Advanced D-3He Fuel Cycle

The interest in fusion safety has stimulated worldwide research for other fuel cycles such as D-D, D-3He, p-11B, and 3He-3He. These fuel cycles, except 3He-3He, are not completely aneutronic due to their side reactions. Neutron wall loadings, however, can be kept low (by orders of magnitude) compared to D-T fuelled plants with the same output power, eliminating the need for a breeding blanket and the replacement of the first wall and shielding components during the entire plant lifetime. The availability of 3He and the attainment of the higher plasma parameters required for burning are challenging problems for the D-3He fuel cycle. High beta and/or high field innovative confinement concepts, such as the field-reversed configuration and, to a lesser extent, the tokamaks are suitable devices for advanced fuel cycles. In the early 1990s, the ARIES-III D-3He tokamak was developed within the framework of the ARIES study. The UW D-3He Apollo series, along with ARIES-III, demonstrated attractive safety characteristics, including low activity and decay heat levels, low-level waste, and low releasable radioactive inventory from credible accidents. Another advantage for the D-3He system is the possibility of obtaining electrical power by direct energy conversion of the protons and radiation produced by fusion reactions. These advantages suggest that studies for the development of advanced fuel cycles should be carried out in parallel with the present mainstream D-T fusion power development, as the low neutron production helps overcome some of the engineering, materials, and safety hurdles to fusion development.

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FTI Publications

Results: 1 to 40 of 81 order by: UWFDM Author Title↑ Date
1   2  3 

UWFDM-1003   A Current Bibliography of Helium-3 Research; S.W. White, January 1996. (143 pages, 8.0 MB)

UWFDM-1189   A Lunar Field Geologist's Perspective 30 Years Later: Shocking Revelations About the Moon, Mars and Earth; Harrison H. Schmitt, October 2002 [2002 G.K. Gilbert Lecture, Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Geological Society of America, Planetary Geology Division, 27-30 October 2002, Denver CO]. (11 pages, 1.2 MB)

UWFDM-1304   A Lunar Volatiles Miner; Matthew E. Gajda, May 2006 [M.S. thesis]. (112 pages, 2.6 MB)

UWFDM-1214   A Passively Proliferation-Proof Fusion Power Plant; J.F. Santarius, G.L. Kulcinski, L.A. El-Guebaly, November 2002 [presented at the 15th ANS Topical Meeting on Technology of Fusion Energy, 17-21 November 2002, Washington DC; published in Fusion Science and Technology 44, 289 (2003)]. (8 pages, 669 kB)

retrieve PDF A Passively Proliferation-Proof Fusion Power Plant; J.F. Santarius, G.L. Kulcinski, L.A. El-Guebaly, November 2002 [presented at the 15th ANS Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy, 17-21 November 2002, Washington, DC]. (1 page, 1.2 MB)

UWFDM-879   A Resource Assessment and Extraction of Lunar 3He; G.L. Kulcinski, January 1992 [presented at the US-USSR Workshop on D-3He Reactor Studies, 25 September - 2 October 1991, Moscow]. (17 pages, 504 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9107-1   A Review of Helium-3 Resources and Acquisition for Use as Fusion Fuel; L.J. Wittenberg, E.N. Cameron, G.L. Kulcinski, S.H. Ott, J.F. Santarius, G.I. Sviatoslavsky, I.N. Sviatoslavsky, H. Thompson, October 1991 [Published in Fusion Technology, Special Issue on DHe3 Fusion, Vol. 21 (4) 2230-2253]. (68 pages, 1.5 MB)

UWFDM-1291   A Strategy for D-3He Fusion Development; J.F. Santarius, G.L. Kulcinski, G.H. Miley, June 2006 [presented at the ANS Annual Meeting, 4-8 June 2006, Reno NV]. (5 pages, 657 kB) [more]

UWFDM-972   Advanced-Fuel Heat Flux, Power Density and Direct Conversion Issues; J.F. Santarius, November 1994 [Presented at the Sixth International Toki Conference, Toki-City, Japan, 29 November - 2 December 1994; published in Fusion Technology 27 (April 1995)]. (7 pages, 744 kB)

UWFDM-794   Astrofuel - An Energy Source for the 21st Century; J.F. Santarius and G.L. Kulcinski, July 1989 [Wisconsin Professional Engineer 30:6 (1989) 14]. (14 pages, 456 kB)

UWFDM-1191   Business Approach To Lunar Base Activation; Harrison H. Schmitt, December 2002 [accepted by the Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF-2003), 2-5 February 2003, Albuquerque NM]. (8 pages, 750 kB)

UWFDM-1192   Business Context of Space Tourism; Harrison H. Schmitt, December 2002 [accepted by the Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF-2003), 2-5 February 2003, Albuquerque NM]. (6 pages, 594 kB)

UWFDM-1062   Could Advanced Fusion Fuels Be Used with Today's Technology?; J.F. Santarius, G.L. Kulcinski, L.A. El-Guebaly, H.Y. Khater, January 1998 [presented at Fusion Power Associates Annual Meeting, August 27-29, 1997, Aspen CO; Journal of Fusion Energy, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1998, p. 33]. (18 pages, 828 kB)

retrieve PDF D-3He Physics and Fusion Energy Prospects; J.F. Santarius and G.L. Kulcinski, May 2004 [presented at the Innovative Confinement Concepts Workshop, Madison, Wisconsin, 25-28 May 2004]. (1 page, 1.1 MB)

retrieve PDF D-3He Physics and Fusion Energy Prospects; J.F. Santarius and G.L. Kulcinski, May 2004 [presented at the Innovative Confinement Concepts Workshop, Madison, Wisconsin, 25-28 May 2004]. (19 pages, 1.6 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-8810-3   Dark-Mantle Material as a Source of Helium; E.N. Cameron, January 1988. (16 pages, 615 kB)

retrieve PDF Direct Conversion of High Energy Protons Using a Solid State PIN Junction Diode; David R. Boris, Zhenqiang Ma, Hao-Chih Yuan, Robert P. Ashley, John F. Santarius, Gerald L. Kulcinski, Clayton Dickerson, Todd Allen, November 2006 [presented at the 17th ANS Topical Meeting on Fusion Energy, 13-15 November 2006, Albuquerque NM]. (1 page, 848 kB)

retrieve PDF Early Lunar Impact Events: Terrestrial and Solar System Implication; H.H. Schmitt, October 1999 [Presented at the Geological Society of America 1999 Annual Meeting and Exposition, Denver CO, 23-28 October 1999]. (10 pages, 93 kB)

UWFDM-766   Energy Requirements for Helium-3 Mining Operations on the Moon; G.L. Kulcinski, I.N. Sviatoslavsky, J.F. Santarius, L.J. Wittenberg, E.N. Cameron, T.M. Crabb, M.K. Jacobs, October 1988 [presented at the Fifth Symposium on Space Nuclear Power Systems, 11-14 January 1988, Albuquerque NM]. (21 pages, 2.1 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-8810-7   Energy Requirements for Helium-3 Mining Operations on the Moon; G.L. Kulcinski, I.N. Sviatoslavsky, J.F. Santarius, L.J. Wittenberg, E.N. Cameron, T.M. Crabb, M.K. Jacobs, January 1988 [presented at the Fifth Symposium on Space Nuclear Power Systems, Albuquerque NM, 11-14 January 1988]. (21 pages, 7.0 MB)

retrieve PDF Energy, Politics and Space; H.H. Schmitt, September 2004 [presented at the 16th ANS Topical Meeting on Fusion Energy, 14-16 September 2004, Madison WI]. (16 pages, 165 kB)

retrieve PDF Enhancement of an IEC Device with a Helicon Ion Source for Helium-3 Fusion; G.E. Becerra, G.L. Kulcinski, J.F. Santarius, December 2011 [presented at the 13th US-Japan Workshop on Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion, 7-8 December 2011, Sydney, Australia]. (17 pages, 1.6 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-5   Environmental Aspects of Lunar Helium-3 Mining; G.L. Kulcinski, E.N. Cameron, W.D. Carrier III, H.H. Schmitt, January 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (13 pages, 208 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9312-1   Fifty Years Research in Helium-3 Fusion and Helium-3 Resources; J.C. Crabb, S.W. White, L.P. Wainwright, S.E. Kratz, G.L. Kulcinski, December 1993 (revised May 1994)  [also UWFDM-935].

UWFDM-935   Fifty Years of Research in Helium-3 Fusion and Helium-3 Resources; J.C. Crabb, S.W. White, L.P. Wainwright, S.E. Kratz, G.L. Kulcinski, December 1993 (revised May 1994). (134 pages, 1.7 MB)

UWFDM-826   Fusion Power from Lunar Resources; G.L. Kulcinski and H.H. Schmitt, October 1990 (revised September 1991)  [presented at the 41st Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, Dresden, Germany, 6-12 October 1990. To be published in Fusion Technology]. (25 pages, 625 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9107-2   Fusion Power from Lunar Resources; G.L. Kulcinski, H.H. Schmitt, October 1991 [Published in Fusion Technology, Special Issue on DHe3 Fusion, Vol. 21 (4) 2221-2229]. (11 pages, 1.6 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9006-1   Geology of Mare Tranquillitatis and Its Significance for the Mining of Helium; E.N. Cameron, June 1990. (65 pages, 1.9 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-8810-6   Helium Mining on the Moon: Site Selection and Evaluation; E.N. Cameron, October 1988 [presented at 2nd Lunar Base Conference, April 1988, Houston TX]. (40 pages, 1.3 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9207-1   Helium Resources of Mare Tranquillitatis; E.N. Cameron, July 1992. (70 pages, 2.4 MB)

UWFDM-742   Helium-3 Fueling Concepts for Magnetically Confined Fusion; L.J. Wittenberg, October 1987 [Presented at the 12th Symposium on Fusion Engineering, 12-16 October 1987, Monterey CA]. (6 pages, 707 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9304-1   Helium-3 Fusion Reactors - A Clean and Safe Source of Energy in the 21st Century; G.L. Kulcinski, April 1993 [presented at the 9th National Space Symposium, Colorado Springs CO, 13-16 April 1993]. (26 pages, 1.9 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9204-1   Helium-3 from the Moon - An Alternative Source of Energy; E.N. Cameron and G.L. Kulcinski, April 1992 [Published in Proceedings of the First International Conference on Environmental Issues and Waste Management in Energy and Minerals Production, Secaucus NJ, 27-29 August 1990, T.M. Yegulalp and Kunsoo Kim, editors, 1992, Battelle Memorial Institute]. (41 pages, 5.1 MB)

UWFDM-1103   Helium-3 on the Moon for Fusion Energy: the Persian Gulf of the 21st Century; L.A. Taylor and G.L. Kulcinski, May 1999 [published in Solar System Research, Vol. 33, No. 5, 1999, pp. 338-345]. [more]

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9304-2   Helium-3: The Space Connection; H.H. Schmitt and G.L. Kulcinski, April 1993 [presented at the 9th National Space Symposium, Colorado Springs CO, 13-16 April 1993]. (31 pages, 1.4 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9203-2   INTERLUNE Concept for Helium-3 Lunar Development; H.H. Schmitt, March 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (13 pages, 1.1 MB)

UWFDM-1001   Impact of Lunar Volatiles Produced During 3He Mining Activities; G.L. Kulcinski, I.N. Sviatoslavsky, L.J. Wittenberg, January 1996 [Presented at the 34th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, NV, 15-18 January 1996]. (12 pages, 290 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9311-3   In-Situ Extraction of Lunar Soil Volatiles; L.J. Wittenberg, November 1993 [Prepared for Space 94, The 4th International Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction and Operations in Space, and The Conference and Exposition/Demonstration on Robotics for Challenging Environments, February 26 - March 3, 1994, Albuquerque NM]. (12 pages, 251 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-1   In-situ Release of Solar Wind Gases from the Lunar Soil; L.J. Wittenberg, January 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (12 pages, 251 kB)

UWFDM-1110   Investigation of Lunar Pickup-Ion Dynamics; Matthew J. Malecki, October 1999. (9 pages, 125 kB)

Results: 1 to 40 of 81 order by: UWFDM Author Title↑ Date
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