Overview of the LIBRA Light Ion Beam Fusion Conceptual Design

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Abstract
The LIBRA light ion beam fusion commercial reactor study is a self-consistent conceptual design of a 330 MWe power plant with an accompanying economic analysis. Fusion targets are imploded by 4 MJ shaped pulses of 30 MeV Li ions at a rate of 3 Hz. The target gain is 80, leading to a yield of 320 MJ. The high intensity part of the ion pulse is delivered by 16 diodes through 16 separate z-pinch plasma channels formed in 100 torr of helium with trace amounts of lithium. The blanket is an array of porous flexible silicon carbide tubes with Li17Pb83 flowing downward through them. These tubes (INPORT units) shield the target chamber wall from both neutron damage and the shock overpressure of the target explosion. The target chamber is “self-pumped” by the target explosion generated overpressure into a surge tank partially filled with Li17Pb83 that surrounds the target chamber. This scheme refreshes the chamber at the desired 3 Hz frequency without excessive pumping demands. The blanket multiplication is 1.2 and the tritium breeding ratio is 1.4. The direct capital cost of LIBRA is estimated to be $2200/kWe.