Helion

[Brian H]

I haven’t seen this mentioned here: http://www.helionenergy.com/ . It’s a straight-thru pulsing system which looks to have some promise. Can’t speak to its feasibility, but they have a 1/3 scale model which is operational. Claim is that about $10 million would allow up-size to commercial unity+ system in 2-3 years. Uses neutron/heat/steam system, so has heavy inefficiencies to deal with. Don’t know how the equipment would/will stand up to heavy neutron flux. Generates and recycles Tritium as part of the process.

[Aeronaut]

Brian H wrote: I haven’t seen this mentioned here: http://www.helionenergy.com/ . It’s a straight-thru pulsing system which looks to have some promise. Can’t speak to its feasibility, but they have a 1/3 scale model which is operational. Claim is that about $10 million would allow up-size to commercial unity+ system in 2-3 years. Uses neutron/heat/steam system, so has heavy inefficiencies to deal with. Don’t know how the equipment would/will stand up to heavy neutron flux. Generates and recycles Tritium as part of the process.

Too bad they crippled it on the drawing board. btw- doesn’t Tri-Alpha own the FRCB patent?

[Brian H]

Aeronaut wrote:

I haven’t seen this mentioned here: http://www.helionenergy.com/ . It’s a straight-thru pulsing system which looks to have some promise. Can’t speak to its feasibility, but they have a 1/3 scale model which is operational. Claim is that about $10 million would allow up-size to commercial unity+ system in 2-3 years. Uses neutron/heat/steam system, so has heavy inefficiencies to deal with. Don’t know how the equipment would/will stand up to heavy neutron flux. Generates and recycles Tritium as part of the process.

Too bad they crippled it on the drawing board. btw- doesn’t Tri-Alpha own the FRCB patent?
Hm, I don’t think you can patent a phenomenon or process, just a particular way of generating or using it.

[Aeronaut]

Brian H wrote:

I haven’t seen this mentioned here: http://www.helionenergy.com/ . It’s a straight-thru pulsing system which looks to have some promise. Can’t speak to its feasibility, but they have a 1/3 scale model which is operational. Claim is that about $10 million would allow up-size to commercial unity+ system in 2-3 years. Uses neutron/heat/steam system, so has heavy inefficiencies to deal with. Don’t know how the equipment would/will stand up to heavy neutron flux. Generates and recycles Tritium as part of the process.

Too bad they crippled it on the drawing board. btw- doesn’t Tri-Alpha own the FRCB patent?
Hm, I don’t think you can patent a phenomenon or process, just a particular way of generating or using it.

I just read their PDF. The telling phrase explains how their approach is clearly superior to Today’s Technology. :smirk: Thinking what that machine would measure at 3x (27x current volume), it isn’t surprising that they’re predicating that phase on government funding. Despite the lack of any meaningful data about their current energy output.

[Brian H]

Aeronaut wrote:

I haven’t seen this mentioned here: http://www.helionenergy.com/ . It’s a straight-thru pulsing system which looks to have some promise. Can’t speak to its feasibility, but they have a 1/3 scale model which is operational. Claim is that about $10 million would allow up-size to commercial unity+ system in 2-3 years. Uses neutron/heat/steam system, so has heavy inefficiencies to deal with. Don’t know how the equipment would/will stand up to heavy neutron flux. Generates and recycles Tritium as part of the process.

Too bad they crippled it on the drawing board. btw- doesn’t Tri-Alpha own the FRCB patent?
Hm, I don’t think you can patent a phenomenon or process, just a particular way of generating or using it.

I just read their PDF. The telling phrase explains how their approach is clearly superior to Today’s Technology. :smirk: Thinking what that machine would measure at 3x (27x current volume), it isn’t surprising that they’re predicating that phase on government funding. Despite the lack of any meaningful data about their current energy output.

They claim to be ready/on track to do unity and produce their power by 2012. We’ll zee, Zach!

[Aeronaut]

ITER’s on track, too, aka the Gravy Train.

[Axil]

Helion is a fusion/fusion hybrid that expects of “q” of at most 5. In 2012 they will begin material testing in their own materials test bed.

Check out page 21 – Low Q…

https://focusfusion.org/index.php/forums/viewthread/355/

[Brian H]

Axil wrote: Helion is a fusion/fusion hybrid that expects of “q” of at most 5. In 2012 they will begin material testing in their own materials test bed.

Check out page 21 – Low Q…

https://focusfusion.org/index.php/forums/viewthread/355/

That link is to this page.

[Axil]

Brian H wrote:

Helion is a fusion/fusion hybrid that expects of “q” of at most 5. In 2012 they will begin material testing in their own materials test bed.

Check out page 21 – Low Q…

https://focusfusion.org/index.php/forums/viewthread/355/

That link is to this page.

Sorry!

Load this into Url line

http://www.fusion.ucla.edu/FNST/Renew_Presentations/Tuesday/5.7-Slough-ReNeW Theme 4 talk.pdf

[Brian H]

Axil wrote:

Helion is a fusion/fusion hybrid that expects of “q” of at most 5. In 2012 they will begin material testing in their own materials test bed.

Check out page 21 – Low Q…

https://focusfusion.org/index.php/forums/viewthread/355/

That link is to this page.

Sorry!

Load this into Url line

http://www.fusion.ucla.edu/FNST/Renew_Presentations/Tuesday/5.7-Slough-ReNeW Theme 4 talk.pdf

The hybrid thorium or spent fuel blanket seems to have a very high energy output. I wonder what how the costs work out.

[Axil]

The hybrid thorium or spent fuel blanket seems to have a very high energy output. I wonder what how the costs work out.

Thorium is a fusion energy amplifier. It increases the output of a fusion reaction by a minimum of 10,000 times. One thorium fusion/fission hybrid has the same energy output as a minimum number of 10,000 equivalent fusion reactors; I.E 5Mw vs. 5 Gw

10,000 FF at $300,000 per unit cost at least 3 Billion less land cost, facilities, licenses and inspection, O&M;, etc.

A thorium hybrid deployed under ground will cost about $2 billion.

It has been said that fusion is neutron rich and energy poor; and fission is energy rich and neutron poor. Fusion and thorium complement each other. For thorium only fission, no neutrons are possible; it needs an external neutron source to get going.

Once fusion is underway, in my opinion, it is relatively expensive to keep it going through continual on-the-fly waste removal. Fusion is a better answer. Fusion can burn the nuclear waste in place and provide a non radioactive waste stream.

The LIFE fusion laser reactor is based on this idea. So are other thorium hybrids like Tri Alpha and Helion.

There are many ITER like thorium hybrids in design but they are not viable in my opinion.

Under current concepts, Tri Alpha and Helion will make the best thorium hybrids. FF is close behind because of its small size. It would fit nicely into the core of a thorium hybrid.

However, the only fusion reactor that can produce fusion in heavy water is FF. This will solve all the reactor structural material (first wall) issues that are so hard to deal with.

One of the major problems with fusion reactors is their low availability. They will break down often. If heavy water fusion can be made to work, FF will make the best thorium hybrid core, bar none. It will hardly need any maintenance if its core is plug replaceable.

PS:

A hybrid should have a K-eff (multiplication factor) of .95 or below. The NRC has greatly relaxed controls on this type of reactor.

A neutron fluence of 10exp18 neutrons per second is all that is required for a hybrid; easy.

[Tulse]

Axil wrote: the only fusion reactor that can produce fusion in heavy water is FF.

What is your source for this? I’m not clear that FF will work with heavy water.

[Axil]

Tulse wrote:

the only fusion reactor that can produce fusion in heavy water is FF.

What is your source for this? I’m not clear that FF will work with heavy water.

An FF experiment is needed to find out if it is possible and if it has any merit.

I don’t know if it is possible, but it would be great if FF heavy water fusion could be made to work for many reasons.

The neutron fluence should go up substantially due to the increased density of deuterium in heavy water as opposed to gas.

Fast neutron damage using D-D fusion to the reactor structure would be eliminated.

The need to use less pulsed power to get the same fusion effect.

Over the years, other people have been discharging electric arcs into heavy water with no ill effects, but nobody has attempted to form a plasmoid in heavy water yet. I think it is worth a try.

[Henning]

Axil wrote:
Over the years, other people have been discharging electric arcs into heavy water with no ill effects, but nobody has attempted to form a plasmoid in heavy water yet. I think it is worth a try.

Nope, isn’t. You won’t get plasma. For plasma you need gas. For a DPF to function you need a pressure of about 10mbar. You can try to fuse deuterium (didn’t follow what for, but anyway), but only as a gas. That’ll give you some neutrons (and some energy), but that’s it. In fact D-D fusion is a standard experiment done with a DPF.

And forget about fusing tritium in a industrial style, as I mentioned in another thread.

[Axil]

Henning wrote:

Over the years, other people have been discharging electric arcs into heavy water with no ill effects, but nobody has attempted to form a plasmoid in heavy water yet. I think it is worth a try.

Nope, isn’t. You won’t get plasma. For plasma you need gas. For a DPF to function you need a pressure of about 10mbar. You can try to fuse deuterium (didn’t follow what for, but anyway), but only as a gas. That’ll give you some neutrons (and some energy), but that’s it. In fact D-D fusion is a standard experiment done with a DPF.

And forget about fusing tritium in a industrial style, as I mentioned in another thread.

One of the standard ways of producing a cavitation bubble is by electric discharge.

The electric discharge vaporizes the water (also true for heavy water) to form a cavitation bubble; the more powerful the discharge, the more gas volume that the cavitation bubble contains. It is in this gas bubble composed of deuterium and oxygen, where the FF plasmoid will form.

In other words, the electric discharge makes its own gas deuterium gas pocket.

I could show you pictures of how this looks if you need them. There is a shock wave formed during the collapse of the cavitation bubble of over 10 Gpa. By comparison, a diamond anvil can only produce 1 to 2 Gpa maximum pressure force.

On the down side, this shock wave might damage the electrodes and some engineering might be needed to avoid this damage. On the plus side, this very high pressure might increase the D-D fusion level.

Some people think that fusion occurs in a water cavitation bubble collapse without a plasmoid being induced. Maybe; it does produce some neutrons.

[Author]

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