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.

FTI Publications

Results: 41 to 80 of 81 order by: UWFDMAuthor Title Date
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WCSAR-TR-AR3-8808-1   Mobile Helium-3 Mining and Extraction System and Its Benefits Toward Lunar Base Self-Sufficiency; I.N. Sviatoslavsky and M. Jacobs, August 1988. (14 pages, 1.6 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-8809-2   Lunar Surface Mining for Automated Acquisition of Helium 3: Methods, Processes, and Equipment; Y.T. Li and L.J. Wittenberg, September 1988. (28 pages, 1.1 MB)

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

WCSAR-TR-AR3-8810-4   Synergism of He-3 Acquisition with Lunar Base Evolution; T.M. Crabb and M.K. Jacobs, October 1988 [presented at 2nd Lunar Base Conference, April 1988, Houston TX]. (34 pages, 1.2 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-8810-5   Resource Modeling for Design Optimization: Lunar Base Mobile Miner; T.M. Crabb and M.K. Jacobs, October 1988 [presented at 2nd Lunar Base Conference, April 1988, Houston TX]. (37 pages, 1.5 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-AR3-8810-7   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)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-8901-1   Legal Regimes for the Mining of Helium-3 from the Moon; R.B. Bilder, E.N. Cameron, G.L. Kulcinski, H.H. Schmitt, February 1989 (revised July 1989). (117 pages, 8.3 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-AR3-9012-1   Net Environmental Aspects of Helium-3 Mining - Phase I: Effect on the Moon; E.N. Cameron, W.D. Carrier III, G.L. Kulcinski, H.H. Schmitt, October 1989 (revised December 1990). (88 pages, 9.2 MB)

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)

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-AR3-9201-1   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)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-2   Lunar He-3 Mining: Improvements on the Design of the UW Mark II Lunar Miner; I.N. Sviatoslavsky, January 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (14 pages, 556 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-4   Isotopic Separation of 3He/4He from Solar Wind Gases Evolved from the Lunar Regolith; W.R. Wilkes and 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]. (10 pages, 903 kB) [more]

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-AR3-9203-1   Spiral Mining for Lunar Volatiles; H.H. Schmitt, G.L. Kulcinski, I.N. Sviatoslavsky, W.D. Carrier III, March 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (11 pages, 959 kB)

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)

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)

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

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-AR3-9304-2   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-AR3-9307-3   Second Wisconsin Symposium on Helium-3 and Fusion Power: Proceedings of a Symposium Held in Madison, Wisconsin, 19-21 July 1993; various authors, July 1993. (378 pages, 30 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9309-1   Study of an Unmanned Lunar Mission for Volatile Gas Recovery (Phase 1 - Final Report); N. Duffie, G. Kulcinski, I. Sviatoslavsky, B. Bartos, S. Rutledge, L. Wittenberg, T. Ylikorpi, E. Mogahed, September 1993. (185 pages, 6.0 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9311-1   Remote Sensing of Astrofuel; K.R. Harris, H.Y. Khater, G.L. Kulcinski, 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, 163 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9311-2   The Challenge of Mining He-3 on the Lunar Surface: How All the Parts Fit Together; I.N. Sviatoslavsky, 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, 413 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-AR3-9312-1   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].

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)

retrieve PDF Perspectives on Helium-3 Fusion: Year 2000; H.H. Schmitt, October 1999 [Presented at the Space Resources Utilization Roundtable, Colorado School of Mines, Golden CO, 27-29 October 1999]. (9 pages, 122 kB)

retrieve PDF Solar-Wind Hydrogen at the Lunar Poles; H.H. Schmitt, G.L. Kulcinski, J.F. Santarius, J. Ding, M.J. Malecki, M.J. Zalewski, March 2000 [Presented at SPACE 2000, The Seventh International Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Business in Space, Albuquerque NM, 27 February - 2 March 2000]. (15 pages, 169 kB)

retrieve PDF The Development of Lunar 3He Resources: Near-Term Applications and Long-Term Prospects; G.L. Kulcinski, R.P. Ashley, J.F. Santarius, G. Piefer, K.M. Subramanian, July 2000 [presented at the 4th International Conference on Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 10-15 July 2000]. (23 pages, 953 kB)

retrieve PDF Using Lunar Helium-3 to Generate Nuclear Power Without the Production of Nuclear Waste; G.L. Kulcinski, May 2001 [presented at the 20th International Space Development Conference, Albuquerque NM, May 24-28, 2001]. (20 pages, 1.2 MB)

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)

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)

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 Lunar 3He and Fusion Power; J.F. Santarius, September 2004 [presented at IEEE Rock River Valley Section, 28 September 2004, Rockford, IL]. (48 pages, 4.6 MB)

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 Optimization and Characterization of a Helicon Ion Source on an Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Device for Helium-3 Fusion; G.E. Becerra, G.L. Kulcinski and J.F. Santarius, November 2011 [presented at the APS-DPP Meeting, 14-18 November 2011, Salt Lake City UT]. (1 page, 971 kB)


Results: 41 to 80 of 81 order by: UWFDMAuthor Title Date
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