Influence of DT fuel composition on the energy output and its implications on reactor safety and environmental acceptability

In this paper we present one-dimensional numerical simulations of compression and thermonuclear burn of an indirect drive inertial fusion target that contains 0.5 mg DT fuel and is suitable for use in an ignition-type facility where one is interested in a low energy gain of the order of 1–30. The sensitivity of the energy output to the fuel composition has also been studied by using different combinations of the fractions of deuterium and tritium atoms. It has been found that the energy output is relatively insensitive to a reduction in the tritium content of the target by up to 40%. This means that one may be able to use low tritium targets in inertial fusion reactors which will lead to an overall reduction in tritium inventory that in turn can have important implications for the reactor safety.