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Direct Conversion

Direct conversion involves capturing charged particles to create a current. In this case
the energy is never captured intentionally as heat. These systems are designed to
instead create a current directly. Direct conversion has been considered for some
reactor types that may be built in the future. The reason we want direct conversion is
because it may be possible to achieve efficiencies of 90% in the conversion of fusion
power to electrical power.
In order to utilize direct conversion systems effectively, we need to be using a fusion
process that produces only a very small number of neutrons. This is because
neutrons, lacking electric charge, cannot be ‘steered’ onto certain collection plates. We
will discuss this in much more detail in a later post.
These low-neutron processes do exist. The main problem is that these processes
require higher energies (temperatures) than some other processes. The engineering
challenges of reaching these higher energies are significant, and may not be met for a
very long time. However, there are some intriguing concepts being presented that may
make direct conversion feasible in the coming decades. We will discuss direct
conversion in much more detail in a later post.
Update: We included an in-depth look at direct conversion in a later post entitled how
do we turn nuclear fusion power into electricity?

Net Energy
We want net energy output from our fusion power plant. A fusion power plant must
produce more energy than the energy required to run the plant’s machinery. So we
need to liberate more energy from fusion reactions than it takes to create the
conditions under which they happen.
Humans have demonstrated that fusion is possible many times. Devices such as the
fusor are even relatively easy to build. However, it is very difficult to create a fusion
system that can actually produce more energy than it takes to run. We know that it is
possible, but it is proving to be very difficult to turn experimental results and knowledge
into a functioning power system.
In a later post we will look at the details of the fusion energy gain factor Q, a useful
quantity for describing the energy balance of a reactor. Q is a letter used often in
various areas of physics, has special meaning in considerations of fusion power
plants.

Steady-state power
In order to be producing baseload electrical power, the reaction must be either in
dynamic equilibrium or pulsed quickly. The goal of fusion power systems is thus to
create ‘steady state’ power, where the net output of the power plant is constant. What
have we accomplished so far with regards to achieving steady state operation?
JET (1982-present) (Joint European Torus) – 20-60 second pulses are possible, but
high energy ones are less than a second.
ITER (~2018) (originally International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) – ITER is
expected to be able to produce 500MW for up to 1000 seconds.
DEMO (~2033) (DEMOnstration Power Plant) – Hopefully steady state achievement
around 2033, add electricity to grid around 2040.

Safety Concerns
The most popular fusion reactions produce a lot of neutron radiation. For instance, the
most popular fuel cycle for future reactor designs Deuterium-Tritium releases about
80% of its energy in the form of high energy neutrons.
‘Flux’ is a term that means flow or discharge. When we discuss ‘neutron flux’, we are
discussing the flow of neutrons out from the reactor. In other contexts, one might
discuss ‘heat flux’, which would be the flow of heat. For example, a large and hot camp
fire creates a greater heat flux than a small one.
This fact has associated safety concerns:

1. Direct Neutron Flux – We need to deal with the direct effects of the flux on our
people, equipment and electronics.
2. Activated Materials – We need to consider the human exposure to activated
materials as well. Activated materials are sometimes created when a neutron is
captured by a stable nucleus. The captured neutron changes the isotope of the
nucleus. If the new isotope is radioactive, it has been ‘activated’. Some
activated materials undergo changes in their chemical properties. These
changes would have to be planned for in the initial design. Much of humanity’s
experience in this area has been gained from the neutron fluxes from fission
reactors. We look at this topic in more detail in our post about fusion reactor
design.

Pieces of the puzzle


Most of the scientific work in fusion has been focused on achieving net energy gain.
Without net energy gain, we cannot harness nuclear fusion as an energy source. We
have not yet succeeded in achieving net energy gain. This is really the fundamental
facet to fusion power research, if we cannot do this, then there isn’t much point to
talking about nuclear fusion as a terrestrial energy source.
Fusion for power production requires:

1. Fusion fuel cycles – the specific reaction we are trying to create. Reactants are
usually very light elements. They combine under certain conditions, releasing
energy and product isotopes.
2. Fusion technique – a way of bringing the fuel physically into a state in which
fusion can progress. This is our physical system for achieving fusion. Examples
of this are the tokamak, laser implosion fusion, fast-ignition fusion, and the
Polywell design. We have also written an introduction to the difficulties of
designing a fusion reactor.

Fusion Fuel Cycles


Fusion fuel cycles are the possible fusion reactions. In order to be possible fusion
reactions, the process must abide by the rules of nuclear physics, and yield net
energy. Many fusion reactions are possible within these criteria, but only a few seem to
be of use for fusion reactors on the earth. We will dig into the reasons for this in a later
post.
Fusion reactions are analogous in concept and notation to chemical reactions. For
example: The Deuterium-Tritium reaction is written as:

Deuterium-tritium fusion image from Wikipedia

We can see that a deuterium and a tritium fuse to produce a helium-4 nucleus and a
neutron. The 4He and the neutron carry 3.5 MeV and 14.1 MeV of kinetic energy
respectively. That is, these particles are moving extremely fast away from each other
after the fusion occurs. Never seen the “eV” unit before? It is an electron volt, a unit of
energy that is very useful when studying nuclear interactions.
This is the D-T reaction, which has seen the most extensive research in the last few
decades. Using the masses of these isotopes, and conservation of energy and
momentum, we can determine the energy released and the distribution of momentum
and energy between these two products.
For a deeper look, see our post on what fusion fuel cycles are and how they work.

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