Triton confinement and energy-loss studies with a time-resolved neutron detector

The expected results are presented for a fast, selective 14-MeV neutron detector which should be capable of separately measuring the confinement and energy loss of fast tritons for the first time. The tritons, from D-D reactions in a deuterium plasma, are observed when they collide with deuterons while slowing down, producing a characteristic 14-MeV neutron. Triton experiments are an excellent test for the confinement of fusion-produced alphas in a self-sustained reactor, which is critically dependent on plasma heating by the alphas. The triton production rate is pulsed by injecting a burst of deuterium using a neutral-beam heating source. The temporal distribution of the 14-MeV neutron flux is determined by the confinement and slowdown rate of the tritons. The expected flux is calculated as a function of time for the predicted triton transport, anomalous particle losses, and anomalous energy-loss rates, thus demonstrating how the various effects can be separately determined