Inertial confinement fusion reactor cavity phenomena

Cavity phenomena in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) are created by the interaction of energy released by the fuel pellet microexplosion with the medium inside the reactor cavity. The ambient state of the medium in ICF reactor cavities is restricted primarily by its effects on laser beam propagation and on the fuel pellet trajectory. Therefore, a relatively wide choice of ambient conditions can be exploited to gain first-wall protection and advantages in energy extraction. Depending on the choice of ambient cavity conditions and on fuel pellet design, a variety of physical phenomena may develop and dominate the ICF reactor cavity design. Because of the cavity phenomena, the forms of energy released by the fuel-pellet microexplosion are modified before reaching the first wall, thus giving rise to different cavity design problems. The types of cavity phenomena encountered in the conceptual design of ICF reactors are examined, the approaches available for their modeling and analysis are discussed, and some results are presented. Most phenomena are sufficiently well understood to permit valid engineering assessments of the proposed ICF reactor concepts.