Multi-species effects in magnetically driven implosions

Imploding the deuterium-tritium fuel with strong magnetic field is one of the most promising fusion energy concepts. Yet making it practical requires understanding the micro- and macro-physics associated with the dense and magnetized plasma state. In particular, the topic of both practical importance with yet unclear fundamental aspects is the group of effects associated with the presence of multiple ion species in the burning plasma core. The strong gradients inevitably arising during the course of implosion can separate the D and T ions, resulting in the yield degradation. It is the same, inter-ion-species diffusion process that is responsible for the mix between periphery of the burning plasma and the reactor wall. This mix, in turn, is likely followed by penetration of the wall-originated high-Z impurity into the burning, thus contributing to the energy loss.

This project will combine micro- and macro-physics analyses to address the yet unexplored effects associated with the presence of multiple ion species in burning magnetized plasmas. Firstly, kinetic calculation will be performed to clarify the fundamentals of the magnetic field effect on ion diffusion and other transport processes. Secondly, the transport coefficients will be implemented in a hydrocode to evaluate practical consequences, such as impurity diffusion into the burning core and separation of the D and T components, resulting in yield degradation.