Advanced fuels for nuclear fusion reactors

Should magnetic confinement of hot plasma prove satisfactory at high beta (Σ8πnkT/B2 greater than 0.2), nuclear fusion fuels other than DT will be important in future fusion reactors. The prospect of the advanced fusion fuels DD and 6LiD in such fusion reactors appears very promising provided the system is large, well reflected and has a sufficiently high density and temperature (high beta). Steady state burning of DD can ensue in a 60 kG field, 5m radius reactor for β greater than or equal to 0.1 and wall reflectivity R/sub μ/ = 0.9. The first generation thermonuclear reactions between D and D or 6Li produce the very active, energy-rich fuels t and 3He which exhibit a high burnup probability in very hot plasmas. Steady state burning of 6LiD has also been demonstrated theoretically for low concentrations of 6Li; however, important features of the 6LiD system still need to be incorporated in the calculation. In particular, there is a need for new and improved nuclear cross section data on over 80 reaction possibilities