used gene expression arrays of siRNA E2A-PBX1-silenced cells to evaluate changes in expression induced by the fusion protein. Combined ChIP-chip and expression data analysis gave rise to direct and functional targets of E2A-PBX1. Further we observe that the set of ChIP-chip identified E2A-PBX1 targets show a collective down-regulation trend in the E2A-PBX1 silenced samples compared to controls suggesting an activating role of this fusion transcription factor. Our data suggest that the expression of the E2A-PBX1 fusion gene interferes with key regulatory pathways and functions of hematopoietic biology. Among these are members of the WNT and apoptosis/cell cycle control pathways, and thus may comprise an essential driving force for the propagation and maintenance of the leukemic phenotype. These findings may also provide evidence of potentially attractive therapeutic targets.

Direct and indirect targets of the E2A-PBX1 leukemia-specific fusion protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Diakos, Christofer; Xiao, Yuanyuan; Zheng, Shichun; Kager, Leo; Dworzak, Michael; Wiemels, Joseph L

2014-01-01

E2A-PBX1 is expressed as a result of the t(1;19) chromosomal translocation in nearly 5% of cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The E2A-PBX1 chimeric transcription factor contains the N-terminal transactivation domain of E2A (TCF3) fused to the C-terminal DNA-binding homeodomain of PBX1. While there is no doubt of its oncogenic potential, the mechanisms of E2A-PBX1-mediated pre-B cell transformation and the nature of direct E2A-PBX1 target genes and pathways remain largely unknown. Herein we used chromatin immunoprecipitation assays (ChIP-chip) to identify direct targets of E2A-PBX1, and we used gene expression arrays of siRNA E2A-PBX1-silenced cells to evaluate changes in expression induced by the fusion protein. Combined ChIP-chip and expression data analysis gave rise to direct and functional targets of E2A-PBX1. Further we observe that the set of ChIP-chip identified E2A-PBX1 targets show a collective down-regulation trend in the E2A-PBX1 silenced samples compared to controls suggesting an activating role of this fusion transcription factor. Our data suggest that the expression of the E2A-PBX1 fusion gene interferes with key regulatory pathways and functions of hematopoietic biology. Among these are members of the WNT and apoptosis/cell cycle control pathways, and thus may comprise an essential driving force for the propagation and maintenance of the leukemic phenotype. These findings may also provide evidence of potentially attractive therapeutic targets.

Behavior of structural and target materials irradiated in spallation neutron environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stubbins, J.F. [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States); Wechsler, M. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Borden, M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)] [and others

1995-10-01

This paper describes considerations for selection of structural and target materials for accelerator-driven neutron sources. Due to the operating constraints of proposed accelerator-driven neutron sources, the criteria for selection are different than those commonly applied to fission and fusion systems. Established irradiation performance of various alloy systems is taken into account in the selection criteria. Nevertheless, only limited materials performance data are available which specifically related to neutron energy spectra anticipated for spallation sources.

Behavior of structural and target materials irradiated in spallation neutron environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stubbins, J.F.; Wechsler, M.; Borden, M.

1995-01-01

This paper describes considerations for selection of structural and target materials for accelerator-driven neutron sources. Due to the operating constraints of proposed accelerator-driven neutron sources, the criteria for selection are different than those commonly applied to fission and fusion systems. Established irradiation performance of various alloy systems is taken into account in the selection criteria. Nevertheless, only limited materials performance data are available which specifically related to neutron energy spectra anticipated for spallation sources

Laser-driven shock-wave propagation in pure and layered targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salzmann, D.; Eliezer, S.; Krumbein, A.D.; Gitter, L.

1983-01-01

The propagation properties of laser-driven shock waves in pure and layered polyethylene and aluminum slab targets are studied for a set of laser intensities and pulse widths. The laser-plasma simulations were carried out by means of our one-dimensional Lagrangian hydrodynamic code. It is shown that the various parts of a laser-driven compression wave undergo different thermodynamic trajectories: The shock front portion is on the Hugoniot curve whereas the rear part is closer to an adiabat. It is found that the shock front is accelerated into the cold material till troughly-equal0.8tau (where tau is the laser pulse width) and only later is a constant velocity propagation attained. The scaling laws obtained for the pressure and temperature of the compression wave in pure targets are in good agreement with those published in other works. In layered targets, high compression and pressure were found to occur at the interface of CH 2 on Al targets due to impedance mismatch but were not found when the layers were reversed. The persistence time of the high pressure on the interface in the CH 2 on Al case is long enough relative to the characteristic times of the plasma to have an appreciable influence on the shock-wave propagation into the aluminum layer. This high pressure and compression on the interface can be optimized by adjusting the CH 2 layer thickness

Spatially and temporally resolved x-ray emission from imploding laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Attwood, D.T.; Coleman, L.W.; Boyle, M.J.; Phillion, D.W.; Swain, J.E.; Manes, K.R.; Larsen, J.T.

1976-09-01

The Livermore 15 psec x-ray streak camera has been used in conjunction with 6 μm diameter pinholes to record well resolved implosion histories of DT filled laser fusion targets. The space-time compression data provide clearly identified implosion velocities, typically 3 x 10 7 cm/sec for two-sided clamshell irradiation of a 70 μm/sup D/, .5 μm wall DT filled glass microshell. Single-sided irradiation results show hydrodynamic convergence at the target center, followed by an asymmetric but two-sided target disassembly. These experiments were performed at the two arm Janus Laser facility, which typically delivered a total of 0.4 TW in a 70 psec pulse for these experiments

Inertial fusion energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decroisette, M.; Andre, M.; Bayer, C.; Juraszek, D.; Le Garrec, B.; Deutsch, C.; Migus, A.

2005-01-01

We first recall the scientific basis of inertial fusion and then describe a generic fusion reactor with the different components: the driver, the fusion chamber, the material treatment unit, the target factory and the turbines. We analyse the options proposed at the present time for the driver and for target irradiation scheme giving the state of art for each approach. We conclude by the presentation of LMJ (laser Megajoule) and NIF (national ignition facility) projects. These facilities aim to demonstrate the feasibility of laboratory DT ignition, first step toward Inertial Fusion Energy. (authors)

HIBALL-II - an improved conceptual heavy ion beam driven fusion reactor study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badger, B.; Corradini, M.; El-Guebaly, L.; Engelstad, R.; Henderson, D.; Klein, A.; Kulcinski, G.; Larsen, E.; Lovell, E.; Moses, G.; Peterson, R.; Pong, L.; Sawan, M.; Sviatoslavsky, I.; Symon, K.; Vogelsang, W.; White, A.; Wittenberg, L.; Beckert, K.; Bock, R.; Boehne, D.; Hofmann, I.; Keller, R.; Mueller, R.; Bozsik, I.; Jahnke, A.; Brezina, J.; Nestle, H.; Wendel, W.; Wollnik, H.; Lessmann, E.; Froehlich, R.; Goel, B.; Hoebel, W.; Kessler, G.; Moellendorff, U. von; Moritz, N.; Plute, K.; Schretzmann, K.; Sze, D.

1985-07-01

An improved design of the HIBALL inertial-confinement fusion power station is presented. The new RF-linac based heavy ion driver has improved concepts for beam stacking, bunching and final focusing. The new target design takes into account radiation transport effects in a coarse approximation. The system of four reactors with a net total output of 3.8 GW electric is essentially the same as described earlier, however, progress in the analysis has enhanced its credibility and self-consistency. Considerations of environmental and safety aspects and cost estimates are given. (orig.) [de

Neutronic design and analysis on dual-cooled waste transmutation blanket for the fusion driven sub-critical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Shanliang; Wu Yican; Gao Chunjing; Xu Dezheng; Li Jingjing; Zhu Xiaoxiang

2004-01-01

Neutronics design and analysis of dual-cooled multi-functional waste transmutation blanket (DWTB) for the fusion driven sub-critical system (FDS) are performed to ensure the system be able to meet the requirements of fuel-sufficiency and more waste transmutation ratio with low initial loading fuel inventory, which is based on 1-D burn-up calculations with home-developed code Visual BUS and the multi-group (175 neutron groups-42 Gamma groups coupled) data library HENDL1.0/MG (Hybrid Evaluated Nuclear Data Library). (authors)

Preliminary analysis of typical transients in fusion driven subcritical system (FDS-I)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai Yunqing; Ke Yan; Wu Yican

2007-01-01

The potential safety characteristic is expected as one of the advantages of fusion-driven subcritical system (FDS-I) for the transmutation and incineration of nuclear waste compared with the critical reactor. Transients of the FDS-I may occur due to the perturbation of external neutron source, the failure of functional device, and the occurrence of the uncontrolled event. As typical transient scenarios, the following cases were analyzed: unprotected plasma overpower (UPOP), unprotected loss of flow (ULOF), unprotected transient overpower (UTOP). The transient analyses for the FDS-I were performed with a coupled two-dimensional thermal-hydraulics and neutronics transient analysis code NTC2D. The negative feedback of reactivity is the interesting safety feature of FDS-I as temperature increase, due to the fuel form of the circulating particle. The present simulation results showed that the current FDS-I design has a resistance against severe transient scenarios. (author)

Novel target design for enhanced laser driven proton acceleration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malay Dalui

2017-09-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate a simple method of preparing structured target for enhanced laser-driven proton acceleration under target-normal-sheath-acceleration scheme. A few layers of genetically modified, clinically grown micron sized E. Coli bacteria cell coated on a thin metal foil has resulted in an increase in the maximum proton energy by about 1.5 times and the total proton yield is enhanced by approximately 25 times compared to an unstructured reference foil at a laser intensity of 1019 W/cm2. Particle-in-cell simulations on the system shows that the structures on the target-foil facilitates anharmonic resonance, contributing to enhanced hot electron production which leads to stronger accelerating field. The effect is observed to grow as the number of structures is increased in the focal area of the laser pulse.

Numerical simulation of performance of heavy ion inertial confinement fusion target with ellipsoidal chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basin, A.A.; Vatulin, V.V.; Vakhlamova, L.L.; Vinokurov, P.A.; Dement'ev, Yu.A.; Eliseev, G.M.; Ermolovich, V.F.; Morenko, L.Z.; Morenko, A.I.; Remizov, G.N.; Romanov, Yu.A.; Ryabikina, N.A.; Skrypnik, S.I.; Skidan, G.I.; Tikhomirov, B.P.; Shagaliev, R.M.

1996-01-01

To solve the design problem of an inertial thermonuclear fusion facility requires the united efforts of scientists in various countries. In the field of heavy ion fusion a collaboration between scientists in Germany and Russia is under successful development. VNIIEF possesses advanced software for numerical simulation of the processes in thermonuclear target operation. This paper describes a target design suggested and being studied by scientists of Frankfurt University and GSI which is based on 2D non-stationary calculation of the X-ray energy transport and capsule compression. The target consists of a spherical capsule with DT fuel and an ellipsoidal chamber containment. The ion beam energy is released in two fixed converters located on the chamber axis symmetricall with respect to the capsule. The X-ray field is formed on the capsule surface with a set of special shields. The basic aim of our research is to estimate the effect of gas dynamic expansion of the chamber walls, shields and capsule on the target operation. To increase the reliability of the obtained results and the assessment of probable errors in predicting radiation field parameters and the capsule state, the calculations were accomplished in a kinetic arrangement with various techniques. (orig.)

Two-pulse driving of D+D nuclear fusion within a single Coulomb exploding nanodroplet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Last, Isidore; Jortner, Joshua; Peano, Fabio; Silva, Luis O.

2010-01-01

This paper presents a computational study of D+D fusion driven by Coulomb explosion (CE) within a single, homonuclear deuterium nanodroplet, subjected to double-pulse ultraintense laser irradiation. This irradiation scheme results in the attainment (by the first weaker pulse) of a transient inhomogeneous density profile, which serves as a target for the driving (by the second superintense pulse) of nonuniform CE that triggers overrun effects and induces intrananodroplet (INTRA) D+D fusion. Scaled electron and ion dynamics simulations were utilized to explore the INTRA D+D fusion yields for double-pulse, near-infrared laser irradiation of deuterium nanodroplets. The dependence of the INTRA yield on the nanodroplet size and on the parameters of the two laser pulses was determined, establishing the conditions for the prevalence of efficient INTRA fusion. The INTRA fusion yields are amenable to experimental observation within an assembly of nanodroplets. The INTRA D+D fusion can be distinguished from the concurrent internanodroplet D+D fusion reaction occurring in the macroscopic plasma filament and outside it in terms of the different energies of the neutrons produced in these two channels.

Solid hydrogen target for laser driven proton acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Perin, J. P.; Garcia, S.; Chatain, D.; Margarone, D.

2015-05-01

The development of very high power lasers opens up new horizons in various fields, such as laser plasma acceleration in Physics and innovative approaches for proton therapy in Medicine. Laser driven proton acceleration is commonly based on the so-called Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) mechanisms: a high power laser is focused onto a solid target (thin metallic or plastic foil) and interact with matter at very high intensity, thus generating a plasma; as a consequence "hot" electrons are produced and move into the forward direction through the target. Protons are generated at the target rear side, electrons try to escape from the target and an ultra-strong quasi-electrostatic field (~1TV/m) is generated. Such a field can accelerate protons with a wide energy spectrum (1-200 MeV) in a few tens of micrometers. The proton beam characteristics depend on the laser parameters and on the target geometry and nature. This technique has been validated experimentally in several high power laser facilities by accelerating protons coming from hydrogenated contaminant (mainly water) at the rear of metallic target, however, several research groups are investigating the possibility to perform experiments by using "pure" hydrogen targets. In this context, the low temperature laboratory at CEA-Grenoble has developed a cryostat able to continuously produce a thin hydrogen ribbon (from 40 to 100 microns thick). A new extrusion concept, without any moving part has been carried out, using only the thermodynamic properties of the fluid. First results and perspectives are presented in this paper.

Design and fabrication of foam-insulated cryogenic target for wet-wall laser fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norimatsu, T.; Takeda, T.; Nagai, K.; Mima, K.; Yamanaka, T.

2003-01-01

A foam insulated cryogenic target was proposed for use in a future laser fusion reactor with a wet wall. This scheme can protect the solid DT layer from melting due to surface heating by adsorption of metal vapor without significant reduction in the target gain. Design spaces for the injection velocity and the acceptable vapor pressure in the reactor are discussed. Basic technology to fabricate such structure was demonstrated by emulsion process. Concept of a cryogenic fast-ignition target with a gold guiding cone was proposed together with direct injection filling of liquid DT. (author)

LANL sunnyside experiment: Study of neutron production in accelerator-driven targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morgan, G.; Butler, G.; Cappiello, M.; Carius, S.; Daemen, L.; DeVolder, B.; Frehaut, J.; Goulding, C.; Grace, R.; Green, R.; Lisowski, P.; Littleton, P.; King, J.; King, N.; Prael, R.; Stratton, T.; Turner, S.; Ullmann, J.; Venneri, F.; Yates, M.

1995-01-01

Measurements have been made of the neutron production in prototypic targets for accelerator driven systems. Studies were conducted on four target assemblies containing lead, lithium, tungsten, and a thorium-salt mixture. Integral data on total neutron production were obtained as well as more differential data on neutron leakage and neutron flux profiles in the blanket/moderator region. Data analysis on total neutron production is complete and shows excellent agreement with calculations using the LAHET/MCNP code system

LANL sunnyside experiment: Study of neutron production in accelerator-driven targets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morgan, G.; Butler, G.; Cappiello, M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)] [and others

1995-10-01

Measurements have been made of the neutron production in prototypic targets for accelerator driven systems. Studies were conducted on four target assemblies containing lead, lithium, tungsten, and a thorium-salt mixture. Integral data on total neutron production were obtained as well as more differential data on neutron leakage and neutron flux profiles in the blanket/moderator region. Data analysis on total neutron production is complete and shows excellent agreement with calculations using the LAHET/MCNP code system.

U.S. Heavy Ion Beam Research for High Energy Density Physics Applications and Fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, R.C.; Logan, B.G.; Barnard, J.J.; Bieniosek, F.M.; Briggs, R.J.

2005-01-01

Key scientific results from recent experiments, modeling tools, and heavy ion accelerator research are summarized that explore ways to investigate the properties of high energy density matter in heavy-ion-driven targets, in particular, strongly-coupled plasmas at 0.01 to 0.1 times solid density for studies of warm dense matter, which is a frontier area in high energy density physics. Pursuit of these near-term objectives has resulted in many innovations that will ultimately benefit heavy ion inertial fusion energy. These include: neutralized ion beam compression and focusing, which hold the promise of greatly improving the stage between the accelerator and the target chamber in a fusion power plant; and the Pulse Line Ion Accelerator (PLIA), which may lead to compact, low-cost modular linac drivers

Laser driven detonation waves above a solid target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emmony, D.C.

1975-01-01

The interaction of a TEA CO 2 laser pulse with a carbon target in an argon atmosphere (p approximately mmHg) is shown to produce a double detonation wave system. The laser driven detonation wave becomes the most important as the gas pressure is increased. Calculation of the energy in the detonation waves is in good agreement with the incident laser energy at different times during the main laser pulse and the long tail. The observation of the incident laser detonation wave accounts for the anomalous energies reported previously. (Auth.)

Epithelioid Sarcoma: Opportunities for Biology-Driven Targeted Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Noujaim, Jonathan; Thway, Khin; Bajwa, Zia; Bajwa, Ayeza; Maki, Robert G; Jones, Robin L; Keller, Charles

2015-01-01

Epithelioid sarcoma (ES) is a soft tissue sarcoma of children and young adults for which the preferred treatment for localized disease is wide surgical resection. Medical management is to a great extent undefined, and therefore for patients with regional and distal metastases, the development of targeted therapies is greatly desired. In this review, we will summarize clinically relevant biomarkers (e.g., SMARCB1, CA125, dysadherin, and others) with respect to targeted therapeutic opportunities. We will also examine the role of EGFR, mTOR, and polykinase inhibitors (e.g., sunitinib) in the management of local and disseminated disease. Toward building a consortium of pharmaceutical, academic, and non-profit collaborators, we will discuss the state of resources for investigating ES with respect to cell line resources, tissue banks, and registries so that a roadmap can be developed toward effective biology-driven therapies.

CDCC calculations of fusion of 6Li with targets 144Sm and 154Sm: effect of resonance states

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez Camacho, A.; Lubian, J.; Zhang, H. Q.; Zhou, Shan-Gui

2017-12-01

Continuum Discretized Coupled-Channel (CDCC) model calculations of total, complete and incomplete fusion cross sections for reactions of the weakly bound 6Li with 144,154Sm targets at energies around the Coulomb barrier are presented. In the cluster structure frame of 6Li→α+d, short-range absorption potentials are considered for the interactions between the ground state of the projectile 6Li and α-d fragments with the target. In order to separately calculate complete and incomplete fusion and to reduce double-counting, the corresponding absorption potentials are chosen to be of different range. Couplings to low-lying excited states 2+, 3- of 144Sm and 2+, 4+ of 154Sm are included. So, the effect on total fusion from the excited states of the target is investigated. Similarly, the effect on fusion due to couplings to resonance breakup states of 6Li, namely, l=2, J π =3+,2+,1+ is also calculated. The latter effect is determined by using two approaches, (a) by considering only resonance state couplings and (b) by omitting these states from the full discretized energy space. Among other things, it is found that both resonance and non-resonance continuum breakup couplings produce fusion suppression at all the energies considered. A. Gómez Camacho from CONACYT, México, J. Lubian from CNPq, FAPERJ, Pronex, Brazil. S.G.Z was partly supported by the NSF of China (11120101005, 11275248, 11525524, 11621131001, 11647601, 11711540016), 973 Program of China (2013CB834400) and the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences of CAS. H.Q.Z. from NSF China (11375266)

Inhibition of Nipah virus infection in vivo: targeting an early stage of paramyxovirus fusion activation during viral entry.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matteo Porotto

2010-10-01

Full Text Available In the paramyxovirus cell entry process, receptor binding triggers conformational changes in the fusion protein (F leading to viral and cellular membrane fusion. Peptides derived from C-terminal heptad repeat (HRC regions in F have been shown to inhibit fusion by preventing formation of the fusogenic six-helix bundle. We recently showed that the addition of a cholesterol group to HRC peptides active against Nipah virus targets these peptides to the membrane where fusion occurs, dramatically increasing their antiviral effect. In this work, we report that unlike the untagged HRC peptides, which bind to the postulated extended intermediate state bridging the viral and cell membranes, the cholesterol tagged HRC-derived peptides interact with F before the fusion peptide inserts into the target cell membrane, thus capturing an earlier stage in the F-activation process. Furthermore, we show that cholesterol tagging renders these peptides active in vivo: the cholesterol-tagged peptides cross the blood brain barrier, and effectively prevent and treat in an established animal model what would otherwise be fatal Nipah virus encephalitis. The in vivo efficacy of cholesterol-tagged peptides, and in particular their ability to penetrate the CNS, suggests that they are promising candidates for the prevention or therapy of infection by Nipah and other lethal paramyxoviruses.

Inertial fusion: strategy and economic potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuckolls, J.H.

1983-01-01

Inertial fusion must demonstrate that the high target gains required for practical fusion energy can be achieved with driver energies not larger than a few megajoules. Before a multi-megajoule scale driver is constructed, inertial fusion must provide convincing experimental evidence that the required high target gains are feasible. This will be the principal objective of the NOVA laser experiments. Implosions will be conducted with scaled targets which are nearly hydrodynamically equivalent to the high gain target implosions. Experiments which demonstrate high target gains will be conducted in the early nineties when multi-megajoule drivers become available. Efficient drivers will also be demonstrated by this time period. Magnetic fusion may demonstrate high Q at about the same time as inertial fusion demonstrates high gain. Beyond demonstration of high performance fusion, economic considerations will predominate. Fusion energy will achieve full commercial success when it becomes cheaper than fission and coal. Analysis of the ultimate economic potential of inertial fusion suggests its costs may be reduced to half those of fission and coal. Relative cost escalation would increase this advantage. Fusions potential economic advantage derives from two fundamental properties: negligible fuel costs and high quality energy (which makes possible more efficient generation of electricity)

Investigation of fusion gain in fast ignition with conical targets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MJ Tabatabaei

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Fast ignition is a new scheme for inertial confinement fusion (ICF. In this scheme, at first the interaction of ultraintense laser beam with the hohlraum wall surrounding a capsule containing deuterium-tritium (D-T fuel causes implosion and compression of fuel to high density and then laser produced protons penetrate in the compressed fuel and deposit their energy in it as the ignition hot spot is created. In this paper, following the energy gain of spherical target and considering relationship of the burn fraction to burn duration, we have obtained the energy gain of conical targets characterized by the angle β, and found a hemispherical capsule (β=π/2 has a gain as high as 96% of that of the whole spherical capsule. The results obtained in this study are qualitatively consistent with Atzeni et al.'s studies of simulations.

Power plant by deuteron beams using indirect-driven target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niu, Keishiro

1989-01-01

An indirect-driven target is proposed to be used for 6-beam nonuniform irradiation of deuteron particles. The target consists of 5 layers; tamper, radiator, smoother (radiation gap), absorber (pusher) and solid DT fuel. The fluctuation comes from nonuniform energy deposition in the radiator layer. Through the smoother layer, radiative energy transport from the radiator layer to the absorber layer is expected to smooth out the temperature fluctuation in the absorber layer. The total beam energy of 12 MJ is launched to the target by 6 beams. In order to delete the charge of the front edge of the propagating deuteron beam, the electron beam is proposed to be launched to the target with the same velocity and with the same number density at the same time of the deuteron extraction form the diode. To stabilize the beam propagation, the electron beam has a rotation velocity which induces the magnetic field in the propagation direction. The construction of the power supply system whose total stored energy is 12 MJ seems to be not difficult and to be economical. (author)

Multi-UAV Doppler Information Fusion for Target Tracking Based on Distributed High Degrees Information Filters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamza Benzerrouk

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Multi-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV Doppler-based target tracking has not been widely investigated, specifically when using modern nonlinear information filters. A high-degree Gauss–Hermite information filter, as well as a seventh-degree cubature information filter (CIF, is developed to improve the fifth-degree and third-degree CIFs proposed in the most recent related literature. These algorithms are applied to maneuvering target tracking based on Radar Doppler range/range rate signals. To achieve this purpose, different measurement models such as range-only, range rate, and bearing-only tracking are used in the simulations. In this paper, the mobile sensor target tracking problem is addressed and solved by a higher-degree class of quadrature information filters (HQIFs. A centralized fusion architecture based on distributed information filtering is proposed, and yielded excellent results. Three high dynamic UAVs are simulated with synchronized Doppler measurement broadcasted in parallel channels to the control center for global information fusion. Interesting results are obtained, with the superiority of certain classes of higher-degree quadrature information filters.

Electron and ion beam transport to fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freeman, J.R.; Baker, L.; Miller, P.A.; Mix, L.P.; Olsen, J.N.; Poukey, J.W.; Wright, T.P.

1979-01-01

ICF reactors have been proposed which incorporate a gas-filled chamber to reduce x-ray and debris loading of the first wall. Focused beams of either electrons or ions must be transported efficiently for 2-4 m to a centrally located fusion target. Laser-initiated current-carrying plasma discharge channels provide the guiding magnetic field and the charge- and current-neutralizing medium required for beam propagation. Computational studies of plasma channel formation in air using a 1-D MHD model with multigroup radiation diffusion have provided a good comparison with the expansions velocity and time dependent refractivity profile determined by holographic interferometry. Trajectory calculations have identified a beam expansion mechanism which combines with the usual ohmic dissipation to reduce somewhat the transported beam fluence for electrons. Additional trajectory calculations have been performed for both electrons and light ions to predict the limits on the particle current density which can be delivered to a central target by overlapping the many independently-generated beams. Critical features of the use of plasma channels for transport and overlap of charged particle beams are being tested experimentally with up to twelve electron beams from the Proto II accelerator

Targeted, homology-driven gene insertion in stem cells by ZFN-loaded 'all-in-one' lentiviral vectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cai, Yujia; Laustsen, Anders; Zhou, Yan

2016-01-01

-driven mechanism into safe loci. This insertion mechanism is driven by time-restricted exposure of treated cells to ZFNs. We show targeted gene integration in human stem cells, including CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Notably, targeted insertions are identified in 89......% of transduced iPSCs. Our findings demonstrate the applicability of nuclease-loaded 'all-in-one' IDLVs for site-directed gene insertion in stem cell based gene therapies....

Fusion barrier characteristics of actinides

Science.gov (United States)

Manjunatha, H. C.; Sridhar, K. N.

2018-03-01

We have studied fusion barrier characteristics of actinide compound nuclei with atomic number range 89 ≤ Z ≤ 103 for all projectile target combinations. After the calculation of fusion barrier heights and positions, we have searched for their parameterization. We have achieved the empirical formula for fusion barrier heights (VB), positions (RB), curvature of the inverted parabola (ħω) of actinide compound nuclei with atomic number range 89 ≤ Z ≤ 103 for all projectile target combinations (6 projectile target combinations. The values produced by the present formula are also compared with experiments. The present pocket formula produces fusion barrier characteristics of actinides with the simple inputs of mass number (A) and atomic number (Z) of projectile-targets.

Fuel pellets and optical systems for inertially confined fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendricks, C.D.

1979-01-01

Current laser-driven ICF targets are complex sets of concentric spherical shells made from a variety of materials including the fuel (e.g., deuterium-tritium), glass, beryllium, gold, polymeric materials, organo-metallics, and several additional organic and inorganic materials depending on the particular experiments to be done. While it is not yet known what the reactor targets will be exactly, there is little reason to believe they will be just simple, low quality glass shells containing DT gas or simple spheres of deuterated polyethylene or other fuel. Consequently, many of the current targets, materials, and fabrication techniques are considered to be applicable to the long range problems of ICF reactor target fabrication. Many current material problems and fabrication techniques are discussed and various quality factors are presented in an attempt to bring an awareness of the possible fusion reactor target materials problems to the scientific and technical community

Epithelioid Sarcoma: Opportunities for Biology-driven Targeted Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan eNoujaim

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Epithelioid sarcoma is a soft tissue sarcoma of children and young adults for which the preferred treatment for localised disease is wide surgical resection. Medical management is to a great extent undefined, and therefore for patients with regional and distal metastases, the development of targeted therapies is greatly desired. In this review we will summarize clinically-relevant biomarkers (e.g., SMARCB1, CA125, dysadherin and others with respect to targeted therapeutic opportunities. We will also examine the role of EGFR, mTOR and polykinase inhibitors (e.g., sunitinib in the management of local and disseminated disease. Towards building a consortium of pharmaceutical, academic and non-profit collaborators, we will discuss the state of resources for investigating epithelioid sarcoma with respect to cell line resources, tissue banks, and registries so that a roadmap can be developed towards effective biology-driven therapies.

Expression and activity analysis of a new fusion protein targeting ovarian cancer cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Manman; Chang, Weiqin; Wang, Dingding; Cui, Manhua; Lin, Yang; Wu, Shuying; Xu, Tianmin

2015-09-01

The aim of the present study was to develop a new therapeutic drug to improve the prognosis of ovarian cancer patients. Human urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA)17-34-kunitz-type protease inhibitor (KPI) eukaryotic expression vector was constructed and recombinant human uPA17-34-KPI (rhuPA17-34-KPI) in P. pastoris was expressed. In the present study, the DNA sequences that encode uPA 17-34 amino acids were created according to the native amino acids sequence and inserted into the KPI-pPICZαC vector, which was constructed. Then, uPA17‑34-KPI-pPICZαC was transformed into P. pastoris X-33, and rhuPA17-34-KPI was expressed by induction of methanol. The bioactivities of a recombinant fusion protein were detected with trypsin inhibition analysis, and the inhibitory effects on the growth of ovarian cancer cells were identified using the TUNEL assay, in vitro wound‑healing assay and Matrigel model analysis. The results of the DNA sequence analysis of the recombinant vector uPA17-34-KPI‑pPICZα demonstrated that the DNA‑encoding human uPA 17-34 amino acids, 285-288 amino acids of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and 1-57 amino acids of KPI were correctly inserted into the pPICZαC vector. Following induction by methonal, the fusion protein with a molecular weight of 8.8 kDa was observed using SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis. RhuPA17-34-KPI was expressed in P. pastoris with a yield of 50 mg/l in a 50-ml tube. The recombinant fusion protein was able to inhibit the activity of trypsin, inhibit growth and induce apoptosis of SKOV3 cells, and inhibit the invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells. By considering uPA17-34 amino acid specific binding uPAR as the targeted part of fusion protein and utilizing the serine protease inhibitor activity of KPI, it was found that the recombinant fusion protein uPA17-34-KPI inhibited the invasion and metastasis of ovarian tumors, and may therefore be regarded as effective in targeted treatment.

On the energy gain enhancement of DT+D3He fuel configuration in nuclear fusion reactor driven by heavy ion beams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Khoshbinfar

2016-09-01

Full Text Available It is expected that advanced fuels be employed in the second generation of nuclear fusion reactors. Theoretical calculations show that in such a fuel, a high plasma temperature about 100 keV is a requisite for reaction rate improvement of nuclear fusion. However, creating such a temporal condition requires a more powerful driver than we have today. Here, introducing an optimal fuel configuration consisting of DT and D-3He layers, suitable for inertial fusion reactors and driven by heavy ion beams, the optimal energy gain conditions have been simulated and derived for 1.3 MJ system. It was found that, in this new fuel configuration, the ideal energy gain, is 22 percent more comparing with energy gain in corresponding single DT fuel layer. Moreover, the inner DT fuel layer contributed as an ignition trigger, while the outer D3He fuel acts as particle and radiation shielding as well as fuel layer.

A tri-modality image fusion method for target delineation of brain tumors in radiotherapy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Guo

Full Text Available To develop a tri-modality image fusion method for better target delineation in image-guided radiotherapy for patients with brain tumors.A new method of tri-modality image fusion was developed, which can fuse and display all image sets in one panel and one operation. And a feasibility study in gross tumor volume (GTV delineation using data from three patients with brain tumors was conducted, which included images of simulation CT, MRI, and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET examinations before radiotherapy. Tri-modality image fusion was implemented after image registrations of CT+PET and CT+MRI, and the transparency weight of each modality could be adjusted and set by users. Three radiation oncologists delineated GTVs for all patients using dual-modality (MRI/CT and tri-modality (MRI/CT/PET image fusion respectively. Inter-observer variation was assessed by the coefficient of variation (COV, the average distance between surface and centroid (ADSC, and the local standard deviation (SDlocal. Analysis of COV was also performed to evaluate intra-observer volume variation.The inter-observer variation analysis showed that, the mean COV was 0.14(± 0.09 and 0.07(± 0.01 for dual-modality and tri-modality respectively; the standard deviation of ADSC was significantly reduced (p<0.05 with tri-modality; SDlocal averaged over median GTV surface was reduced in patient 2 (from 0.57 cm to 0.39 cm and patient 3 (from 0.42 cm to 0.36 cm with the new method. The intra-observer volume variation was also significantly reduced (p = 0.00 with the tri-modality method as compared with using the dual-modality method.With the new tri-modality image fusion method smaller inter- and intra-observer variation in GTV definition for the brain tumors can be achieved, which improves the consistency and accuracy for target delineation in individualized radiotherapy.

High temperature experiment for accelerator inertial fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, E.P.

1985-01-01

The High Temperature Experiment (HTE) is intended to produce temperatures of 50-100 eV in solid density targets driven by heavy ion beams from a multiple beam induction linac. The fundamental variables (particle species, energy number of beamlets, current and pulse length) must be fixed to achieve the temperature at minimum cost, subject to criteria of technical feasibility and relevance to the development of a Fusion Driver. The conceptual design begins with an assumed (radiation-limited) target temperature and uses limitations due to particle range, beamlet perveance, and target disassembly to bound the allowable values of mass number (A) and energy (E). An accelerator model is then applied to determine the minimum length accelerator, which is a guide to total cost. The accelerator model takes into account limits on transportable charge, maximum gradient, core mass per linear meter, and head-to-tail momentum variation within a pulse

Scoping studies of 233U breeding fusion fission hybrid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maniscalco, J.A.; Hansen, L.F.; Allen, W.O.

1978-05-01

Neutronic calculations have been carried out in order to design a laser fusion driven hybrid blanket which maximizes 233 U production per unit of thermal energy (greater than or equal to 1 kg/MW/sub T/-year) with acceptable fusion energy multiplication (M/sub F/ approximately 4). Two hybrid blankets, a thorium and a uranium-thorium blanket, are discussed in detail and their performance is evaluated by incorporating them into an existing hybrid design (the LLL/Bechtel design). The overall performance of the two laser fusion driven 233 U producers is discussed and estimates are given of (1) the number of equivalent thermal power fission reactors (LWR, HWR, SSCR and HTGR) that these fusion breeders can fuel, (2) their capital cost, and (3) the cost of electricity in the combined fusion breder-converter reactor scenario

Scoping studies of 233U breeding fusion fission hybrid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maniscalco, J.A.; Hansen, L.F.; Allen, W.O.

1978-01-01

Neutronic calculations have been carried out in order to design a laser fusion driven hybrid blanket which maximizes 233 U production per unit of thermal energy (greater than or equal to 1 kg/MW/sub T/-year) with acceptable fusion energy multiplication (M/sub F/ approx. 4). Two hybrid blankets, a thorium and a uranium--thorium blanket, are discussed in detail and their performance is evaluated by incorporating them into an existing hybrid design (the LLL/Bechtel design). The overall performance of the two laser fusion driven 233 U producers is discussed and estimates are given of (1) the number of equivalent thermal power fission reactors (LWR, HWR, SSCR and HTGR) that these fusion breeders can fuel, (2) their capital cost, and (3) the cost of electricity in the combined fusion breeder-converter reactor scenario

Implosion of multilayered cylindrical targets driven by intense heavy ion beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Piriz, A R; Portugues, R F; Tahir, N A; Hoffmann, D H H

2002-11-01

An analytical model for the implosion of a multilayered cylindrical target driven by an intense heavy ion beam has been developed. The target is composed of a cylinder of frozen hydrogen or deuterium, which is enclosed in a thick shell of solid lead. This target has been designed for future high-energy-density matter experiments to be carried out at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt. The model describes the implosion dynamics including the motion of the incident shock and the first reflected shock and allows for calculation of the physical conditions of the hydrogen at stagnation. The model predicts that the conditions of the compressed hydrogen are not sensitive to significant variations in target and beam parameters. These predictions are confirmed by one-dimensional numerical simulations and thus allow for a robust target design.

Ion beam driven expansion of super-range multilayer plane targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piriz, A.R.

1987-08-01

The expansion of a multilayer plane target driven by an ion beam which has a range shorter than the thickness of the slab is described by means of a simple analytic model. The effect of a two-layer structure is studied and criteria for the optimization of the kinetic energy of the unheated part of the slab, the payload, are set. (author). 14 refs, 3 figs

Automated computer analysis of x-ray radiographs greatly facilitates measurement of coating-thickness variations in laser-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stupin, D.M.; Moore, K.R.; Thomas, G.D.; Whitman, R.L.

1981-01-01

An automated system was built to analyze x-ray radiographs of laser fusion targets which greatly facilitates the detection of coating thickness variations. Many laser fusion targets reqire opaque coatings 1 to 20 μm thick which have been deposited on small glass balloons 100 to 500 μm in diameter. These coatings must be uniformly thick to 1% for the targets to perform optimally. Our system is designed to detect variations as small as 100 A in 1-μm-thick coatings by converting the optical density variations of contact x-ray radiographs into coating thickness variations. Radiographic images are recorded in HRP emulsions and magnified by an optical microscope, imaged onto television camera, digitized and processed on a Data General S/230 computer with a code by Whitman. After an initial set-up by the operator, as many as 200 targets will be automatically characterized

Simulations of fusion chamber dynamics and first wall response in a Z-pinch driven fusion–fission hybrid power reactor (Z-FFR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qi, J.M., E-mail: qjm06@sina.com [Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Energy (LANE), Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621999 (China); Center for Fusion Energy Science and Technology (CFEST), China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621999 (China); Wang, Z., E-mail: wangz_es@caep.cn [Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Energy (LANE), Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621999 (China); Center for Fusion Energy Science and Technology (CFEST), China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621999 (China); Chu, Y.Y., E-mail: chuyanyun@caep.cn [Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Energy (LANE), Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621999 (China); Center for Fusion Energy Science and Technology (CFEST), China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621999 (China); Li, Z.H., E-mail: lee_march@sina.com [Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Energy (LANE), Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621999 (China)

2016-03-15

Highlights: • Z-FFR utilizes DT neutrons to drive a sub-critical fission blanket to produce energy. • A metal shell and Ar gas are employed in the fusion chamber for shock mitigation. • Massive materials can effectively mitigate the thermal heats on the chamber wall. • The W-coated Zr-alloy first wall exhibits good viability as a long-lived component. - Abstract: In a Z-pinch driven fusion–fission hybrid power reactor (Z-FFR), the fusion target will produce enormous energy of ∼1.5 GJ per pulse at a frequency of 0.1 Hz. Almost 20% of the fusion energy yield, approximately 300 MJ, is released in forms of pulsed X-rays. To prevent the first wall from fatal damages by the intense X-rays, a thin spherical metal shell and rare Ar buffer gas are introduced to mitigate the transient X-ray bursts. Radiation hydrodynamics in the fusion chamber were investigated by MULTI-1D simulations, and the corresponding thermal and mechanical loads on the first wall were also obtained. The simulations indicated that by optimizing the design parameters of the metal shell and Ar buffer gas, peak power flux of the thermal heats on the first wall could be mitigated to less than 10{sup 4} W/cm{sup 2} within a time scale of several milliseconds, while peak overpressures of the mechanical loads varying from 0.6 to 0.7 MPa. In addition, the thermomechanical response in a W–coated Zr-alloy first wall was performed by FWDR1D calculations using the derived thermal and mechanical loads as inputs. The temperature and stress fields were analyzed, and the corresponding elastic strains were conducted for primary lifetime estimations by using the Coffin–Manson relationships of both W and Zr-alloy. It was shown that the maximum temperature rises and stresses in the first wall were less than 50 K and 130 MPa respectively, and lifetime of the first wall would be in excess of 10{sup 9} cycles. The chamber exhibits good viability as a long-lived component to sustain the Z-FFR conceptual

Cylindrical target Li-beam-driven hohlraum experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Derzon, M.S.; Aubert, J.; Chandler, G.A.

1998-06-01

The authors performed a series of experiments on the Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator II (PBFA II) in May, 1994, and obtained a brightness temperature of 61 ± 2 eV for an ion-beam heated hohlraum. The hohlraum was a 4-mm-diameter, right-circular cylinder with a 1.5-mm-thick gold wall, a low-density CH foam fill, and a 1.5- or 3-mm-diameter diagnostic aperture in the top. The nominal parameters of the radially-incident PBFA II Li ion beam were 9 MeV peak energy (∼10 MeV at the gas cell) at the target at a peak power of 2.5 ± 0.3 TW/cm 2 and a 15 ns pulse width. Azimuthal variations in intensity of a factor of 3, with respect to the mean, were observed. Nonuniformities in thermal x-ray emission across the area of the diagnostic hole were also observed. Time-dependent hole-closure velocities were measured: the time-averaged velocity of ∼2 cm/micros is in good agreement with sound speed estimates. Unfolded x-ray spectra and brightness temperatures as a function of time are reported and compared to simulations. Hole closure corrections are discussed with comparisons between XRD and bolometer measurements. Temperature scaling with power on target is also presented

The evaluation of single-view and multi-view fusion 3D echocardiography using image-driven segmentation and tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajpoot, Kashif; Grau, Vicente; Noble, J Alison; Becher, Harald; Szmigielski, Cezary

2011-08-01

Real-time 3D echocardiography (RT3DE) promises a more objective and complete cardiac functional analysis by dynamic 3D image acquisition. Despite several efforts towards automation of left ventricle (LV) segmentation and tracking, these remain challenging research problems due to the poor-quality nature of acquired images usually containing missing anatomical information, speckle noise, and limited field-of-view (FOV). Recently, multi-view fusion 3D echocardiography has been introduced as acquiring multiple conventional single-view RT3DE images with small probe movements and fusing them together after alignment. This concept of multi-view fusion helps to improve image quality and anatomical information and extends the FOV. We now take this work further by comparing single-view and multi-view fused images in a systematic study. In order to better illustrate the differences, this work evaluates image quality and information content of single-view and multi-view fused images using image-driven LV endocardial segmentation and tracking. The image-driven methods were utilized to fully exploit image quality and anatomical information present in the image, thus purposely not including any high-level constraints like prior shape or motion knowledge in the analysis approaches. Experiments show that multi-view fused images are better suited for LV segmentation and tracking, while relatively more failures and errors were observed on single-view images. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Plasma physics for controlled fusion

CERN Document Server

Miyamoto, Kenro

2016-01-01

This new edition presents the essential theoretical and analytical methods needed to understand the recent fusion research of tokamak and alternate approaches. The author describes magnetohydrodynamic and kinetic theories of cold and hot plasmas in detail. The book covers new important topics for fusion studies such as plasma transport by drift turbulence, which depend on the magnetic configuration and zonal flows. These are universal phenomena of microturbulence. They can modify the onset criterion for turbulent transport, instabilities driven by energetic particles as well as alpha particle generation and typical plasma models for computer simulation. The fusion research of tokamaks with various new versions of H modes are explained. The design concept of ITER, the international tokamak experimental reactor, is described for inductively driven operations as well as steady-state operations using non-inductive drives. Alternative approaches of reversed-field pinch and its relaxation process, stellator includi...

Study of laser-driven shock wave propagation in Plexiglas targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhareshwar, L.J.; Naik, P.A.; Pant, H.C.; Kaushik, T.C.

1992-01-01

An experimental study of laser-driven shock wave propagation in a transparent material such as Plexiglas using a high-speed optical shadowgraphy technique is presented in this paper. A Nd: glass laser was used to produce laser intensity in the range 10 12 -10 14 W/cm 2 on the target. Optical shadowgrams of the propagating shock front were recorded with a second-harmonic (0.53-μm) optical probe beam. Shock pressures were measured at various laser intensities, and the scaling was found to agree with the theoretically predicted value. Shock pressure values have also been obtained from a one-dimensional Lagrangian hydrodynamic simulation, and they match well with experimental results. Shadowgrams of shock fronts produced by nonuniform spatial laser beam irradiation profiles have shown complete smoothing when targets with a thin coating of a material of high atomic number such as gold were used. Shock pressures in such coated targets are also found to be considerably higher compared with those in uncoated targets. (Author)

Numerical study of neutron beam divergence in a beam-fusion scenario employing laser driven ions

Science.gov (United States)

Alejo, A.; Green, A.; Ahmed, H.; Robinson, A. P. L.; Cerchez, M.; Clarke, R.; Doria, D.; Dorkings, S.; Fernandez, J.; McKenna, P.; Mirfayzi, S. R.; Naughton, K.; Neely, D.; Norreys, P.; Peth, C.; Powell, H.; Ruiz, J. A.; Swain, J.; Willi, O.; Borghesi, M.; Kar, S.

2016-09-01

The most established route to create a laser-based neutron source is by employing laser accelerated, low atomic-number ions in fusion reactions. In addition to the high reaction cross-sections at moderate energies of the projectile ions, the anisotropy in neutron emission is another important feature of beam-fusion reactions. Using a simple numerical model based on neutron generation in a pitcher-catcher scenario, anisotropy in neutron emission was studied for the deuterium-deuterium fusion reaction. Simulation results are consistent with the narrow-divergence (∼ 70 ° full width at half maximum) neutron beam recently served in an experiment employing multi-MeV deuteron beams of narrow divergence (up to 30° FWHM, depending on the ion energy) accelerated by a sub-petawatt laser pulse from thin deuterated plastic foils via the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism. By varying the input ion beam parameters, simulations show that a further improvement in the neutron beam directionality (i.e. reduction in the beam divergence) can be obtained by increasing the projectile ion beam temperature and cut-off energy, as expected from interactions employing higher power lasers at upcoming facilities.

Modelling of surface evolution of rough surface on divertor target in fusion devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai, Shuyu; Liu, Shengguang; Sun, Jizhong; Kirschner, A.; Kawamura, G.; Tskhakaya, D.; Ding, Rui; Luo, Guangnan; Wang, Dezhen

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We study the surface evolution of rough surface on divertor target in fusion devices. • The effects of gyration motion and E × B drift affect 3D angular distribution. • A larger magnetic field angle leads to a reduced net eroded areal density. • The rough surface evolution affects the physical sputtering yield. - Abstract: The 3D Monte-Carlo code SURO has been used to study the surface evolution of rough surface on the divertor target in fusion devices. The edge plasma at divertor region is modelled by the SDPIC code and used as input data for SURO. Coupled with SDPIC, SURO can perform more sophisticated simulations to calculate the local angle and surface evolution of rough surface. The simulation results show that the incident direction of magnetic field, gyration and E × B force has a significant impact on 3D angular distribution of background plasma and accordingly on the erosion of rough surface. The net eroded areal density of rough surface is studied by varying the magnetic field angle with surface normal. The evolution of the microscopic morphology of rough surface can lead to a significant change in the physical sputtering yield

A1.5 Fusion Performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amendt, P

2011-03-31

Analysis and radiation hydrodynamics simulations for expected high-gain fusion target performance on a demonstration 1-GWe Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE) power plant in the mid-2030s timeframe are presented. The required laser energy driver is 2.2 MJ at a 0.351-{micro}m wavelength, and a fusion target gain greater than 60 at a repetition rate of 16 Hz is the design goal for economic and commercial attractiveness. A scaling-law analysis is developed to benchmark the design parameter space for hohlraum-driven central hot-spot ignition. A suite of integrated hohlraum simulations is presented to test the modeling assumptions and provide a basis for a near-term experimental resolution of the key physics uncertainties on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The NIF is poised to demonstrate ignition by 2012 based on the central hot spot (CHS) mode of ignition and propagating thermonuclear burn [1]. This immediate prospect underscores the imperative and timeliness of advancing inertial fusion as a carbon-free, virtually limitless source of energy by the mid-21st century to substantially offset fossil fuel technologies. To this end, an intensive effort is underway to leverage success at the NIF and to provide the foundations for a prototype 'LIFE.1' engineering test facility by {approx}2025, followed by a commercially viable 'LIFE.2' demonstration power plant operating at 1 GWe by {approx}2035. The current design goal for LIFE.2 is to accommodate {approx}2.2 MJ of laser energy (entering the high-Z radiation enclosure or 'hohlraum') at a 0.351-{micro}m wavelength operating at a repetition rate of 16 Hz and to provide a fusion target yield of 132 MJ. To achieve this design goal first requires a '0-d' analytic gain model that allows convenient exploration of parameter space and target optimization. This step is then followed by 2- and 3-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulations that incorporate laser beam transport, x

Alpha-driven magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and MHD-induced alpha loss in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Z.; Nazikian, R.; Fu, G.Y.

1997-02-01

Alpha-driven toroidal Alfven eigenmodes (TAEs) are observed as predicted by theory in the post neutral beam phase in high central q (safety factor) deuterium-tritium (D-T) plasmas in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). The mode location, poloidal structure and the importance of q profile for TAE instability are discussed. So far no alpha particle loss due to these modes was detected due to the small mode amplitude. However, alpha loss induced by kinetic ballooning modes (KBMs) was observed in high confinement D-T discharges. Particle orbit simulation demonstrates that the wave-particle resonant interaction can explain the observed correlation between the increase in alpha loss and appearance of multiple high-n (n ≥ 6, n is the toroidal mode number) modes

Induction-accelerator heavy-ion fusion: Status and beam physics issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedman, A.

1996-01-01

Inertial confinement fusion driven by beams of heavy ions is an attractive route to controlled fusion. In the U.S., induction accelerators are being developed as open-quotes driversclose quotes for this process. This paper is divided into two main sections. In the first section, the concept of induction-accelerator driven heavy-ion fusion is briefly reviewed, and the U.S. program of experiments and theoretical investigations is described. In the second, a open-quotes taxonomyclose quotes of space-charge-dominated beam physics issues is presented, accompanied by a brief discussion of each area

Comparison on implantation-driven permeation characteristics of fusion reactor structural materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Longhurst, G.R.; Anderl, R.A.; Struttmann, D.A. (Idaho National Engineering Lab., Idaho Falls)

Implantation-driven permeation experiments have been conducted on samples of the ferritic steel HT-9, the austenitic Primary Candidate Alloy (PCA) and the vanadium alloy V-15Cr-5Ti using D{sub 3}{sup +} ions under conditions that simulate charge-exchange neutral loading on a fusion reactor first wall. The steels all exhibited an initially intense permeation spike followed by an exponential decrease to low steady-state values. That spike was not evident in the V-15Cr-5Ti experiments. Steady-state permeation was highest in the vanadium alloy and lowest in the austenitic steel. Though permeation rates in the HT-9 were lower than those in V-15Cr-5Ti, permeation transients were much faster in HT-9 than in other materials tested. Sputtering of the steel surface resulted in enhanced reemission, whereas in the vanadium tests, recombination and diffusivity both appeared to diminish as the deuterium concentration rose. We conclude that for conditions comparable to those of these experiments, tritium retention and permeation loss in first wall structures made of steels will be less than in structures made of V-15Cr-5Ti.

Fusion plasma physics

CERN Document Server

Stacey, Weston M

2012-01-01

This revised and enlarged second edition of the popular textbook and reference contains comprehensive treatments of both the established foundations of magnetic fusion plasma physics and of the newly developing areas of active research. It concludes with a look ahead to fusion power reactors of the future. The well-established topics of fusion plasma physics -- basic plasma phenomena, Coulomb scattering, drifts of charged particles in magnetic and electric fields, plasma confinement by magnetic fields, kinetic and fluid collective plasma theories, plasma equilibria and flux surface geometry, plasma waves and instabilities, classical and neoclassical transport, plasma-materials interactions, radiation, etc. -- are fully developed from first principles through to the computational models employed in modern plasma physics. The new and emerging topics of fusion plasma physics research -- fluctuation-driven plasma transport and gyrokinetic/gyrofluid computational methodology, the physics of the divertor, neutral ...

Reduction of deposition asymmetries in directly driven ion-beam and laser targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mark, J.W.K.

1985-01-01

The authors have developed a procedure for reducing energy-dependent asymmetry in spherical targets driven directly by ion or laser beams. This work is part of a strategy for achieving illumination symmetry in such targets, which they propose as an alternative to those in the literature. This strategy allows an axially symmetric placement of beamlets, which would be convenient for some driver or reactor scenarios. It also allows the use of beam currents or energy fluxes to help reduce deposition asymmetry

Interfacial Stability of Spherically Converging Plasma Jets for Magnetized Target Fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Thio, Y. C. Francis; Cassibry, Jason; Wu, S. T.; Eskridge, Richard; Smith, James; Lee, Michael; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

A fusion propulsion scheme has been proposed that makes use of the merging of a spherical distribution of plasma jets to dynamically form a gaseous liner to implode a magnetized target to produce the fusion reaction. In this paper, a study is made of the interfacial stability of the interaction of these jets. Specifically, the Orr-Sommerfeld equation is integrated to obtain the growth rate of a perturbation to the primary flow at the interface between the colliding jets. The results lead to an estimate on the tolerances on the relative flow velocities of the merging plasma jets to form a stable, imploding liner. The results show that the maximum temporal growth rate of the perturbed flow at the jet interface is very small in comparison with the time to full compression of the liner. These data suggest that, as far as the stability of the interface between the merging jets is concerned, the formation of the gaseous liner can withstand velocity variation of the order of 10% between the neighboring jets over the density and temperature ranges investigated.

Scaling laws for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brueckner, K.A.

1978-01-01

The fusion yield due to a spherically expanding burning front in a compressed fuel pellet is obtained. The pellet gain and beam energy for a laser system and an ion or electron beam driven system are compared. The results suggest an interesting possibility for heavy-ion fusion with driver parameters far below those usually considered

Improved prediction of drug-target interactions using regularized least squares integrating with kernel fusion technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hao, Ming; Wang, Yanli, E-mail: ywang@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; Bryant, Stephen H., E-mail: bryant@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

2016-02-25

Identification of drug-target interactions (DTI) is a central task in drug discovery processes. In this work, a simple but effective regularized least squares integrating with nonlinear kernel fusion (RLS-KF) algorithm is proposed to perform DTI predictions. Using benchmark DTI datasets, our proposed algorithm achieves the state-of-the-art results with area under precision–recall curve (AUPR) of 0.915, 0.925, 0.853 and 0.909 for enzymes, ion channels (IC), G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) and nuclear receptors (NR) based on 10 fold cross-validation. The performance can further be improved by using a recalculated kernel matrix, especially for the small set of nuclear receptors with AUPR of 0.945. Importantly, most of the top ranked interaction predictions can be validated by experimental data reported in the literature, bioassay results in the PubChem BioAssay database, as well as other previous studies. Our analysis suggests that the proposed RLS-KF is helpful for studying DTI, drug repositioning as well as polypharmacology, and may help to accelerate drug discovery by identifying novel drug targets. - Graphical abstract: Flowchart of the proposed RLS-KF algorithm for drug-target interaction predictions. - Highlights: • A nonlinear kernel fusion algorithm is proposed to perform drug-target interaction predictions. • Performance can further be improved by using the recalculated kernel. • Top predictions can be validated by experimental data.

Improved prediction of drug-target interactions using regularized least squares integrating with kernel fusion technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Ming; Wang, Yanli; Bryant, Stephen H.

2016-01-01

Identification of drug-target interactions (DTI) is a central task in drug discovery processes. In this work, a simple but effective regularized least squares integrating with nonlinear kernel fusion (RLS-KF) algorithm is proposed to perform DTI predictions. Using benchmark DTI datasets, our proposed algorithm achieves the state-of-the-art results with area under precision–recall curve (AUPR) of 0.915, 0.925, 0.853 and 0.909 for enzymes, ion channels (IC), G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) and nuclear receptors (NR) based on 10 fold cross-validation. The performance can further be improved by using a recalculated kernel matrix, especially for the small set of nuclear receptors with AUPR of 0.945. Importantly, most of the top ranked interaction predictions can be validated by experimental data reported in the literature, bioassay results in the PubChem BioAssay database, as well as other previous studies. Our analysis suggests that the proposed RLS-KF is helpful for studying DTI, drug repositioning as well as polypharmacology, and may help to accelerate drug discovery by identifying novel drug targets. - Graphical abstract: Flowchart of the proposed RLS-KF algorithm for drug-target interaction predictions. - Highlights: • A nonlinear kernel fusion algorithm is proposed to perform drug-target interaction predictions. • Performance can further be improved by using the recalculated kernel. • Top predictions can be validated by experimental data.

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuckolls, J.

1977-01-01

The principal goal of the inertial confinement fusion program is the development of a practical fusion power plant in this century. Rapid progress has been made in the four major areas of ICF--targets, drivers, fusion experiments, and reactors. High gain targets have been designed. Laser, electron beam, and heavy ion accelerator drivers appear to be feasible. Record-breaking thermonuclear conditions have been experimentally achieved. Detailed diagnostics of laser implosions have confirmed predictions of the LASNEX computer program. Experimental facilities are being planned and constructed capable of igniting high gain fusion microexplosions in the mid 1980's. A low cost long lifetime reactor design has been developed

Prospects for fusion applications of reversed-field pinches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bathke, C.G.; Krakowski, R.A.; Hagenson, R.L.

1985-01-01

The applicability of the Reversed-Field Pinch (RFP) as a source of fusion neutrons for use in developing key fusion nuclear technologies is examined. This Fusion Test Facility (FTF) would emphasize high neutron wall loading, small plasma volume, low fusion and driver powers, and steady-state operation. Both parametric tradeoffs based on present-day physics understanding and a conceptual design based on an approx.1-MW/m 2 (neutron) driven operation are reported. 10 refs

Image classification using multiscale information fusion based on saliency driven nonlinear diffusion filtering.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Weiming; Hu, Ruiguang; Xie, Nianhua; Ling, Haibin; Maybank, Stephen

2014-04-01

In this paper, we propose saliency driven image multiscale nonlinear diffusion filtering. The resulting scale space in general preserves or even enhances semantically important structures such as edges, lines, or flow-like structures in the foreground, and inhibits and smoothes clutter in the background. The image is classified using multiscale information fusion based on the original image, the image at the final scale at which the diffusion process converges, and the image at a midscale. Our algorithm emphasizes the foreground features, which are important for image classification. The background image regions, whether considered as contexts of the foreground or noise to the foreground, can be globally handled by fusing information from different scales. Experimental tests of the effectiveness of the multiscale space for the image classification are conducted on the following publicly available datasets: 1) the PASCAL 2005 dataset; 2) the Oxford 102 flowers dataset; and 3) the Oxford 17 flowers dataset, with high classification rates.

Effect of experimentally observed hydrogenic fractionation on inertial confinement fusion ignition target performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKenty, P. W.; Wittman, M. D.; Harding, D. R.

2006-01-01

The need of cryogenic hydrogenic fuels in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) ignition targets has been long been established. Efficient implosion of such targets has mandated keeping the adiabat of the main fuel layer at low levels to ensure drive energies are kept at reasonable minima. The use of cryogenic fuels helps meet this requirement and has therefore become the standard in most ICF ignition designs. To date most theoretical ICF ignition target designs have assumed a homogeneous layer of deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel kept slightly below the triple point. However, recent work has indicated that, as cryogenic fuel layers are formed inside an ICF capsule, isotopic dissociation of the tritium (T), deuterium (D), and DT takes place leading to a 'fractionation' of the final ice layer. This paper will numerically investigate the effects that various scenarios of fractionation have on hot-spot formation, ignition, and burn in ICF ignition target designs

Pre-Amplifier Module for Laser Inertial Confinement Fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heebner, J E; Bowers, M W

2008-02-06

The Pre-Amplifier Modules (PAMs) are the heart of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), providing most of the energy gain for the most energetic laser in the world. Upon completion, NIF will be the only laboratory in which scientists can examine the fusion processes that occur inside stars, supernovae, and exploding nuclear weapons and that may someday serve as a virtually inexhaustible energy source for electricity. Consider that in a fusion power plant 50 cups of water could provide the energy comparable to 2 tons of coal. Of paramount importance for achieving laser-driven fusion ignition with the least energy input is the synchronous and symmetric compression of the target fuel--a condition known as laser power balance. NIF's 48 PAMs thus must provide energy gain in an exquisitely stable and consistent manner. While building one module that meets performance requirements is challenging enough, our design has already enabled the construction and fielding of 48 PAMs that are stable, uniform, and interchangeable. PAM systems are being tested at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics, and the Atomic Weapons Enterprise of Great Britain has purchased the PAM power system.

Resonance self-shielding effect analysis of neutron data libraries applied for the dual-cooled waste transmutation blanket of the fusion-driven subcritical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Haibo; Wu Yican; Zheng Shanliang; Zhang Chunzao

2004-01-01

Based on the Fusion-Driven Subcritical System (FDS-I), the 25 groups, 175 groups and 620 groups neutron nuclear data libraries with/without resonance self-shielding correction are made with the Njoy and Transx codes, and the K eff and reaction rates are calculated with the Anisn code. The conclusion indicates that the resonance self-shielding effect affects the reaction rates strongly. (authors)

Laser-fusion target fabrication: application of organic coatings to metallic and nonmetallic micropellets by the glow-discharge polymerization of p-xylene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simonsic, G.A.

1976-01-01

Laser-fusion targets require thin, uniform organic-film coatings. A coating technique involving glow-discharge polymerization is described for applying highly adherent, extremely uniform, thin films of a high-temperature polymer to a variety of microsubstrates. Polymeric coatings as thick as 10 μm have been successfully deposited on hollow, spherical, 40- to 250-μm-diam micropellets of glass, metal-coated glass, and nickel/manganese alloy. Experimental yields of coatings of a quality acceptable for laser-fusion targets are typically greater than 90 percent

Neutronics optimization of LiPb-He dual-cooled fuel breeding blanket for the fusion-driven sub-critical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Shanliang; Wu Yican

2002-01-01

The concept of the liquid Li 17 Pb 83 and Helium gas dual-cooled Fuel Breeding Blanket (FBB) for the Fusion-Driven sub-critical System (FDS) is presented and analyzed. Taking self-sustaining tritium (TBR > 1.05) and annual output of 100 kg or more fissile 239 Pu (FBR > 0.238) as objective parameters, and based on the three-dimensional Monte Carlo neutron-photon transport code MCNP/4A, a neutronics-optimized calculation of different cases was carried out and the concept is proved feasible. In addition, the total breeding ratio (Br = Tbr + Fbr) is listed corresponding to different cases

Directions for reactor target design based on the US heavy ion fusion systems assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, D.C.; Dudziak, D.; Magelssen, G.; Zuckerman, D.; Dreimeyer, D.

1986-01-01

We studied areas of major uncertainty in target design using the cost of electricity as our figure of merit. Net electric power from the plant was fixed at 1000 MW to eliminate large effects due to economies of scale. The system is relatively insensitive to target gain. Factors of three changes in gain cause only 8 to 12% changes in electricity cost. An increase in the peak power needed to drive targets poses only a small cost risk, but requires many more beamlets be transported to the target. A shortening of the required ion range causes both cost and beamlet difficulties. A factor of 4 decrease in the required range at a fixed driver energy increases electricity cost by 44% and raises the number of beamlets to 240. Finally, the heavy ion fusion system can accommodate large increases in target costs. To address the major uncertainties, target design should concentrate on the understanding requirements for ion range and peak driver power

Prolate-Spheroid ('Rugby-Shaped') Hohlraum for Inertial Confinement Fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vandenboomgaerde, M.; Bastian, J.; Casner, A.; Galmiche, D.; Jadaud, J.-P.; Laffite, S.; Liberatore, S.; Malinie, G.; Philippe, F.

2007-01-01

A novel rugby-ball shaped hohlraum is designed in the context of the indirect-drive scheme of inertial-confinement fusion (ICF). Experiments were performed on the OMEGA laser and are the first use of rugby hohlraums for ICF studies. Analysis of experimental data shows that the hohlraum energetics is well understood. We show that the rugby-ball shape exhibits advantages over cylinder, in terms of temperature and of symmetry control of the capsule implosion. Simulations indicate that rugby hohlraum driven targets may be candidates for ignition in a context of early Laser MegaJoule experiments with reduced laser energy

Effect of the laser wavelength: A long story of laser-plasma interaction physics for Inertial Confinement Fusion Teller Medal Lecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Labaune Christine

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Laser-driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF relies on the use of high-energy laser beams to compress and ignite a thermonuclear fuel with the ultimate goal of producing energy. Fusion is the holy grail of energy sources–combining abundant fuel with no greenhouse gas emissions, minimal waste products and a scale that can meet mankind's long-term energy demands. The quality and the efficiency of the coupling of the laser beams with the target are an essential step towards the success of laser fusion. A long-term program on laser-plasma interaction physics has been pursued to understand the propagation and the coupling of laser pulses in plasmas for a wide range of parameters.

Effect of the laser wavelength: A long story of laser-plasma interaction physics for Inertial Confinement Fusion Teller Medal Lecture

Science.gov (United States)

Labaune, Christine

2016-10-01

Laser-driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) relies on the use of high-energy laser beams to compress and ignite a the1monuclear fuel with the ultimate goal of producing energy. Fusion is the holy grail of energy sources-combining abundant fuel with no greenhouse gas emissions, minimal waste products and a scale that can meet mankind's long-term energy demands. The quality and the efficiency of the coupling of the laser beams with the target are an essential step towards the success of laser fusion. A long-te1m program on laser-plasma interaction physics has been pursued to understand the propagation and the coupling of laser pulses in plasmas for a wide range of parameters.

Progress of laser fusion research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamanaka, Chiyoe

1988-01-01

The history of the research on nuclear fusion utilizing laser is described. It started in USSR in 1968, but the full scale start of laser implosion nuclear fusion was in 1972. In Osaka University, nuclear fusion neutrons were detected with a solid deuterium target and the phenomenon of parametric abnormal absorption in laser plasma was found in 1971. The new type target for implosion nuclear fusion ''Canon ball'' was devised in 1975. The phenomenon of the abnormal transmission of laser beam through a thin metal film in a multiple film target was found in 1976, and named ''Osaka effect''. Also the development of lasers has been advanced, and in 1983, a largest glass laser in the world, Gekko 12, with 12 beams, 30 kJ output, 55 TW, was completed. The new target LHART was devised, which enabled the generation of 10 trillion D-T reaction neutrons. Due to the development of high power laser technology, the realization of the new design of fuel pellets, the evaluation of the data by computer simulation, and the realization of new plasma diagnostic method, the research on laser nuclear fusion has developed rapidly, and the attainment of break-even is expected in 1990s. The features of inertial nuclear fusion are enumerated. (Kako, I.)

Dynamics of complete and incomplete fusion of 6,7Li, 15N and 16O with a 209Bi target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gautam, Manjeet Singh; Vinod, K.; Khatri, Hitender

2017-01-01

The dynamics of complete and incomplete fusion of 6,7 Li, 15 N and 16 O with a common target ( 209 Bi) around the Coulomb barrier are analyzed within the context of the coupled channel formulation and the energy dependent Woods-Saxon potential (EDWSP) model. The calculated results are compared with experimental fusion cross-sections and it has been shown that complete fusion (CF) data of weakly bound projectile with a heavy target ( 209 Bi) gets suppressed at above barrier energies. In the case of the 6 Li + 209 Bi ( 7 Li + 209 Bi) reaction, the CF data at above barrier energies is reduced by 34% (26%) with reference to the expectations of the coupled channel approach. However, the theoretical estimations due to the EDWSP model can minimize the suppression factor by 9% with respect to the reported value and consequently the portion of above barrier CF cross-section data of 6 Li + 209 Bi ( 7 Li + 209 Bi) reaction is suppressed by 25% (17%) when compared with the present model calculations. This fusion inhibition can be correlated with the low breakup threshold of projectile which in turn breaks up into two fragments in the entrance channel prior to fusion barrier. The total fusion (TF) data, which is sum of complete fusion (CF) data and incomplete fusion (ICF) data, is not suppressed when compared with the predictions of the theoretical approaches and thus breakup channel has very little influence on the total fusion cross-sections. Although the breakup fragments appeared in both reactions, the enhanced suppression effects observed for the lighter projectile can be correlated with its low binding energy associated with the α-breakup channel. Further the outcomes of the EDWSP model reasonably explained the ICF contribution appeared in the fusion of 6,7 Li + 209 Bi reactions. In contrast to this, the observed fusion dynamics of 15 N + 209 Bi and 16 O + 209 Bi reactions, wherein the collective excitations such as two phonon, three phonon vibrational states contribute

Survivin as a therapeutic target in Sonic hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Brun, S N; Markant, S L; Esparza, L A; Garcia, G; Terry, D; Huang, J-M; Pavlyukov, M S; Li, X-N; Grant, G A; Crawford, J R; Levy, M L; Conway, E M; Smith, L H; Nakano, I; Berezov, A; Greene, M I; Wang, Q; Wechsler-Reya, R J

2015-07-01

Medulloblastoma (MB) is a highly malignant brain tumor that occurs primarily in children. Although surgery, radiation and high-dose chemotherapy have led to increased survival, many MB patients still die from their disease, and patients who survive suffer severe long-term side effects as a consequence of treatment. Thus, more effective and less toxic therapies for MB are critically important. Development of such therapies depends in part on identification of genes that are necessary for growth and survival of tumor cells. Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein that regulates cell cycle progression and resistance to apoptosis, is frequently expressed in human MB and when expressed at high levels predicts poor clinical outcome. Therefore, we hypothesized that Survivin may have a critical role in growth and survival of MB cells and that targeting it may enhance MB therapy. Here we show that Survivin is overexpressed in tumors from patched (Ptch) mutant mice, a model of Sonic hedgehog (SHH)-driven MB. Genetic deletion of survivin in Ptch mutant tumor cells significantly inhibits proliferation and causes cell cycle arrest. Treatment with small-molecule antagonists of Survivin impairs proliferation and survival of both murine and human MB cells. Finally, Survivin antagonists impede growth of MB cells in vivo. These studies highlight the importance of Survivin in SHH-driven MB, and suggest that it may represent a novel therapeutic target in patients with this disease.

Neutron pre-emission at the fusion of 11 Li halo nuclei with Si targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrascu, M.; Isbasescu, A.; Petrascu, H.; Bordeanu, C.; David, I.; Lazar, I.; Mihai, I.; Vaman, G.; Tanihata, I.; Kobayashi, T.; Korsheninnikov, A.; Fukuda, S.; Kumagai, H.; Momota, S.; Ozawa, A.; Yoshida, K.; Nikolski, E.; Giurgiu, M.

1997-01-01

In this contribution, the first experiment on fusion of 11 Li halo nuclei with Si targets is reported. A novel effect consisting of a large neutron pre-emission probability in the fusion process was observed. The neutron halo nuclei are characterized by very large matter radii, small separation energy and small internal momentum of the valence neutrons. Until now, the halo nuclei were investigated mostly by elastic, inelastic scattering and breakup processes. It was recently predicted that due to the very large dimension of 11 Li, one may expect, that in a fusion experiment on a light target, the valence neutrons will not be absorbed together with the 9 Li core, but will be emitted in the early stage of the reaction process. The experiment aiming to check this expectation, performed at RIKEN-RIPS facility, is described. In the experimental arrangement, three main parts are present: the first part contains the detectors used for the control, identification and determination of the beam characteristics; the second part consists of a Multiple Sampling Ionisation Chamber (MUSIC), used for identification of the inclusive evaporation residue spectra produced in the detector-target; the third part consists of two wall neutron detectors, each made up of 15 plastic scintillators. This detector was used for the energy and position determination of the neutrons originating from the target. The projectile energy range was 11.2 - 15.2 AMeV, centered at 13 AMeV. The neutrons resulting from the reaction were measured by time-of-light technique. The position on the 'wall' of the detected neutrons could be also determined. The measured neutron spectra from 11 Li and 9 Li are shown. A marked different between the two spectra was found and it is explained by the contribution of a large amount of pre-emission (breakup) processes, in case of 11 Li projectiles. The position spectra point out the evaporation origin of the neutrons in case of 9 Li projectiles while for 11 Li only the

New method for laser driven ion acceleration with isolated, mass-limited targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paasch-Colberg, T.; Sokollik, T.; Gorling, K.; Eichmann, U.; Steinke, S.; Schnuerer, M.; Nickles, P.V.; Andreev, A.; Sandner, W.

2011-01-01

A new technique to investigate laser driven ion acceleration with fully isolated, mass-limited glass spheres with a diameter down to 8μm is presented. A Paul trap was used to prepare a levitating glass sphere for the interaction with a laser pulse of relativistic intensity. Narrow-bandwidth energy spectra of protons and oxygen ions have been observed and were attributed to specific acceleration field dynamics in case of the spherical target geometry. A general limiting mechanism has been found that explains the experimentally observed ion energies for the mass-limited target.

System for automatic x-ray-image analysis, measurement, and sorting of laser fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singleton, R.M.; Perkins, D.E.; Willenborg, D.L.

1980-01-01

This paper describes the Automatic X-Ray Image Analysis and Sorting (AXIAS) system which is designed to analyze and measure x-ray images of opaque hollow microspheres used as laser fusion targets. The x-ray images are first recorded on a high resolution film plate. The AXIAS system then digitizes and processes the images to accurately measure the target parameters and defects. The primary goals of the AXIAS system are: to provide extremely accurate and rapid measurements, to engineer a practical system for a routine production environment and to furnish the capability of automatically measuring an array of images for sorting and selection

Heavy ion fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bangerter, R.O.

1986-01-01

This report on the International Symposium on Heavy Ion Fusion held May 27-29, 1986 summarizes the problems and achievements in the areas of targets, accelerators, focussing, reactor studies, and system studies. The symposium participants recognize that there are large uncertainties in Heavy Ion Fusion but many of them are also optimistic that HIF may ultimately be the best approach to fusion

Resolving key heavy-ion fusion target issues with relativistic heavy-ion research accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnold, R.C.

1988-01-01

Heavy-ion accelerators designed for relativistic nuclear research experiments can also be adapted for target research in heavy-ion driver inertial fusion. Needle-shaped plasmas can be created that are adequate for studying basic properties of matter at high energy density. Although the ion range is very long, the specific deposited power nevertheless increases with kinetic energy, as the focus spot can be made smaller and more ions can be accumulated in larger rings

Hybrid indirect-drive/direct-drive target for inertial confinement fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perkins, Lindsay John

2018-02-27

A hybrid indirect-drive/direct drive for inertial confinement fusion utilizing laser beams from a first direction and laser beams from a second direction including a central fusion fuel component; a first portion of a shell surrounding said central fusion fuel component, said first portion of a shell having a first thickness; a second portion of a shell surrounding said fusion fuel component, said second portion of a shell having a second thickness that is greater than said thickness of said first portion of a shell; and a hohlraum containing at least a portion of said fusion fuel component and at least a portion of said first portion of a shell; wherein said hohlraum is in a position relative to said first laser beam and to receive said first laser beam and produce X-rays that are directed to said first portion of a shell and said fusion fuel component; and wherein said fusion fuel component and said second portion of a shell are in a position relative to said second laser beam such that said second portion of a shell and said fusion fuel component receive said second laser beam.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Fusion Guided Targeted Biopsy Evaluated by Transperineal Template Saturation Prostate Biopsy for the Detection and Characterization of Prostate Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Mortezavi, Ashkan; Märzendorfer, Olivia; Donati, Olivio F; Rizzi, Gianluca; Rupp, Niels J; Wettstein, Marian S; Gross, Oliver; Sulser, Tullio; Hermanns, Thomas; Eberli, Daniel

2018-02-21

We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging/transrectal ultrasound fusion guided targeted biopsy against that of transperineal template saturation prostate biopsy to detect prostate cancer. We retrospectively analyzed the records of 415 men who consecutively presented for prostate biopsy between November 2014 and September 2016 at our tertiary care center. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging was performed using a 3 Tesla device without an endorectal coil, followed by transperineal template saturation prostate biopsy with the BiopSee® fusion system. Additional fusion guided targeted biopsy was done in men with a suspicious lesion on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging, defined as Likert score 3 to 5. Any Gleason pattern 4 was defined as clinically significant prostate cancer. The detection rates of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and fusion guided targeted biopsy were compared with the detection rate of transperineal template saturation prostate biopsy using the McNemar test. We obtained a median of 40 (range 30 to 55) and 3 (range 2 to 4) transperineal template saturation prostate biopsy and fusion guided targeted biopsy cores, respectively. Of the 124 patients (29.9%) without a suspicious lesion on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging 32 (25.8%) were found to have clinically significant prostate cancer on transperineal template saturation prostate biopsy. Of the 291 patients (70.1%) with a Likert score of 3 to 5 clinically significant prostate cancer was detected in 129 (44.3%) by multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging fusion guided targeted biopsy, in 176 (60.5%) by transperineal template saturation prostate biopsy and in 187 (64.3%) by the combined approach. Overall 58 cases (19.9%) of clinically significant prostate cancer would have been missed if fusion guided targeted biopsy had been performed exclusively. The sensitivity of

Development of surface perturbation target and thin silicon foil target used to research Rayleigh-Taylor instability in inertial confinement fusion experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Bin; Sun Qi; Huang Yaodong; Shen Jun; Wu Guangming; Wang Jue

2004-01-01

The developments of the surface perturbation target and the thin silicon foil target used to research Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the resolved experiments of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) are carried out. Based on the laser interference process combined with the figure-transfer process, the surface perturbation target with sine modulated perturbation is gotten, the wavelength is in the range of 20-100 μm and the amplitude is several micrometers. The thin silicon foil within the thickness about 3-4 μm is prepared by semiconductor process together with heavy-doped self-stop etching. Combined with ion beam etching, the check or the stripe patterns are transferred to the surface of thin silicon foils, and then the silicon grating foil is obtained

Computational modeling of direct-drive fusion pellets and KrF-driven foil experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gardner, J.H.; Schmitt, A.J.; Dahlburg, J.P.; Pawley, C.J.; Bodner, S.E.; Obenschain, S.P.; Serlin, V.; Aglitskiy, Y.

1998-01-01

FAST is a radiation transport hydrodynamics code that simulates laser matter interactions of relevance to direct-drive laser fusion target design. FAST solves the Euler equations of compressible flow using the Flux-Corrected Transport finite volume method. The advection algorithm provides accurate computation of flows from nearly incompressible vortical flows to those that are highly compressible and dominated by strong pressure and density gradients. In this paper we describe the numerical techniques and physics packages. FAST has also been benchmarked with Nike laser facility experiments in which linearly perturbed, low adiabat planar plastic targets are ablatively accelerated to velocities approaching 10 7 cm/s. Over a range of perturbation wavelengths, the code results agree with the measured Rayleigh endash Taylor growth from the linear through the deeply nonlinear regimes. FAST has been applied to the two-dimensional spherical simulation design to provide surface finish and laser bandwidth tolerances for a promising new direct-drive pellet that uses a foam ablator

Fusion power and its prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kammash, T.

1981-01-01

Recent progress in research towards the development of fusion power is reviewed. In the magnetic approach, the impressive advances made in Tokamak research in the past few years have bolstered the confidence that experimental Tokamak devices currently under construction will demonstrate the break-even condition or scientific feasibility of fusion power. Exciting and innovative ideas in mirror magnetic confinement are expected to culminate in high-Q devices which will make open-ended confinement a serious contender for fusion reactors. In the inertial confinement approach, conflicting pellet temperature requirements have placed severe constraints on useful laser intensities and wavelengths for laser-driven fusion. Relativistic electron beam fusion must solve critical focusing and pellet coupling problems, and the newly proposed heavy ion beam fusion, though feasible and attractive in principle, requires very high energy particles for which the accelerator technology may not be available for some time to come

Laser ``M'egajoule'' cryogenic target program: from target fabrication to conformation of the deuterium-tritium ice layer

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, Rémy; Durut, Frédéric; Reneaume, Benoît; Chicane, Cédric; Théobald, Marc; Breton, Olivier; Martin, Michel; Fleury, Emmanuel; Vincent-Viry, Olivier; Bachelet, Franck; Jeannot, Laurent; Geoffray, Isabelle; Botrel, Ronan; Dauteuil, Christophe; Hermerel, Cyril; Choux, Alexandre; Bednarczyk, Sophie; Legaie, Olivier

2008-11-01

For the French inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments, cryogenic target assemblies (CTAs) for the LMJ program are manufactured and filled at CEA Valduc (Dijon) in the cryogenic targets filling station (IRCC). They will be moved at about 20 K into a transport cryostat for cryogenic targets and will be driven from CEA/Valduc to CEA/CESTA (Bordeaux). Cryogenic targets will then be transferred by several cryogenic grippers on the cryogenic target positioner before shots. The CTA has to meet severe specifications and involves a lot of challenging tasks for its manufacture. To fill CTAs by permeation with deuterium-tritium (DT), the IRCC need to meet strict thermal, mechanical and dimensional specifications. To obtain a good combustion yield, a very homogenous DT ice layer and very smooth roughness at 1.5 K below the DT triple point are also required. This paper deals with the up to date main issues in the different fields of the LMJ cryogenic target program.

A sensitive HIV-1 envelope induced fusion assay identifies fusion enhancement of thrombin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, De-Chun; Zhong, Guo-Cai; Su, Ju-Xiang; Liu, Yan-Hong; Li, Yan; Wang, Jia-Ye; Hattori, Toshio; Ling, Hong; Zhang, Feng-Min

2010-01-01

To evaluate the interaction between HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) and target cell receptors, various cell-cell-fusion assays have been developed. In the present study, we established a novel fusion system. In this system, the expression of the sensitive reporter gene, firefly luciferase (FL) gene, in the target cells was used to evaluate cell fusion event. Simultaneously, constitutively expressed Renilla luciferase (RL) gene was used to monitor effector cell number and viability. FL gave a wider dynamic range than other known reporters and the introduction of RL made the assay accurate and reproducible. This system is especially beneficial for investigation of potential entry-influencing agents, for its power of ruling out the false inhibition or enhancement caused by the artificial cell-number variation. As a case study, we applied this fusion system to observe the effect of a serine protease, thrombin, on HIV Env-mediated cell-cell fusion and have found the fusion enhancement activity of thrombin over two R5-tropic HIV strains.

FOXO1 is a direct target of EWS-Fli1 oncogenic fusion protein in Ewing's sarcoma cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Liu; Hu, Hsien-Ming; Zielinska-Kwiatkowska, Anna; Chansky, Howard A.

2010-01-01

Research highlights: → Inducible and reversible siRNA knockdown of an oncogenic fusion protein such as EWS-Fli1 is feasible and more advantageous than other siRNA methods. → The tumor suppressor gene FOXO1 is a new EWS-Fli1 target. → While trans-activators are known for the FOXO1 gene, there has been no report on negative regulators of FOXO1 transcription. → This study provides first evidence that the EWS-Fli1 oncogenic fusion protein can function as a transcriptional repressor of the FOXO1 gene. -- Abstract: Ewing's family tumors are characterized by a specific t(11;22) chromosomal translocation that results in the formation of EWS-Fli1 oncogenic fusion protein. To investigate the effects of EWS-Fli1 on gene expression, we carried out DNA microarray analysis after specific knockdown of EWS-Fli1 through transfection of synthetic siRNAs. EWS-Fli1 knockdown increased expression of genes such as DKK1 and p57 that are known to be repressed by EWS-Fli1 fusion protein. Among other potential EWS-Fli1 targets identified by our microarray analysis, we have focused on the FOXO1 gene since it encodes a potential tumor suppressor and has not been previously reported in Ewing's cells. To better understand how EWS-Fli1 affects FOXO1 expression, we have established a doxycycline-inducible siRNA system to achieve stable and reversible knockdown of EWS-Fli1 in Ewing's sarcoma cells. Here we show that FOXO1 expression in Ewing's cells has an inverse relationship with EWS-Fli1 protein level, and FOXO1 promoter activity is increased after doxycycline-induced EWS-Fli1 knockdown. In addition, we have found that direct binding of EWS-Fli1 to FOXO1 promoter is attenuated after doxycycline-induced siRNA knockdown of the fusion protein. Together, these results suggest that suppression of FOXO1 function by EWS-Fli1 fusion protein may contribute to cellular transformation in Ewing's family tumors.

Inertial fusion and energy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holzrichter, J.F.

1982-01-01

Inertial-confinement fusion (ICF) is a technology for releasing nuclear energy from the fusion of light nuclei. For energy production, the most reactive hydrogen isotopes (deuterium (D) and tritium (T)) are commonly considered. The energy aplication requires the compression of a few milligrams of a DT mixture to great density, approximately 1000 times its liquid-state density, and to a high temperature, nearly 100 million 0 K. Under these conditions, efficient nuclear-fusion reactions occur, which can result in over 30% burn-up of the fusion fuel. The high density and temperature can be achieved by focusing very powerful laser or ion beams onto the target. The resultant ablation of the outer layers of the target compresses the fuel in the target, DT ignition occurs, and burn-up of the fuel results as the thermonuclear burn wave propagates outward. The DT-fuel burn-up occurs in about 199 picoseconds. On this short time scale, inertial forces are sufficiently strong to prevent target disassembly before fuel burn-up occurs. The energy released by the DT fusion is projected to be several hundred times greater than the energy delivered by the driver. The present statuds of ICF technology is described

Comparison of implantation-driven permeation characteristics of fusion reactor structural materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhurst, G.R.; Anderl, R.A.; Struttmann, D.A.

1986-01-01

Implantation-driven permeation experiments have been conducted on samples of the ferritic steel HT-9, the austenitic Primary Candidate Alloy (PCA) and the vanadium alloy V-15Cr-5Ti using D 3 + ions under conditions that simulate charge-exchange neutral loading on a fusion reactor first wall. The steels all exhibited an initially intense permeation ''spike'' followed by an exponential decrease to low steady-state values. That spike was not evident in the V-15Cr-5Ti experiments. Steady-state permeation was highest in the vanadium alloy and lowest in the austenitic steel. Though permeation rates in the HT-9 were lower than those in V-15Cr-5Ti, permeation transients were much faster in HT-9 than in other materials tested. Ion-beam sputtering of the surface in the steel experiments resulted in enhanced remission at the front surface, whereas in the vanadium tests, recombination and diffusivity both appeared to diminish as the deuterium concentration rose. This may be due to a phase change in the material. We conclude that for conditions comparable to those of these experiments, tritium retention and loss in first wall structures made of steels will be less than in structures made of V-15Cr-5Ti

Miniature proportional counter for compression measurements of laser-fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lane, S.M.; Dellis, J.H.; Bennett, C.K.; Campbell, E.M.

1981-10-01

Direct drive laser fusion targets consisting of DT gas encapsulated in glass microshells produce 14.1 MeV neutrons that can interact with silicon-28 nuclei in the glass to produce a 2.2 minute aluminum-28 activity. From the number of 28 Al nuclei created and the neutron yield, the compressed glass areal density can be found. To determine the number of activated atoms created, we collect approximately one-half of the target debris on a thin metal foil which is transferred to our beta-gamma coincidence detector. This detector consists of a 25 cm x 25 cm NaI(Tl) crystal having a 5 cm x 15 cm well. We have recently built a miniature proportional counter that fits into this well and is used to detect beta particles. It is constructed of .025 cm thick copper and has nine separate chambers through which methane flows. The coincidence background is 0.14 cpm and the measured beta efficiency is 45%. We are now building a .0125 cm thick counter made of aluminum having a predicted efficiency of > 90%

Fusion of infrared and visible images based on BEMD and NSDFB

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Pan; Huang, Zhanhua; Lei, Hai

2016-07-01

This paper presents a new fusion method based on the adaptive multi-scale decomposition of bidimensional empirical mode decomposition (BEMD) and the flexible directional expansion of nonsubsampled directional filter banks (NSDFB) for visible-infrared images. Compared with conventional multi-scale fusion methods, BEMD is non-parametric and completely data-driven, which is relatively more suitable for non-linear signals decomposition and fusion. NSDFB can provide direction filtering on the decomposition levels to capture more geometrical structure of the source images effectively. In our fusion framework, the entropies of the two patterns of source images are firstly calculated and the residue of the image whose entropy is larger is extracted to make it highly relevant with the other source image. Then, the residue and the other source image are decomposed into low-frequency sub-bands and a sequence of high-frequency directional sub-bands in different scales by using BEMD and NSDFB. In this fusion scheme, two relevant fusion rules are used in low-frequency sub-bands and high-frequency directional sub-bands, respectively. Finally, the fused image is obtained by applying corresponding inverse transform. Experimental results indicate that the proposed fusion algorithm can obtain state-of-the-art performance for visible-infrared images fusion in both aspects of objective assessment and subjective visual quality even for the source images obtained in different conditions. Furthermore, the fused results have high contrast, remarkable target information and rich details information that are more suitable for human visual characteristics or machine perception.

Laser fusion overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuckolls, J.

1976-01-01

Because of recent breakthroughs in the target area, and in the glass laser area, the scientific feasibility of laser fusion--and of inertial fusion--may be demonstrated in the early 1980's. Then the development in that time period of a suitable laser (or storage ring or other driving source) would make possible an operational inertial fusion reactor in this century. These are roughly the same time scales as projected by the Tokamak magnetic confinement approach. It thus appears that the 15-20 year earlier start by magnetic confinement fusion may be overcome. Because inertial confinement has been demonstrated, and inertial fusion reactors may operate on smaller scales than Tokamaks, laser fusion may have important technical and economic advantages

Preliminary design and neutronic analysis of a laser fusion driven actinide waste burning hybrid reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berwald, D.H.; Duderstadt, J.J.

1979-01-01

The laser fusion driven actinide waste burner (LDAB) system investigated uses partitioned fission power reactor generated actinide wastes dissolved in a molten tin alloy as feed material (or fuel). A novel fuel processing concept based on the high-temperature precipitation of ''actinide--nitrides'' from a liquid tin solution is proposed. This concept will allow for fission product removal to be performed entirely within the device at high burnup. No attempt has been made to optimize this system, but potential performance is impressive. The equilibrium LDAB design consumes 7.6 MT/y of actinide waste. This corresponds to the waste output from 136 light water reactors [1000 MW (electric)]. The mean life of an actinide atom in the LDAB is only 4.5 y; and actinides, once charged to the LDAB, might be reprocessed fewer times during irradiation than in previously proposed systems

Economics of fusion driven symbiotic energy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renier, J.P.; Hoffman, T.J.

1979-01-01

The economic analysis of symbiotic energy systems in which U233 (to fuel advanced converters burning U233 fuel) is generated in blankets surrounding fusioning D-T plasma's depends on factors such as the plasma performance parameters, ore costs, and the relative costs of Fusion Breeders (CTR) to Advanced Fission Converters. The analysis also depends on detailed information such as initial, final makeup fuel requirements, fuel isotopics, reprocessing and fabrication costs, reprocessing losses (1%) and delays (2 years), the cost of money, and the effect of the underutilization of the factory thermal installation at the beginning of cycle. In this paper we present the results of calculations of overall fuel cycle and power costs, ore requirements, proliferation resistance and possibilities for grid expansion, based on detailed mass and energy flow diagrams and standard US INFCE cost data and introduction constraints, for realistic symbiotic scenarios involving CTR's (used as drivers) and denatured CANDU's (used as U233 burners). We compare the results with those obtained for other strategies involving heterogeneous LMFBR's which burn Pu to produce U233 for U233-burners such as the advanced CANDU converters

A comparison of implantation-driven permeation characteristics of fusion reactor structural materials

Science.gov (United States)

Longhurst, G. R.; Anderl, R. A.; Struttmann, D. A.

1986-11-01

Implantation-driven permeation experiments have been conducted on samples of the ferritic steel HT-9, the austenitic Primary Candidate Alloy (PCA) and the vanadium alloy V-15Cr-5Ti using D 3+ ions under conditions that simulate charge-exchange neutral loading on a fusion reactor first wall. The steels all exhibited an initially intense permeation "spike" followed by an exponential decrease to low steady-state values. That spike was not evident in the V-15Cr-5Ti experiments. Steady-state permeation was highest in the vanadium alloy and lowest in the austenitic steel. Though permeation rates in the HT-9 were lower than those in V-15Cr-5Ti, permeation transients were much faster in HT-9 than in other materials tested. Sputtering of the steel surface resulted in enhanced reemission, whereas in the vanadium tests, recombination and diffusivity both appeared to diminish as the deuterium concentration rose. We conclude that for conditions comparable to those of these experiments, tritium retention and permeation loss in first wall structures made of steels will be less than in structures made of V-15Cr-5Ti.

Recycling issues facing target and RTL materials of inertial fusion designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Guebaly, L.; Wilson, P.; Sawan, M.; Henderson, D.; Varuttamaseni, A.

2005-01-01

Designers of heavy ion (HI) and Z-pinch inertial fusion power plants have explored the potential of recycling the target and recyclable transmission line (RTL) materials as an alternate option to disposal in a geological repository. This work represents the first time a comprehensive recycling assessment was performed on both machines with an exact pulse history. Our results offer two divergent conclusions on the recycling issue. For the HI concept, target recycling is not a 'must' requirement and the preferred option is the one-shot use scenario as target materials represent a small waste stream, less than 1% of the total nuclear island waste. We recommend using low-cost hohlraum materials once-through and then disposing of them instead of recycling expensive materials such as Au and Gd. On the contrary, RTL recycling is a 'must' requirement for the Z-pinch concept in order to minimize the RTL inventory and enhance the economics. The RTLs meet the low level waste and recycling dose requirements with a wide margin when recycled for the entire plant life even without a cooling period. While recycling offers advantages to the Z-pinch system, it adds complexity and cost to the HI designs

A New Interpretation of Alpha-particle-driven Instabilities in Deuterium-Tritium Experiments on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

R. Nazikian; G.J. Kramer; C.Z. Cheng; N.N. Gorelenkov; H.L. Berk; S.E. Sharapov

2003-01-01

The original description of alpha-particle-driven instabilities in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) in terms of Toroidal Alfvin Eigenmodes (TAEs) remained inconsistent with three fundamental characteristics of the observations: (i) the variation of the mode frequency with toroidal mode number, (ii) the chirping of the mode frequency for a given toroidal mode number, and (iii) the anti-ballooning density perturbation of the modes. It is now shown that these characteristics can be explained by observing that cylindrical-like modes can exist in the weak magnetic shear region of the plasma that then make a transition to TAEs as the central safety factor decreases in time

Energy from inertial fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-03-01

This book contains 22 articles on inertial fusion energy (IFE) research and development written in the framework of an international collaboration of authors under the guidance of an advisory group on inertial fusion energy set up in 1991 to advise the IAEA. It describes the actual scientific, engineering and technological developments in the field of inertial confinement fusion (ICF). It also identifies ways in which international co-operation in ICF could be stimulated. The book is intended for a large audience and provides an introduction to inertial fusion energy and an overview of the various technologies needed for IFE power plants to be developed. It contains chapters on (i) the fundamentals of IFE; (ii) inertial confinement target physics; (iii) IFE power plant design principles (requirements for power plant drivers, solid state laser drivers, gas laser drivers, heavy ion drivers, and light ion drivers, target fabrication and positioning, reaction chamber systems, power generation and conditioning and radiation control, materials management and target materials recovery), (iv) special design issues (radiation damage in structural materials, induced radioactivity, laser driver- reaction chamber interfaces, ion beam driver-reaction chamber interfaces), (v) inertial fusion energy development strategy, (vi) safety and environmental impact, (vii) economics and other figures of merit; (viii) other uses of inertial fusion (both those involving and not involving implosions); and (ix) international activities. Refs, figs and tabs

Cryogenic-laser-fusion target implosion studies performed with the OMEGA uv-laser system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, F.J.; Letzring, S.A.; Verdon, C.P.; Skupsky, S.; Keck, R.L.; Knauer, J.P.; Kremens, R.L.; Bradley, D.K.; Kessler, T.; Delettrez, J.; and others.

1989-01-01

A series of direct-drive laser-fusion implosion experiments was performed on cryogenically cooled, DT-filled glass microballoons with the OMEGA 24-beam uv (351-nm) laser system. The targets consisted of glass microballoons having radii of 100 to 150 μm, wall thicknesses of 3 to 7 μm, filled with DT gas at pressures of 75 to 100 atm. The targets were cooled to below the freezing point of DT, in situ, by a cryogenic target system. The targets were irradiated by approximately 1 to 1.2 kJ of uv light in 650-ps Gaussian pulses. The on-target irradiation uniformity was enhanced for these experiments by the use of distributed phase plates, which brought the estimated irradiation nonuniformities to ∼12% (σ rms ). Target performance was diagnosed by an array of x-ray, plasma, and nuclear instruments. The measured target performance showed ∼70% absorption, thermonuclear yields of 10 6 to 10 8 neutrons, and final fuel areal densities of 20 to 40 mg/cm 2 for the optimum targets examined in these experiments. Fuel densities at the time of thermonuclear neutron production, inferred from direct measurements of the fuel areal density, were in the range of 20 to 50 g/cm 3 (100 to 200 times the density of liquid DT) for the optimum targets

Thermonuclear fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weisse, J.

2000-01-01

This document takes stock of the two ways of thermonuclear fusion research explored today: magnetic confinement fusion and inertial confinement fusion. The basic physical principles are recalled first: fundamental nuclear reactions, high temperatures, elementary properties of plasmas, ignition criterion, magnetic confinement (charged particle in a uniform magnetic field, confinement and Tokamak principle, heating of magnetized plasmas (ohmic, neutral particles, high frequency waves, other heating means), results obtained so far (scale laws and extrapolation of performances, tritium experiments, ITER project), inertial fusion (hot spot ignition, instabilities, results (Centurion-Halite program, laser experiments). The second part presents the fusion reactor and its associated technologies: principle (tritium production, heat source, neutron protection, tritium generation, materials), magnetic fusion (superconducting magnets, divertor (role, principle, realization), inertial fusion (energy vector, laser adaptation, particle beams, reaction chamber, stresses, chamber concepts (dry and wet walls, liquid walls), targets (fabrication, injection and pointing)). The third chapter concerns the socio-economic aspects of thermonuclear fusion: safety (normal operation and accidents, wastes), costs (costs structure and elementary comparison, ecological impact and external costs). (J.S.)

Fusion-Driven Space Plane for Lunar Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Kammash, T.; Cassenti, B.

A fusion hybrid reactor where the fusion component is the gasdynamic mirror (GDM) is proposed as the driver of a rocket that would allow a space vehicle of the size of Boeing 747 to travel to the moon in about one day. The energy produced by the reactor is induced by fusion neutrons that impinge on a thorium-232 blanket where they breed uranium-233 and simultane- ously burn it to produce power. For a vehicle of mass 500 metric tons (mT), the thrust required to accelerate it at 1 g is 5 MN, and the specific impulse, Isp, necessary to accelerate 90% of the launch mass to the escape velocity of 11,200 m/sec is found to be 10,182 seconds. For these propulsion parameters, the coolant mass flow rate would be 49 kg/sec. We note that the time it takes the launch mass, initially at rest and accelerated at 1g, to reach the escape velocity is 1,020 seconds. At the above noted rate, the total propellant mass is approximately 50 mT, which is about 10% of the launch mass, validating the Isp needed to accelerate the remainder to the escape velocity. If we assume that the trajectory to the moon is linear, and we account for the deceleration of the vehicle by the earth's gravitational force, and its acceleration by the moon's gravitational force, we can calculate the average velocity and the time it takes to reach the moon. We find that the travel time is about 1.66 days, which in this model is effectively the time for a fly-by. A more rigorous calculation using the restricted three body approach with the third body being the spacecraft, and allowing for a coordinate system that rotates at the circular frequency of the larger masses, shows that the transit time is about 0.65 days, which is comparable to the flight time between New York and Sidney, Australia.

Inertial confinement fusion target component fabrication and technology development support. Annual report, October 1, 1994--September 30, 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoppe, M.

1996-05-01

On December 30, 1990, the US Department of Energy entered into a contract with General Atomics (GA) to be the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Target Component Fabrication and Technology Development Support contractor. This report documents the technical activities of the period October 1, 1994 through September 30, 1995. During this period, GA was assigned 15 tasks in support of the Inertial Confinement Fusion program and its laboratories. A portion of the effort on these tasks included providing direct ''Onsite Support'' at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Sandia National Laboratory Albuquerque (SNLA). The ICF program is anticipating experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the OMEGA Upgrade. Both facilities will require capsules containing layered D 2 or deuterium-tritium (D-T) fuel. The authors are part of the National Cryogenic Target Program to create and demonstrate viable ways to generate and characterize cryogenic layers. Progress has been made on ways to both create viable layers and to characterize them. They continued engineering, assembly and testing of equipment for a cryogenic target handling system for University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR/LLE) that will fill, transport, layer, and characterize targets filled with cryogenic fuel, and insert these cryogenic targets into the OMEGA Upgrade target chamber for laser implosion experiments. This report summarizes and documents the technical progress made on these tasks

Inertial confinement fusion target component fabrication and technology development support. Annual report, October 1, 1994--September 30, 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoppe, M. [ed.

1996-05-01

On December 30, 1990, the US Department of Energy entered into a contract with General Atomics (GA) to be the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Target Component Fabrication and Technology Development Support contractor. This report documents the technical activities of the period October 1, 1994 through September 30, 1995. During this period, GA was assigned 15 tasks in support of the Inertial Confinement Fusion program and its laboratories. A portion of the effort on these tasks included providing direct ``Onsite Support`` at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Sandia National Laboratory Albuquerque (SNLA). The ICF program is anticipating experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the OMEGA Upgrade. Both facilities will require capsules containing layered D{sub 2} or deuterium-tritium (D-T) fuel. The authors are part of the National Cryogenic Target Program to create and demonstrate viable ways to generate and characterize cryogenic layers. Progress has been made on ways to both create viable layers and to characterize them. They continued engineering, assembly and testing of equipment for a cryogenic target handling system for University of Rochester`s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR/LLE) that will fill, transport, layer, and characterize targets filled with cryogenic fuel, and insert these cryogenic targets into the OMEGA Upgrade target chamber for laser implosion experiments. This report summarizes and documents the technical progress made on these tasks.

Principles of non-Liouvillean pulse compression by photoionization for heavy ion fusion drivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, I.

1990-05-01

Photoionization of single charged heavy ions has been proposed recently by Rubbia as a non-Liouvillean injection scheme from the linac into the storage rings of a driver accelerator for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The main idea of this scheme is the accumulation of high currents of heavy ions without the usually inevitable increase of phase space. Here we suggest to use the photoionization idea in an alternative scheme: if it is applied at the final stage of pulse compression (replacing the conventional bunch compression by an rf voltage, which always increases the momentum spread) there is a significant advantage in the performance of the accelerator. We show, in particular, that this new compression scheme has the potential to relax the tough stability limitations, which were identified in the heavy ion fusion reactor study HIBALL. Moreover, it is promising for achieving the higher beam power, which is suitable for indirectly driven fusion targets (10 16 Watts/gram in contrast with the 10 14 for the directly driven targets in HIBALL). The idea of non-Liouvillean bunch compression is to stack a large number of bunches (typically 50-100) in the same phase space volume during a change of charge state of the ion. A particular feature of this scheme with regard to beam dynamics is its transient nature, since the time required is one revolution per bunch. After the stacking the intense bunch is ejected and directly guided to the target. The present study is a first step to explore the possibly limiting effect of space charge under the conditions of parameters of a full-size driver accelerator. Preliminary results indicate that there is a limit to the effective stacking number (non-Liouvillean 'compression-factor'), which is, however, not prohibitive. Requirements to the power of the photon beam from a free electron laser are also discussed. It is seen that resonant cross sections of the order of 10 -15 cm 2 lead to photon beam powers of a few Megawatt. (orig.)

Aurora multikilojoule KrF laser system prototype for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosocha, L.A.; Hanlon, J.A.; Mc Leod, J.; Kang, M.; Kortegaard, B.L.; Burrows, M.D.; Bowling, P.S.

1987-01-01

Aurora is the Los Alamos National Laboratory short-pulse, high-power, KrF laser system. It serves as an end-to-end technology demonstration for large-scale ultraviolet laser systems of interest for short wavelength, inertial confinement fusion (ICF) investigations. The systems is a prototype for using optical angular multiplexing and serial amplification by large electron-beam-driven KrF laser amplifiers to deliver stacked, 248-nm, 5-ns duration multikilojoule laser pulses to ICF targets using an --1-km-long optical beam path. The entire Aurora KrF laser system is described and the design features of the following major system components are summarized: front-end lasers, amplifier train, multiplexer, optical relay train, demultiplexer, target irradiation apparatus, and alignment and controls systems

Fusion technologies for Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE∗

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kramer K.J.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The Laser Inertial Fusion-based Energy (LIFE engine design builds upon on going progress at the National Ignition Facility (NIF and offers a near-term pathway to commercial fusion. Fusion technologies that are critical to success are reflected in the design of the first wall, blanket and tritium separation subsystems. The present work describes the LIFE engine-related components and technologies. LIFE utilizes a thermally robust indirect-drive target and a chamber fill gas. Coolant selection and a large chamber solid-angle coverage provide ample tritium breeding margin and high blanket gain. Target material selection eliminates the need for aggressive chamber clearing, while enabling recycling. Demonstrated tritium separation and storage technologies limit the site tritium inventory to attractive levels. These key technologies, along with the maintenance and advanced materials qualification program have been integrated into the LIFE delivery plan. This describes the development of components and subsystems, through prototyping and integration into a First Of A Kind power plant.

Prostate cancer diagnosis: Efficacy of a simple electromagnetic MRI-TRUS fusion method to target biopsies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jelidi, Amina; Ohana, Mickael; Labani, Aïssam; Alemann, Guillaume; Lang, Herve; Roy, Catherine

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A very simple electromagnetic device for fusion with MRI examination during TRUS guided biopsies increases the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer. • This device has advantages: a short time for the fusion registration, no additional cumbersome material and no intense training to be fluent with. • Low or intermediate suspicious area for prostate carcinoma on mpMRI can be due to benign histological abnormalities or high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. - Abstract: Objective: To assess that transrectal ultrasound guidance (TRUS) targeted biopsies (TB) aimed with an easy to use electronic real-time fusion registration device have a higher rate of prostate cancer (PC) detection than standard biopsies (SB). Material and methods: This prospective study included 130 patients referred for TRUS biopsies after suspicious MRI. They underwent 16-core SB and 2 to 3 cores in each MRI suspicious area, using a fusion software. We noted SB and TB positivity for PC and Gleason score (GS). We used the McNemar test to compare SB and TB, with a statistical significance p < 0.05. Results: Among 130 patients, 68.5% had PC. Additional time due to the fusion registration was 3.3 min. One hundred fifteen patients (88.4%) had pathological findings on the histological analysis (prostate cancer n = 89, others n = 26). TB diagnosed PC in 75 patients with negative SB. Positivity rate for PC was significantly higher for TB than SB (p = 0.03). Among highly suspicious MRI lesions, detection rate of histological abnormalities using SB and TB was 96% with 79.7% of PC. Most PC that TB diagnosed alone were clinically significant (86.3%). Conclusion: TRUS biopsies performed with a simple MRI and US electronic fusion is an unrestrainedly method to increase PC diagnosis.

Heavy ion accelerators for inertial fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubbia, C.

1992-01-01

Particle accelerators are used for accelerating the elementary, stable and separable constituents of matters to relativistic speed. These beams are of fundamental interest in the study on the ultimate constituents of matters and their interaction. Particle accelerators are the most promising driver for the fusion power reactors based on inertial confinement. The principle of inertial confinement fusion, radiation driven indirect drive, the accelerator complex and so on are described. (K.I.)

Manipulation of high-current pulses for heavy-ion fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharp, W.M.; Callahan, D.A.; Griedman, A.; Grote, D.P.

1996-01-01

For efficient induction-driven heavy-ion fusion, the current profile along a pulse must be modified in a non-selfsimilar manner between the accelerator and the target. In the accelerator, the pulse should have a duration of at least 50 ns in order to make efficient use of the induction cores, and the current should by nearly uniform along the pulse to minimize the aperture. In contrast, the optimal current profile on target consists of a main pulse of about 10 ns preceded by a longer low-current 'foot.' This pulse-shape manipulation must be carried out at the final pulse energy (5-10 GeV for 200 amu ions) in the presence of a large nonlinear longitudinal space-charge field. A straightforward method is presented here for doing the required pulse shaping. Induction-ceU voltages are generated using idealized beam profiles both in the accelerator and on target, and they are verified and checked for error sensitivity using the fluid/envelope code CIRCE

Recent developments in IFE safety and tritium research and considerations for future nuclear fusion facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes, Susana; Anklam, Tom; Meier, Wayne; Campbell, Patrick; Babineau, Dave; Becnel, James; Taylor, Craig; Coons, Jim

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The safety characteristics and at risk inventories in an IFE facility are discussed. • The primary nuclear hazard is the potential exposure of workers and/or the public to tritium and/or neutronically activated products. • Recent technology developments in tritium processing are key for minimization of inventories. • Initial safety studies indicate that hazards associated to the use of liquid lithium can be appropriately managed. • Simulation of worst-case scenarios indicate that the accident consequences are limited and below the limit for public evacuation. - Abstract: Over the past five years, the fusion energy group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has made significant progress in the area of safety and tritium research for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE). Focus has been driven towards the minimization of inventories, accident safety, development of safety guidelines and licensing considerations. Recent technology developments in tritium processing and target fill have had a major impact on reduction of tritium inventories in the facility. A safety advantage of inertial fusion energy using indirect-drive targets is that the structural materials surrounding the fusion reactions can be protected from target emissions by a low-pressure chamber fill gas, therefore eliminating plasma-material erosion as a source of activated dust production. An important inherent safety advantage of IFE when compared to other magnetic fusion energy (MFE) concepts that have been proposed to-date (including ITER), is that loss of plasma control events with the potential to damage the first wall, such as disruptions, are non-conceivable, therefore eliminating a number of potential accident initiators and radioactive in-vessel source term generation. In this paper, we present an overview of the safety assessments performed to-date, comparing results to the US DOE Fusion Safety Standards guidelines and the recent lessons-learnt from ITER safety and

Recent developments in IFE safety and tritium research and considerations for future nuclear fusion facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reyes, Susana, E-mail: reyes20@llnl.gov [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States); Anklam, Tom; Meier, Wayne; Campbell, Patrick [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States); Babineau, Dave; Becnel, James [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States); Taylor, Craig; Coons, Jim [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • The safety characteristics and at risk inventories in an IFE facility are discussed. • The primary nuclear hazard is the potential exposure of workers and/or the public to tritium and/or neutronically activated products. • Recent technology developments in tritium processing are key for minimization of inventories. • Initial safety studies indicate that hazards associated to the use of liquid lithium can be appropriately managed. • Simulation of worst-case scenarios indicate that the accident consequences are limited and below the limit for public evacuation. - Abstract: Over the past five years, the fusion energy group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has made significant progress in the area of safety and tritium research for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE). Focus has been driven towards the minimization of inventories, accident safety, development of safety guidelines and licensing considerations. Recent technology developments in tritium processing and target fill have had a major impact on reduction of tritium inventories in the facility. A safety advantage of inertial fusion energy using indirect-drive targets is that the structural materials surrounding the fusion reactions can be protected from target emissions by a low-pressure chamber fill gas, therefore eliminating plasma-material erosion as a source of activated dust production. An important inherent safety advantage of IFE when compared to other magnetic fusion energy (MFE) concepts that have been proposed to-date (including ITER), is that loss of plasma control events with the potential to damage the first wall, such as disruptions, are non-conceivable, therefore eliminating a number of potential accident initiators and radioactive in-vessel source term generation. In this paper, we present an overview of the safety assessments performed to-date, comparing results to the US DOE Fusion Safety Standards guidelines and the recent lessons-learnt from ITER safety and

Beam dancer fusion device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maier, H.B.

1984-01-01

To accomplish fusion of two or more fusion fuel elements numerous minute spots of energy or laser light are directed to a micro target area, there to be moved or danced about by a precision mechanical controlling apparatus at the source of the laser light or electromagnetic energy beams, so that merging and coinciding patterns of light or energy beams can occur around the area of the fuel atoms or ions. The projecting of these merging patterns may be considered as target searching techniques to locate responsive clusters of fuel elements and to compress such elements into a condition in which fusion may occur. Computerized programming may be used

Determination of the pr of laser fusion targets using the α-particle TOF technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slivinsky, V.W.; Lent, E.; Shay, H.D.; Manes, K.R.

1975-01-01

A computer code was written to describe the alpha particle energy loss. The problem of a symmetric compression of the DT gas by an exploding microsphere is analyzed. The code calculates the energy spectrum of a Gaussian distribution of alpha particles after passing through the compressed gas and the exploded glass. The calculations are being used to determine design parameters for diagnostic instruments for measuring charged particle energy distributions from laser fusion targets

Calculation of fusion gain in fast ignition with magnetic target by relativistic electrons and protons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Parvazian

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Fast ignition is a new method for inertial confinement fusion (ICF in which the compression and ignition steps are separated. In the first stage, fuel is compressed by laser or ion beams. In the second phase, relativistic electrons are generated by pettawat laser in the fuel. Also, in the second phase 5-35 MeV protons can be generated in the fuel. Electrons or protons can penetrate in to the ultra-dense fuel and deposit their energy in the fuel . More recently, cylindrical rather than spherical fuel chambers with magnetic control in the plasma domain have been also considered. This is called magnetized target fusion (MTF. Magnetic field has effects on relativistic electrons energy deposition rate in fuel. In this work, fast ignition method in cylindrical fuel chambers is investigated and transportation of the relativistic electrons and protons is calculated using MCNPX and FLUKA codes with 0. 25 and 0. 5 tesla magnetic field in single and dual hot spot. Furthermore, the transfer rate of relativistic electrons and high energy protons to the fuel and fusion gain are calculated. The results show that the presence of external magnetic field guarantees higher fusion gain, and relativistic electrons are much more appropriate objects for ignition. MTF in dual hot spot can be considered as an appropriate substitution for the current ICF techniques.

Target design for shock ignition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schurtz, G; Ribeyre, X; Lafon, M

2010-01-01

The conventional approach of laser driven inertial fusion involves the implosion of cryogenic shells of deuterium-tritium ice. At sufficiently high implosion velocities, the fuel ignites by itself from a central hot spot. In order to reduce the risks of hydrodynamic instabilities inherent to large implosion velocities, it was proposed to compress the fuel at low velocity, and ignite the compressed fuel by means of a convergent shock wave driven by an intense spike at the end of the laser pulse. This scheme, known as shock ignition, reduces the risks of shell break-up during the acceleration phase, but it may be impeded by a low coupling efficiency of the laser pulse with plasma at high intensities. This work provides a relationship between the implosion velocity and the laser intensity required to ignite the target by a shock. The operating domain of shock ignition at different energies is described.

Plasma-Jet-Driven Magneto-Inertial Fusion (PJMIF): Physics and Design for a Plasma Liner Formation Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Scott; Cassibry, Jason; Witherspoon, F. Douglas

2014-10-01

Spherically imploding plasma liners are a potential standoff compression driver for magneto-inertial fusion, which is a hybrid of and operates in an intermediate density between those of magnetic and inertial fusion. We propose to use an array of merging supersonic plasma jets to form a spherically imploding plasma liner. The jets are to be formed by pulsed coaxial guns with contoured electrodes that are placed sufficiently far from the location of target compression such that no hardware is repetitively destroyed. As such, the repetition rate can be higher (e.g., 1 Hz) and ultimately the power-plant economics can be more attractive than most other MIF approaches. During the R&D phase, a high experimental shot rate at reasonably low cost (e.g., gun plasma-liner-formation experiment, which will provide experimental data on: (i) scaling of peak liner ram pressure versus initial jet parameters, (ii) liner non-uniformity characterization and control, and (iii) control of liner profiles for eventual gain optimization.

Progress on the physics of ignition for radiation driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindl, J.D.; Marinak, M.M.

1996-09-01

Extensive modeling of proposed National Ignition Facility (NIF) ignition targets has resulted in a variety of targets using different materials in the fuel shell, using driving temperatures which range from 250-300 eV, and requiring energies from 15 W/cm 2 for this type of hohlraum. The symmetry in Nova gas- filled hohlraums is affected by the gas fill. A large body of evidence now exists which indicates that this effect is due to laser beam filamentation which can be largely controlled by beam smoothing. We present here the firs 3-D simulations of hydrodynamic instability for the NIF point design capsule. These simulations, with the HYDRA radiation hydrodynamics code, indicate that spikes can penetrate up to 10 μm into the 30μm radius hot spot before ignition is quenched. Using capsules whose surface is modified by laser ablation, Nova experiments have been used to quantify the degradation of implosions subject to near NIF levels of hydrodynamic instability

Accuracy of position measurement method using Arago spot for inertial fusion energy target tracking system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saruta, Koichi; Tsuji, Ryusuke

2007-01-01

The accuracy of a position measurement method using the Arago spot is reported for an inertial fusion energy (IFE) target tracking system, where the position of the target is determined by the position of the Arago spot, which is a bright spot appearing in the central portion of the diffraction pattern of a spherical obstacle. We use a He-Ne laser as the light source and a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera with a microscope objective lens to magnify and record the diffraction pattern of a spherical target. We examine two different algorithms to determine the center of the Arago spot in order to compare the measurement performances. The experimental results show that the position of a 5-mm-diameter target can be obtained with a measurement resolution of 1 μm and an rms measurement error of less than 0.2μm for both algorithms when the distance between the target and the microscope objective lens is 5 cm. (author)

Single-particle fusion of influenza viruses reveals complex interactions with target membranes

Science.gov (United States)

van der Borg, Guus; Braddock, Scarlett; Blijleven, Jelle S.; van Oijen, Antoine M.; Roos, Wouter H.

2018-05-01

The first step in infection of influenza A virus is contact with the host cell membrane, with which it later fuses. The composition of the target bilayer exerts a complex influence on both fusion efficiency and time. Here, an in vitro, single-particle approach is used to study this effect. Using total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy and a microfluidic flow cell, the hemifusion of single virions is visualized. Hemifusion efficiency and kinetics are studied while altering target bilayer cholesterol content and sialic-acid donor. Cholesterol ratios tested were 0%, 10%, 20%, and 40%. Sialic-acid donors GD1a and GYPA were used. Both cholesterol ratio and sialic-acid donors proved to have a significant effect on hemifusion efficiency. Furthermore, comparison between GD1a and GYPA conditions shows that the cholesterol dependence of the hemifusion time is severely affected by the sialic-acid donor. Only GD1a shows a clear increasing trend in hemifusion efficiency and time with increasing cholesterol concentration of the target bilayer with maximum rates for GD1A and 40% cholesterol. Overall our results show that sialic acid donor and target bilayer composition should be carefully chosen, depending on the desired hemifusion time and efficiency in the experiment.

Targeting of a chimeric human histone fusion mRNA to membrane-bound polysomes in HeLa cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zambetti, G.; Stein, J.; Stein, G.

1987-01-01

The subcellular location of histone mRNA-containing polysomes may play a key role in the posttranscriptional events that mediate histone mRNA turnover following inhibition of DNA synthesis. Previously, it has been shown that histone mRNA is found primarily on free polysomes that are associated with the cytoskeleton. The authors report here the construction of an Escherichia coli pBR322 β-lactamase signal peptide-human H3 histone fusion gene. The fusion transcript is targeted to membrane-bound polysomes and remains stable following interruption of DNA replication. Relocating mRNA within the cell may provide a procedure for studying the posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression

Viral membrane fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrison, Stephen C.

2015-01-01

Membrane fusion is an essential step when enveloped viruses enter cells. Lipid bilayer fusion requires catalysis to overcome a high kinetic barrier; viral fusion proteins are the agents that fulfill this catalytic function. Despite a variety of molecular architectures, these proteins facilitate fusion by essentially the same generic mechanism. Stimulated by a signal associated with arrival at the cell to be infected (e.g., receptor or co-receptor binding, proton binding in an endosome), they undergo a series of conformational changes. A hydrophobic segment (a “fusion loop” or “fusion peptide”) engages the target-cell membrane and collapse of the bridging intermediate thus formed draws the two membranes (virus and cell) together. We know of three structural classes for viral fusion proteins. Structures for both pre- and postfusion conformations of illustrate the beginning and end points of a process that can be probed by single-virion measurements of fusion kinetics. - Highlights: • Viral fusion proteins overcome the high energy barrier to lipid bilayer merger. • Different molecular structures but the same catalytic mechanism. • Review describes properties of three known fusion-protein structural classes. • Single-virion fusion experiments elucidate mechanism

Viral membrane fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harrison, Stephen C., E-mail: harrison@crystal.harvard.edu

2015-05-15

Membrane fusion is an essential step when enveloped viruses enter cells. Lipid bilayer fusion requires catalysis to overcome a high kinetic barrier; viral fusion proteins are the agents that fulfill this catalytic function. Despite a variety of molecular architectures, these proteins facilitate fusion by essentially the same generic mechanism. Stimulated by a signal associated with arrival at the cell to be infected (e.g., receptor or co-receptor binding, proton binding in an endosome), they undergo a series of conformational changes. A hydrophobic segment (a “fusion loop” or “fusion peptide”) engages the target-cell membrane and collapse of the bridging intermediate thus formed draws the two membranes (virus and cell) together. We know of three structural classes for viral fusion proteins. Structures for both pre- and postfusion conformations of illustrate the beginning and end points of a process that can be probed by single-virion measurements of fusion kinetics. - Highlights: • Viral fusion proteins overcome the high energy barrier to lipid bilayer merger. • Different molecular structures but the same catalytic mechanism. • Review describes properties of three known fusion-protein structural classes. • Single-virion fusion experiments elucidate mechanism.

Manufacturing W fibre-reinforced Cu composite pipes for application as heat sink in divertor targets of future nuclear fusion reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, Alexander v.; You, Jeong-Ha [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, 85748 Garching (Germany); Ewert, Dagmar [Institut fuer Textil- und Verfahrenstechnik Denkendorf, 73770 Denkendorf (Germany); Siefken, Udo [Louis Renner GmbH, 85221 Dachau (Germany)

2016-07-01

An important plasma-facing component (PFC) in future nuclear fusion reactors is the so-called divertor which allows power exhaust and removal of impurities from the main plasma. The most highly loaded parts of a divertor are the target plates which have to withstand intense particle bombardment. This intense particle bombardment leads to high heat fluxes onto the target plates which in turn lead to severe thermomechanical loads. With regard to future nuclear fusion reactors, an improvement of the performance of divertor targets is desirable in order to ensure reliable long term operation of such PFCs. The performance of a divertor target is most closely linked to the properties of the materials that are used for its design. W fibre-reinforced Cu (Wf/Cu) composites are regarded as promising heat sink materials in this respect. These materials do not only feature adequate thermophysical and mechanical properties, they do also offer metallurgical flexibility as their microstructure and hence their macroscopic properties can be tailored. The contribution will point out how Wf/Cu composites can be used to realise an advanced design of a divertor target and how these materials can be fabricated by means of liquid Cu infiltration.

Inertial fusion results from Nova and implication for the future of ICF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilkenny, J.D.; Cable, M.D.; Campbell, E.M.

1988-10-01

A key objective of the US Inertial Confinement Fusion Program is to obtain high yield (100-1000 MJ) implosions in a laboratory environment. This requires high grain from an inertial fusion target from a driver capable of delivering about 10 MJ. Recent results have been sufficiently encouraging that the US Department of Energy is planning for such a capability called the Laboratory Microfusion Facility (LMF). In the past two years, we have conducted implosion-related experiments with approximately 20 kJ of 0.35-μm laser light in 1-ns temporally flat-topped pulses. These experiments were done with the Nova laser, the primary US facility devoted to radiatively driven inertial confinement fusion. Our results show that we can accurately model a significant fraction of the phenomena required to obtain the fuel conditions needed for high gain. Both the x-ray conversion efficiency and the growth of Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instabilities are shown to be at acceptable levels. Targets designed so that the shape of the stagnated fuel can be imaged show that the x-ray drive in our hohlraums can be made isotropic to better than 3%. With this optimized drive and temporally unshaped laser pulses many critical implosion parameters are measured on targets designed for higher density. Good agreement is obtained with one-dimensional simulations. Maximum compressions of between 20--30 in radius are measured with a variety of diagnostics. Improvements in the driver technology are demonstrated; we anticipate operation of Nova at the 50-kJ level at 3ω. 18 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab

Structural Insights into the Mechanisms of Action of Short-Peptide HIV-1 Fusion Inhibitors Targeting the Gp41 Pocket

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiujuan Zhang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The deep hydrophobic pocket of HIV-1 gp41 has been considered a drug target, but short-peptides targeting this site usually lack potent antiviral activity. By applying the M-T hook structure, we previously generated highly potent short-peptide fusion inhibitors that specifically targeted the pocket site, such as MT-SC22EK, HP23L, and LP-11. Here, the crystal structures of HP23L and LP-11 bound to the target mimic peptide N36 demonstrated the critical intrahelical and interhelical interactions, especially verifying that the hook-like conformation was finely adopted while the methionine residue was replaced by the oxidation-less prone residue leucine, and that addition of an extra glutamic acid significantly enhanced the binding and inhibitory activities. The structure of HP23L bound to N36 with two mutations (E49K and L57R revealed the critical residues and motifs mediating drug resistance and provided new insights into the mechanism of action of inhibitors. Therefore, the present data help our understanding for the structure-activity relationship (SAR of HIV-1 fusion inhibitors and facilitate the development of novel antiviral drugs.

Z-petawatt driven ion beam radiography development.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schollmeier, Marius; Geissel, Matthias; Rambo, Patrick K.; Schwarz, Jens; Sefkow, Adam B.

2013-09-01

Laser-driven proton radiography provides electromagnetic field mapping with high spatiotemporal resolution, and has been applied to many laser-driven High Energy Density Physics (HEDP) experiments. Our report addresses key questions about the feasibility of ion radiography at the Z-Accelerator (%E2%80%9CZ%E2%80%9D), concerning laser configuration, hardware, and radiation background. Charged particle tracking revealed that radiography at Z requires GeV scale protons, which is out of reach for existing and near-future laser systems. However, it might be possible to perform proton deflectometry to detect magnetic flux compression in the fringe field region of a magnetized liner inertial fusion experiment. Experiments with the Z-Petawatt laser to enhance proton yield and energy showed an unexpected scaling with target thickness. Full-scale, 3D radiation-hydrodynamics simulations, coupled to fully explicit and kinetic 2D particle-in-cell simulations running for over 10 ps, explain the scaling by a complex interplay of laser prepulse, preplasma, and ps-scale temporal rising edge of the laser.

Boron-Proton Nuclear-Fusion Enhancement Induced in Boron-Doped Silicon Targets by Low-Contrast Pulsed Laser

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Picciotto

2014-08-01

Full Text Available We show that a spatially well-defined layer of boron dopants in a hydrogen-enriched silicon target allows the production of a high yield of alpha particles of around 10^{9} per steradian using a nanosecond, low-contrast laser pulse with a nominal intensity of approximately 3×10^{16}  W cm^{−2}. This result can be ascribed to the nature of the long laser-pulse interaction with the target and with the expanding plasma, as well as to the optimal target geometry and composition. The possibility of an impact on future applications such as nuclear fusion without production of neutron-induced radioactivity and compact ion accelerators is anticipated.

The US ICF Ignition Program and the Inertial Fusion Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindl, J D; Hammel, B A; Logan, B G; Meyerhofer, D D; Payne, S A; Stehian, J D

2003-01-01

There has been rapid progress in inertial fusion in the past few years. This progress spans the construction of ignition facilities, a wide range of target concepts, and the pursuit of integrated programs to develop fusion energy using lasers, ion beams and z-pinches. Two ignition facilities are under construction (NIF in the U.S. and LMJ in France) and both projects are progressing toward an initial experimental capability. The LIL prototype beamline for LMJ and the first 4 beams of NIF will be available for experiments in 2003. The full 192 beam capability of NIF will be available in 2009 and ignition experiments are expected to begin shortly after that time. There is steady progress in the target science and target fabrication in preparation for indirect drive ignition experiments on NIF. Advanced target designs may lead to 5-10 times more yield than initial target designs. There has also been excellent progress on the science of ion beam and z-pinch driven indirect drive targets. Excellent progress on direct-drive targets has been obtained on the Omega laser at the University of Rochester. This includes improved performance of targets with a pulse shape predicted to result in reduced hydrodynamic instability. Rochester has also obtained encouraging results from initial cryogenic implosions. There is widespread interest in the science of fast ignition because of its potential for achieving higher target gain with lower driver energy and relaxed target fabrication requirements. Researchers from Osaka have achieved outstanding implosion and heating results from the Gekko XII Petawatt facility and implosions suitable for fast ignition have been tested on the Omega laser. A broad based program to develop lasers and ions beams for IFE is under way with excellent progress in drivers, chambers, target fabrication and target injection. KrF and Diode Pumped Solid-State lasers (DPSSL) are being developed in conjunction with drywall chambers and direct drive targets

Rho GTPase activity modulates paramyxovirus fusion protein-mediated cell-cell fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schowalter, Rachel M.; Wurth, Mark A.; Aguilar, Hector C.; Lee, Benhur; Moncman, Carole L.; McCann, Richard O.; Dutch, Rebecca Ellis

2006-01-01

The paramyxovirus fusion protein (F) promotes fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane of target cells as well as cell-cell fusion. The plasma membrane is closely associated with the actin cytoskeleton, but the role of actin dynamics in paramyxovirus F-mediated membrane fusion is unclear. We examined cell-cell fusion promoted by two different paramyxovirus F proteins in three cell types in the presence of constitutively active Rho family GTPases, major cellular coordinators of actin dynamics. Reporter gene and syncytia assays demonstrated that expression of either Rac1 V12 or Cdc42 V12 could increase cell-cell fusion promoted by the Hendra or SV5 glycoproteins, though the effect was dependent on the cell type expressing the viral glycoproteins. In contrast, RhoA L63 decreased cell-cell fusion promoted by Hendra glycoproteins but had little affect on SV5 F-mediated fusion. Also, data suggested that GTPase activation in the viral glycoprotein-containing cell was primarily responsible for changes in fusion. Additionally, we found that activated Cdc42 promoted nuclear rearrangement in syncytia

Pharmacokinetics and safety in rhesus monkeys of a monoclonal antibody-GDNF fusion protein for targeted blood-brain barrier delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Pardridge, William M; Boado, Ruben J

2009-10-01

Glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potential therapy for stroke, Parkinson's disease, or drug addiction. However, GDNF does not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). GDNF is re-engineered as a fusion protein with a chimeric monoclonal antibody (MAb) to the human insulin receptor (HIR), which acts as a molecular Trojan horse to deliver the GDNF across the BBB. The pharmacokinetics (PK), toxicology, and safety pharmacology of the HIRMAb-GDNF fusion protein were investigated in Rhesus monkeys. The fusion protein was administered as an intravenous injection at doses up to 50 mg/kg over a 60 h period to 56 Rhesus monkeys. The plasma concentration of the HIRMAb-GDNF fusion protein was measured with a 2-site sandwich ELISA. No adverse events were observed in a 2-week terminal toxicology study, and no neuropathologic changes were observed. The PK analysis showed a linear relationship between plasma AUC and dose, a large systemic volume of distribution, as well as high clearance rates of 8-10 mL/kg/min. A no-observable-adverse-effect level is established in the Rhesus monkey for the acute administration of the HIRMAb-GDNF fusion protein. The fusion protein targeting the insulin receptor has a PK profile similar to a classical small molecule.

Recent US target-physics-related research in heavy-ion inertial fusion: simulations for tamped targets and for disk experiments in accelerator test facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mark, J.W.K.

1982-01-01

Within the last few years, there have also appeared in the Heavy-Ion Fusion literature several studies of targets which have outer tampers. One-dimensional simulations indicate higher target gains with a judicious amount of tamping. But for these targets, a full investigation has not been carried through in regards to conservative criteria for fluid instabilities as well as reasonable imperfections in target fabrication and illumination symmetry which all affect target ignition and burn. Comparisons of these results with the gain survey of Part I would have to be performed with care. These calculations suggest that experiments relating to high temperature disk heating, as well as beam deposition, focusing and transport can be performed within the context of current design proposals for accelerator test-facilities. Since the test-facilities have lower ion kinetic energy and beam pulse power as compared to reactor drivers, we achieve high-beam intensities at the focal spot by using short focal distance and properly designed beam optics

Economic modeling and parametric studies for SOMBRERO - a laser-driven IFE power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meier, W.R.; Rosenberg, C.W. Jr. von

1992-01-01

Economic modeling and parametric studies for the SOMBRERO laser-driven inertial fusion energy (IFE) electric power plant have been conducted to determine the most attractive operating point. Cost scaling relationships have been developed and integrated into a cost-performance model of the plant. The figure-of-merit for determining the most attractive design point is the constant-dollar cost of electricity. Results are presented as a function of the driver energy. The sensitivity of the results to variations in the assumed net electric output and target performance is also examined

Economic modeling and parametric studies for OSIRIS - a HIB-driven IFE power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meier, W.R.; Bieri, R.L.

1992-01-01

Economic modeling and parametric studies for the Osiris HIB-driven inertial fusion energy (IFE) electric power plant have been conducted to determine the most attractive operating point. Cost scaling relationships have been developed and integrated into a cost-performance model of the plant. The figure-of-merit for determining the most attractive design point is the constant-dollar cost of electricity. Results are presented as a function of the driver energy. The sensitivity of the results to variations in the assumed net electric output and target performance is also examined

Particle beam fusion progress report January 1979 through June 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-10-01

The following chapters are included: (1) fusion target studies, (2) target experiments, (3) particle beam source development, (4) particle beam experiments, (5) pulsed power research and development, (6) pulsed fusion applications, and (7) electron beam fusion accelerator project

Diagnostics for the laser fusion program: plasma physics on the scale of microns and picoseconds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Attwood, D.T.

1978-01-01

Laser induced fusion is the forerunner of a class of inertial confinement schemes in which hydrogen isotopes are heated to thermonuclear conditions in a very short period. The process is characterized by such short time scales that fuel confinement is achieved through its' own finite mass and expansion velocity, approaching 1 μm/psec for ignition temperatures of order 10 keV (10 8 0 K). With current laser powers limited to several terrawatts one readily estimates, on the basis of energy conservation, target mass, and expansion velocity, that target size and laser pulse duration are on the order of 100 μm and 100 psec, respectively. Within these constraints, targets have been heated and confined to the point where thermonuclear conditions have been achieved. This paper describes a sampling of diagnostic techniques with requisite resolution (microns and picoseconds) to accurately describe the dynamics of a laser driven compression. As discussed in each case cited, these in turn provide insight to and quantitative measure of, the physical processes dominating the implosion. The success of the inertial confinement fusion program is strongly dependent on the continued development of such diagnostics and the understanding they provide

Requirements for low-cost electricity and hydrogen fuel production from multiunit inertial fusion energy plants with a shared driver and target factory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logan, G.B.; Moir, R.W.; Hoffmman, M.A.

1995-01-01

The economy of scale for multiunit inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants is explored based on the molten salt HYLIFE-II fusion chamber concept, for the purpose of producing lower cost electricity and hydrogen fuel. The cost of electricity (CoE) is minimized with a new IFE systems code IFEFUEL5 for a matrix of plant cases with one to eight fusion chambers of 250 to 2000-MW (electric) net output each, sharing a common heavy-ion driver and target factory. Improvements to previous HYLIFE-II models include a recirculating induction linac driver optimized as a function of driver energy and rep-rate (average driver power), inclusion of beam switchyard costs, a fusion chamber cost scaling dependence on both thermal power and fusion yield, and a more accurate bypass pump power scaling with chamber rep-rate. A CoE less than 3 cents/kW(electric)-h is found for plant outputs greater than 2 GW(electric), allowing hydrogen fuel production by wafer electrolysis to provide lower fuel cost per mile for higher efficiency hydrogen engines compared with gasoline engines. These multiunit, multi-GW(electric) IFE plants allow staged utility plant deployment, lower optimum chamber rep-rates, less sensitivity to driver and target fabrication costs, and a CoE possibly lower than future fission, fossil, and solar competitors. 37 refs., 12 figs., 4 tabs

Assessing infrared intensity using the evaporation rate of liquid hydrogen inside a cryogenic integrating sphere for laser fusion targets

Science.gov (United States)

Iwano, K.; Iwamoto, A.; Asahina, T.; Yamanoi, K.; Arikawa, Y.; Nagatomo, H.; Nakai, M.; Norimatsu, T.; Azechi, H.

2017-07-01

Infrared (IR) heating processes have been studied to form a deuterium layer in an inertial confinement fusion target. To understand the relationship between the IR intensity and the fuel layering time constant, we have developed a new method to assess the IR intensity during irradiation. In our method, a glass flask acting as a dummy target is filled with liquid hydrogen (LH2) and is then irradiated with 2-μm light. The IR intensity is subsequently calculated from the time constant of the LH2 evaporation rate. Although LH2 evaporation is also caused by the heat inflow from the surroundings and by the background heat, the evaporation rate due to IR heating can be accurately determined by acquiring the time constant with and without irradiation. The experimentally measured IR intensity is 0.66 mW/cm2, which agrees well with a value estimated by considering the IR photon energy balance. Our results suggest that the present method can be used to measure the IR intensity inside a cryogenic system during IR irradiation of laser fusion targets.

Assessing infrared intensity using the evaporation rate of liquid hydrogen inside a cryogenic integrating sphere for laser fusion targets.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwano, K; Iwamoto, A; Asahina, T; Yamanoi, K; Arikawa, Y; Nagatomo, H; Nakai, M; Norimatsu, T; Azechi, H

2017-07-01

Infrared (IR) heating processes have been studied to form a deuterium layer in an inertial confinement fusion target. To understand the relationship between the IR intensity and the fuel layering time constant, we have developed a new method to assess the IR intensity during irradiation. In our method, a glass flask acting as a dummy target is filled with liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) and is then irradiated with 2-μm light. The IR intensity is subsequently calculated from the time constant of the LH 2 evaporation rate. Although LH 2 evaporation is also caused by the heat inflow from the surroundings and by the background heat, the evaporation rate due to IR heating can be accurately determined by acquiring the time constant with and without irradiation. The experimentally measured IR intensity is 0.66 mW/cm 2 , which agrees well with a value estimated by considering the IR photon energy balance. Our results suggest that the present method can be used to measure the IR intensity inside a cryogenic system during IR irradiation of laser fusion targets.

Inertial confinement fusion target component fabrication and technology development support: Annual report, October 1, 1995--September 30, 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoppe, M.

1997-02-01

On December 30, 1990, the U.S. Department of Energy entered into a contract with General Atomics (GA) to be the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Target Component Fabrication and Technology Development Support contractor. In September 1995 this contract ended and a second contract was issued for us to continue this ICF target support work. This report documents the technical activities of the period October 1, 1995 through September 30, 1996. During this period, GA and our partners WJ Schafer Associates (WJSA) and Soane Technologies, Inc. (STI) were assigned 14 formal tasks in support of the Inertial Confinement Fusion program and its five laboratories. A portion of the effort on these tasks included providing direct open-quotes Onsite Supportclose quotes at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Sandia National Laboratory Albuquerque (SNLA). We fabricated and delivered over 800 gold-plated hohlraum mandrels to LLNL, LANL and SNLA. We produced nearly 1,200 glass and plastic target capsules for LLNL, LANL, SNLA and University of Rochester/Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR/LLE). We also delivered over 100 flat foil targets for Naval Research Lab (NRL) and SNLA in FY96. This report describes these target fabrication activities and the target fabrication and characterization development activities that made the deliveries possible. The ICF program is anticipating experiments at the OMEGA laser and the National Ignition Facility (NIF) which will require capsules containing cryogenic layered D 2 or deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel. We are part of the National Cryogenic Target Program to create and demonstrate viable ways to generate and characterize cryogenic layers. Substantial progress has been made on ways to both create and characterize viable layers. During FY96, significant progress was made in the design of the OMEGA Cryogenic Target System that will field cryogenic targets on OMEGA

Fusion spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peacock, N.J.

1995-09-01

This article traces developments in the spectroscopy of high temperature laboratory plasma used in controlled fusion research from the early 1960's until the present. These three and a half decades have witnessed many orders of magnitude increase in accessible plasma parameters such as density and temperature as well as particle and energy confinement timescales. Driven by the need to interpret the radiation in terms of the local plasma parameters, the thrust of fusion spectroscopy has been to develop our understanding of (i) the atomic structure of highly ionised atoms, usually of impurities in the hydrogen isotope fuel; (ii) the atomic collision rates and their incorporation into ionization structure and emissivity models that take into account plasma phenomena like plasma-wall interactions, particle transport and radiation patterns; (iii) the diagnostic applications of spectroscopy aided by increasingly sophisticated characterisation of the electron fluid. These topics are discussed in relation to toroidal magnetically confined plasmas, particularly the Tokamak which appears to be the most promising approach to controlled fusion to date. (author)

Kinetic mix mechanisms in shock-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rinderknecht, H. G.; Sio, H.; Li, C. K.; Zylstra, A. B.; Rosenberg, M. J.; Frenje, J. A.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Séguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D. [Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Hoffman, N.; Kagan, G.; Molvig, K. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); Betti, R.; Yu Glebov, V.; Meyerhofer, D. D.; Sangster, T. C.; Seka, W.; Stoeckl, C. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States); Bellei, C.; Amendt, P. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); and others

2014-05-15

Shock-driven implosions of thin-shell capsules, or “exploding pushers,” generate low-density, high-temperature plasmas in which hydrodynamic instability growth is negligible and kinetic effects can play an important role. Data from implosions of thin deuterated-plastic shells with hydroequivalent D{sup 3}He gas fills ranging from pure deuterium to pure {sup 3}He [H. G. Rinderknecht et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 135001 (2014)] were obtained to evaluate non-hydrodynamic fuel-shell mix mechanisms. Simulations of the experiments including reduced ion kinetic models support ion diffusion as an explanation for these data. Several additional kinetic mechanisms are investigated and compared to the data to determine which are important in the experiments. Shock acceleration of shell deuterons is estimated to introduce mix less than or comparable to the amount required to explain the data. Beam-target mechanisms are found to produce yields at most an order of magnitude less than the observations.