• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    Nuclear fusion reactor by avalanche of magnetically confined reactions. Reactor constituted by a closed circuit through which a high density gas flows, composed of atoms whose nuclei can react producing fusion reactions. A part of the circuit has magnetic bottle properties, with two bottlenecks, one at each end, the magnetic configuration being created by two toroidal electric windings, one at each end; thanks to which the atomic nuclei produced in the reaction are sufficiently confined, which yield their energy to the gas, which is heated and transfers the heat to a working fluid. The fusion reactions begin by the discharge of a beam of laser light of very high power, above the petavatio, which causes a quasi relativistic shock wave, as a result of which an avalanche of protons, or other particles, appears as the material. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)
    公开号:ES2727006A1
    申请号:ES201930528
    申请日:2019-06-11
    公开日:2019-10-11
    发明作者:Penalosa José María Martinez-Val；Eliezer Shalom
    申请人:Universidad Politecnica de Madrid；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    [0001] NUCLEAR FUSION REACTOR FOR EVALUATION OF CONFINED REACTIONS
    [0002]
    [0003]
    [0004] SECTOR OF THE TECHNIQUE
    [0005]
    [0006] The present invention belongs to the energy generation sector and is intended for devices designed to produce nuclear fusion reactions, and in particular those that can produce more energy, from said reactions, than the energy consumed to operate the apparatus .
    [0007]
    [0008] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
    [0009]
    [0010] The state of the art is defined by investigations of nuclear fusion, both magnetic confinement and inertial confinement.
    [0011]
    [0012] In both cases, these are thermonuclear reactions, that is, those in which the reagents that cause the fusion are in thermal equilibrium with the underlying plasma. That forces the temperature to be very high, of a ten kilo-electron-volt, which is an energy unit that has the following equivalence in temperature, in round numbers: 1 electron-volt (1eV) equals 11,000 K (Kelvin ).
    [0013]
    [0014] In the present invention, nuclear reactions are produced by nuclei with high kinetic energy, greater than the kilo-electron-volt, well above the characteristic energy of the surrounding environment where the reactions occur, which will be much lower than the electron. volt. This is called suprathermic reactions. This makes the background of the invention not properly such, because they obey another basic concept. However, the electric windings for configuring magnetic fields and lasers that are used in the various research lines in inertial confinement are already known; but the invention does not lie in those physical devices, but in the use given to them, to achieve the desired objective, which is to extract net energy from the atomic nucleus, by means of fusion reactions.
    [0015] TECHNICAL PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED
    [0016] The present invention is designed to solve the aforementioned problem of making a nuclear fusion reactor cost-effective, energy-efficient.
    [0017]
    [0018] The essential problem is that the atomic nuclei have to come into contact to merge, because the nuclear forces are of contact, while the coulombian repulsion is infinite in scope, but the stronger the closer they get to each other, the charges of the same sign .
    [0019]
    [0020] This is summarized in that it is necessary to provide a lot of energy to potentially reactive nuclei, tens or hundreds of kilo-electron-volts per nucleus, to overcome the coulombian repulsion and can merge.
    [0021]
    [0022] In the fusion a significant amount of energy is released, of the order of thousands of kiloelectron-volt per reaction, in the form of kinetic energy of the products, to which this energy has to be extracted, to feed with it an apparatus that produces the usable energy for the human being. The most common method is to create a heat source that feeds a thermodynamic cycle, in which the turbine will drive an electric generator. In principle, electricity is the energy form used to make fusion devices work, and the basic problem to solve is to build a system from which more electrical energy is obtained than is necessary to make it work, in which it is necessary to count, in general, with two sinks or energy costs: heat the plasma, and confine it.
    [0023]
    [0024] In the invention this double problem is solved because most of the gas that fills the circuit is not heated externally, but is cold and heated, without reaching plasma, by the energy deposited by the products of the fusion reactions.
    [0025]
    [0026] And the confinement only has to act on a limited amount of particles (precisely those produced in fusions) so that the energy expenditure is very moderate compared to the known designs of thermonuclear fusion reactors.
    [0027]
    [0028] A fundamental question remains to be resolved in the invention, and it is the method for inducing fusion reactions, since the reaction rate will be irrelevant thermonuclearly. But for that there is a physical phenomenology whose experimental reality and its Theoretical explanations have appeared in recent years, and it is the generation of a beam of supra-thermal particles, usually of protons, if the initial central target is hydrogen. The beam is generated as a result of the near relativistic shock wave, which forms on the target, when a very high intensity laser beam (watts per mm2 of straight section) and very high power (watts).
    [0029]
    [0030] In the article by H. Hora, S. Eliezer, J.M. Martínez-Val et al., “Road map to clean energy using laser beam ignition of proton-boron fusion” published in 2017 in the magazine “Laser and Particle Beams”, in its volume 35, pages 730 to 740, physical peculiarities of this suprathermic mechanism, and a series of steps are proposed to bring it to reality. One step that was missing, and was essential in that prospect, is that of a complete conceptual design on these ideas, adding the complementary devices that are needed, which is presented in this invention.
    [0031]
    [0032] EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION
    [0033]
    [0034] The invention relates to a nuclear fusion reactor by avalanche of magnetically confined reactions, characterized in that it is provided with:
    [0035]
    [0036] - a closed circuit, comprising an upper horizontal branch, a lower horizontal branch, an ascending vertical leg and a descending vertical leg, in which the upper horizontal branch has a lower temperature than the lower horizontal branch and the ascending vertical leg has a temperature greater than the vertical descending leg circulating through said circuit a high density gas, above 1 kg per cubic meter, said gas being composed of atoms whose nuclei are capable of fusing with other nuclei, such as hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium, among themselves, or are the hydrogen nuclei themselves, which are protons, with boron nuclei 11, said circuit further comprising:
    [0037]
    [0038] or a portion consisting of a magnetic bottle, with two mouths or bottlenecks, one at each end of said portion, located in the lower branch;
    [0039]
    [0040] or a portion consisting of the primary circuit of a heat exchanger, located in the upper branch and configured to transfer the thermal energy of the high density gas, to an external fluid;
    [0041] or a portion consisting of a branch of the circuit, configured to create a branch parallel to the cold leg of the circuit, in which the withdrawal of accumulated fusion products occurs, and the replacement of spent high density gas;
    [0042] each of the necks of the magnetic bottle including a magnetic mirror, provided with an electric winding located in the lower branch of the circuit; and including, the lower branch of the circuit, at least one high intensity and high power laser light pulse generating device, above the petawatt focused on less than 1 square millimeter, provided with a collimation line with a transverse orientation to the longitudinal axis of the circuit, said laser light pulse generation device being configured to discharge the laser light pulses through an ultrafast opening and closing window, with opening times less than nanosecond, such that the light pulses lasers penetrate inside the circuit through a cylindrical channel for generating shock waves, reaching the central region of the magnetic bottle,
    [0043]
    [0044] When the nuclear fusion reactor according to the present invention is in operation, the gas moves by natural convection, in the sense of ascending through the hot leg, and going down the cold leg; for which the hot focus, which is inside the magnetic bottle, occupies the lowest position, while the cold focus of the circuit, which is the heat exchanger that transfers the thermal energy of the gas, to another fluid, outside, occupies the upper branch; and for commissioning, there is a branch branch parallel to the cold leg, which has a driving machine, activated by electric power.
    [0045]
    [0046] In an embodiment of the invention each laser light pulse generating device is provided with a point gas injection system for the generation of shock waves, which provides the necessary amount of fluid, to the channel where the laser pulse affects, said fluid being composed of material capable of generating ionized projectiles, such as protons from hydrogen.
    [0047] EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES
    [0048]
    [0049] Figure 1 represents a schematic elevation view of the circuit of the invention, indicating its essential elements or part.
    [0050]
    [0051] In order to facilitate the understanding of this figure, and the embodiments of the invention, the most relevant elements thereof are listed below:
    [0052]
    [0053] 1. Reactor circuit
    [0054]
    [0055] 2. Circuit wall.
    [0056]
    [0057] 3. Magnetic bottle.
    [0058]
    [0059] 4. Electric windings that generate the configuration of the magnetic bottle.
    [0060]
    [0061] 5. Very high power laser light generator.
    [0062]
    [0063] 6. Pulse laser light.
    [0064]
    [0065] 7. Ultrafast opening and closing window, to allow pulse passage,
    [0066]
    [0067] 8. Shockwave generation channel.
    [0068]
    [0069] 9. Central region of the magnetic bottle, in the lower branch.
    [0070]
    [0071] 10. Hot leg, where the gas rises.
    [0072]
    [0073] 11. Primary circuit of the exchanger, in the upper branch, where the gas flows.
    [0074]
    [0075] 12. Secondary circuit of the exchanger, through which the external fluid flows, which captures the heat generated by the reactor.
    [0076]
    [0077] 13. Cold leg, where the gas goes down.
    [0078]
    [0079] 14. Opening valve and regulation of the branch of cold flow bypass.
    [0080]
    [0081] 15. Branch of cold flow bypass.
    [0082]
    [0083] 16. Cold trap for helium extraction.
    [0084]
    [0085] 17. Helium ejection.
    [0086]
    [0087] 18. Supply of reagents (gas components).
    [0088]
    [0089] 19. Gas booster machine (with its opening, non-return and regulation valves).
    [0090] 20. Punctual gas injection for the generation of the shock wave.
    [0091]
    [0092] 21. Valve for dispensing gas by injection (20)
    [0093]
    [0094] 22. Magnetic bottlenecks
    [0095] 23. External fluid, heat extraction
    [0096]
    [0097] PREFERRED MODE OF EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
    [0098]
    [0099] In order to materialize the invention it is necessary to have the necessary materials, as well as the devices indicated in the invention, particularly the laser devices and the windings of generation of the magnetic field. Both exist already in some of the most advanced laboratories in their specialty; those of magnetic confinement for windings, since there are several who use or have used windings of the internationally called "tandem mirrors", which would be those applied here. On the other hand, there are several laboratories dedicated to the study of laser-matter interaction, which have lasers of the intensity and power required.
    [0100]
    [0101] As for the materials, there are two essentials:
    [0102]
    [0103] - The one that forms the wall of the circuit, which must be of good mechanical properties (since it has to withstand high pressures, a dozen megapascals, MPa, or even more) as well as good ferromagnetic properties, to avoid the diffusion of the lines of the magnetic field beyond the internal circuit enclosure, which houses the windings inside; - The gas that fills the circuit, whose composition must be adjusted to the fusion reaction to be exploited. The reaction with the best characteristics is proton and boron-11, which results in 3 alpha particles, and 8.7 MeV (megaelectron-volt) of energy released, per reaction. Being aneutronic, it does not produce radioactive waste, and is completely clean. In this case the ideal gas is diborane, chemical formula B2H6, which brings together the two reaction reagents, in which the nuclei of H (protons) make projectiles, as they accelerate more easily, which is what happens in the semirelativist shock waves.
    [0104]
    [0105] It is important to explain that the set of particles present in the reagents and products have a concatenated series of physical phenomena that generate a chain reaction, in which, starting from a proton avalanche with individual kinetic energy greater than 600 keV, produces a high number of mergers, with the consequent energy release, which ends up being stored in the filling gas, which ends up acquiring a temperature of the order of 1,000 K, that is, 0.1 eV.
    [0106]
    [0107] Interestingly, its constituent atomic nuclei, are perfect targets for projectiles, which in the furthest part of the shock wave, are produced by collisions induced by alpha particles generated in nuclear fusion.
    [0108]
    [0109] Additionally, it is necessary to have the alpha particles (helium nuclei) that appear as reaction products, and that will have an average kinetic energy of 2.9 MeV. When one of these alphas collides with a resting hydrogen nucleus, the alpha energy is moderated to 1.05 MeV (on average) and the resting proton is fired with 1.85 MeV,
    [0110]
    [0111] These particles continue to interact, and in particular the 1.05 MeV alpha can collide with another proton at rest, and the alpha with about 375 keV and the proton with about 670 keV emerge from the reaction. This proton is especially useful, for its energy, to induce a fusion, when it hits a boron core 11 at rest. In this way that we could call resonant between phenomena, the number of fusions can be multiplied by a very high value, since the first batch created as a consequence of the shock wave.
    [0112]
    [0113] And integrating all the phenomena, the final destination is to heat the filling gas (diborane, in this case) which in turn will be the heat transferred in the exchanger of the upper branch.
    [0114]
    [0115] The initiating mechanism of the whole process is the interaction of the laser with the matter, in the conditions to create a strong shock wave, which is basically summarized in having an intensity greater than 1021 watts per square centimeter. Today there are 1022 W / cm2 lasers, which further enhance the multiplicative effect of the avalanche. The rest of the parameters of the laser pulse that are required to launch a semirelativist shock wave are:
    [0116]
    [0117] Average pulse power = 1015 watts
    [0118]
    [0119] Pulse duration = 10-13 seconds
    [0120] Energy per pulse = 100 joules
    [0121]
    [0122] Frequency of the laser pulse = greater than 1 Hz (adequate figures would be between 10 and 100 Hz, but it also depends on how many devices are placed around the magnetic bottle. For example, if there are 5, and each operates 20 pulses per second, it they would produce 100 shock waves in a second, which would have a total power close to 10 kW.
    [0123]
    [0124] As for the total energy generated, keep in mind that in such a fusion, about 650 keV is consumed to induce the reaction, and 8.7 MeV is obtained, which is an amplification factor of 13, but it is not the Only thing to tell. More important is the amplification of the number of projectile particles, per generated proton. This links with what has been described above on the chain of collision reactions, in which the multiplicative effect is that 3 alpha particles appear for each fusion, and each of them has an appreciable probability of hitting a proton, transferring about 650 keV , which can induce a new fusion, which in turn originates 3 alpha particles, of 2.9 MeV of kinetic energy each.
    [0125]
    [0126] The point to optimize in a particular design is the probability that a proton induces a fusion, before the background material (the gas) causes the proton to moderate, and does not collide with boron-11 inducing a reaction. These are aspects that must be specified in detail in the prototypes and complete machines that follow these prescriptions.
    权利要求:
    Claims (3)
    [1]
    1.- Nuclear fusion reactor by avalanche of magnetically confined reactions, characterized in that it consists of:
    - a closed circuit (1), comprising an upper horizontal branch, a lower horizontal branch, a vertical ascending leg (10) and a vertical descending leg (13), in which the upper horizontal branch has a lower temperature than the branch horizontal lower and the vertical rising leg has a temperature higher than the vertical descending leg circulating through said circuit a high density gas, above 1 kg per cubic meter, said gas being composed of atoms whose nuclei are capable of fusing with other nuclei , such as the isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, among themselves, or are the hydrogen nuclei themselves, which are protons, with boron nuclei 11, said circuit further comprising:
    or a portion consisting of a magnetic bottle (3), with two mouths or bottlenecks (22), one at each end of said portion, located in the lower branch;
    or a portion consisting of the primary circuit of a heat exchanger (11), located in the upper branch and configured to transfer the thermal energy of the high density gas, to an external fluid (23);
    or a portion consisting of a branch of the circuit, configured to create a branch (15) parallel to the cold leg of the circuit, in which the withdrawal of accumulated fusion products occurs, and the replacement of spent high density gas,
    - each of the necks of the magnetic bottle including a magnetic mirror, provided with an electric winding (4) located in the lower branch of the circuit;
    - and including, the lower branch of the circuit, at least one device (5) for generating high intensity and high power laser light pulses (6), above the petawatt focused on less than 1 square millimeter, provided with a line of collimation with a transverse orientation to the longitudinal axis of the circuit, said laser light pulse generating device configured to discharge the pulses of laser light through an ultrafast opening and closing window (7), with opening times less than nanosecond, so that the pulses of laser light penetrate inside the circuit through a cylindrical channel for generating shock waves (8), reaching the central region of the magnetic bottle (9),
    [2]
    2. Reactor according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic bottle (3) occupies the lowest position and is configured as a hot focus of the circuit, while the heat exchanger (11) occupies the highest position and is configured as a cold focus of the circuit; and in which the branch branch (15) parallel to the cold leg, is provided with a driving machine (19), activated by electric power.
    [3]
    3. Reactor according to claim 1, wherein each laser light pulse generation device (5) is provided with a point gas injection system (20) for the generation of shock waves, configured to provide a gas containing hydrogen nuclei to the channel (8) for generating shock waves. .
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    同族专利:
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    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    US4172008A|1977-08-23|1979-10-23|Dubble Whammy, Inc.|Nuclear fusion reactor|
    US20170125129A1|2014-03-23|2017-05-04|Heinrich Hora|Method for Generating Electrical Energy by Laser-Based Nuclear Fusion and Laser Reactor|
    US20170062078A1|2015-08-24|2017-03-02|Michael Minovitch|Linear converging/diverging fusion reactor and operating method for achieving clean fusion reactions|
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