Method to prevent ejecta from damaging the Compact Torus Accelerator driver of an inertial fusion energy power plant

Concern has been expressed about the conceptual design of fusion reactors using a Compact Torus Accelerator (CTA). A CTA accelerates a plasma torus toward a fusion target. When the torus nears the target, it is compressed and focused down to a small volume, creating a very high energy density and initiating a fusion micro explosion. The focusing cone is destroyed with each shot due to the stress from the passage of the torus as well as from the force of the explosion (1 800 MJ of yield, [approximately]0.5 Ton TNT equivalent). The focusing cone could be made of solidified Li[sub 2]BeF[sub 4]; the same material used in liquid state to protect the reaction chamber from the micro explosion and to transport heat away to a power plant. The problem with this design is that when the focusing cone is shattered, the resulting small pieces of solid and liquid debris (ejecta) might be carded along by the expanding vapor of the explosion and might enter the CTA itself, causing damage and shortening the life of the CTA. The proposed solution for this possible problem is to bend the focusing cone so that the ejecta no longer have a clear path to more » the CTA. Calculations show that the plasma torus may be sent through a radius of curvature of less than 0.5 m just after the focusing cone, without significantly disturbing the plasma. « less