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Charter for the
Driver Physics and Technology Working Group


Working Group Chairman:

Wayne Meier (LLNL)


Conveners:

D1 - Lasers

Steve Payne (LLNL) and Steve Obenschain (NRL)


D2 - Accelerators

Steve Lund (HIF VNL) and Grant Logan (HIF VNL)


D3 - Z-Pinch

Craig Olson (SNL) and TBD


D4 - Fast Ignition Drivers

Mike Campbell (General Atomics) and Chris Barty (LLNL)

Introduction

Snowmass will provide the IFE community with an opportunity to present plans for prospective Integrated Research Experiments (IREs), assess present status of the technical base for each, and establish the timetable and technical progress necessary to proceed for each. The IRE serves different purposes for the various potential IFE drivers. Its purpose includes demonstrating some technologies, scaling others to significantly greater size, and testing some aspects of physics for the first time. The drivers include:

The Driver WG participants play a key role in defining the IREs and R&D needs since 1) the integrated systems (i.e., combinations of driver, target, and chamber) are typically categorized by driver concept, and 2) the drivers are expected to be the most costly part of the IREs. The IREs must be understood in the context of an R&D path leading to fusion energy; this path is generally seen as proceeding from current R&D activities to the IRE to the Engineering Test Facility (ETF) and then to a demonstration power plant (Demo). The Driver WG will be responsible for preparing and presenting

1) Requirements and goals for full-scale IFE drivers

2) Status report for each driver

3) R&D plans with emphasis on the IRE and IRE-to-ETF phases.

Content of Presentations

Each of the drivers involves different technology and different physics of energy deposition into the capsule. Since a common framework is desired, the following outline is recommended for all of the driver presentations:

1)IFE Driver Goals/Requirements

List and justify the goals and/or requirements for a full-size IFE driver based on current knowledge for the desired target(s) to be used. Although some full-scale driver requirements are not precisely defined at this time, it is possible to specify ranges of parameters, including the energy, pulse-shaping, and irradiation uniformity and balance. Efficient and economical operation of an IFE power plant add other requirements including shot-to-shot stability, reliability of components, and acceptable cost for building the system. Based on the likely target gain, the driver must have sufficient efficiency to prevent the recirculated electrical power from becoming excessive. Include the following:

1. Energy and pulse shape

2. Brightness (laser/HI). Can the driver meet the brightness requirement of the corresponding target?

3. Repetition rate, reliability and durability

4. Efficiency

5. Symmetry (irradiation smoothness, power balance, etc.)

6. Cost


2) Driver Status Report

Report the state-of-the-art of the driver technology and how it relates to the goal and requirements. Include description of demonstrated technology, extrapolations into the future, and uncertain areas that need to be explored to make decisions.

1. Describe driver concept

2. What is the current status (technology that has been demonstrated)?

3. What are the key remaining issues for this driver option?

4. What driver technology demonstrations are needed? What will be deferred to full driver?

5. What is the confidence level in the key technologies and how has it been judged?

6. To what extent has modeling been able to reproduce experimental results?

7. What is the status of driver with respect to goals?


3) IRE Driver Description

Describe the IRE driver including the following considerations:

1. What are the goals of the IRE for each driver?

2. Describe the design of the IRE driver (energy, rep-rate, etc.)

a. What is the technical basis for the IRE driver components and for the system design?

b. How have the design tools for the IRE driver been benchmarked?

c. What are the expected threats to IRE final focus elements (optics, magnets, MTLs)? Can they be protected and/or easily replaced if needed?

d. What is the anticipated cost and schedule for the IRE?

3. What are the milestones and go/no-go decision points to proceed with the IRE?

a. What experiments are planned for the near-term (next ~2 years) to increase confidence that the IRE will succeed?

4) Integration Experiments

Describe how the IRE driver will be integrated with the chamber and targets and which "integration" experiments will be performed. Possible examples include:

1. Target injection (or placement for Z-pinch)

2. Rep-rated demonstration of energy delivery to a "target"

3. First-wall and final focus system survivability

4. Target physics

5. Beam (energy) transport


5) IRE to ETF

Describe vision for the ETF driver and its relationship to the IRE. Address the following:

1. Which issues will not be resolved by the IRE and therefore will be deferred until the ETF?

2. What is the relation between fusion driver research and other activities in the scientific, defense and commercial sectors that could impact success?

3. Are there any areas in which "breakthroughs" might occur, that may change the pathway to the ETF?

4. What are the plans, milestones and go/no-go decisions to proceed to an ETF?

1/2/02
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