Calculational Method for Neutron Heating in Dense Plasma Systems,(I) Model and Formulation

Abstract

Abstract A method for calculating the neutron heating rate in plasma systems at densities and temperatures of interest for inertial confinement fusion is presented. The basic equations consist of the transport equations for neutrons and their recoil ions, being written in terms of the modified Eulerian coordinates originally proposed by Wienke (1974). After presenting the cal- culational model, numerical results are given for a particular test problem, i.e. the deposition of 14-MeV source neutron energy in expanding D-T spheres. It is shown that the energy transport by recoil ions has a considerable influence on the neutron heating. Calculations neglecting recoil-ion transport fail to account for the temperature dependence of neutron heating and overestimate the deposition to plasma ions.