HYLIFE-II Reactor Chamber Design Refinements

Abstract

Mechanical design features of the reactor chamber for the HYLIFE-II inertial confinement fusion power plant are presented. A combination of oscillating and steady, molten salt streams (Li2BeF4) are used for shielding and blast protection of the chamber walls. The system is designed for a 6 Hz repetition rate. Beam path clearing, between shots, is accomplished with the oscillating flow. The mechanism for generating the oscillating streams is described. A design configuration of the vessel wall allows adequate cooling and provides extra shielding to reduce thermal stresses to tolerable levels. The bottom portion of the reactor chamber is designed to minimize splash back of the high velocity (> 12 m/s) salt streams and also recover up to half of the dynamic head. Cost estimates for a 1 GWe and 2 GWe reactor chamber are presented.