The United States Department of Energy, Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) Direct Energy Conversion (DEC) project has as its goal the development of a direct energy conversion process suitable for commercial development. We define direct energy conversion as any fission process that returns usable energy without an intermediate thermal process. Enough of the project has been completed, roughly two thirds, to indicate that a viable direct energy device is possible. This paper reports on the progress of the DEC project. Three concepts are under development: Fission Electric Cell using magnetic insulation, Magnetic Collimator using magnetic fields to direct fission fragments to collectors, and Gas Vapor Core Reactor using magnetohydrodynamics to generate electrical current. Included in this paper area a short project description, an abbreviated summary of the work completed to date, a description of ongoing and future project activities, and a discussion of the potential for future research and development.
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10th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering
April 14–18, 2002
Arlington, Virginia, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Nuclear Engineering Division
ISBN:
0-7918-3598-7
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
An Overview of the Direct Energy Conversion Power Production Program
G. Rochau,
G. Rochau
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
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J. Cash,
J. Cash
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
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D. King,
D. King
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
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C. Morrow,
C. Morrow
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
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D. Seidel,
D. Seidel
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
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S. Slutz,
S. Slutz
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
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S. Anghaie,
S. Anghaie
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
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B. M. Smith,
B. M. Smith
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
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P. Tsvetkov,
P. Tsvetkov
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
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R. Hart,
R. Hart
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
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T. Parish,
T. Parish
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
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R. Williams,
R. Williams
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
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K. Jordan
K. Jordan
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
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G. Rochau
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
J. Cash
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
D. King
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
C. Morrow
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
D. Seidel
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
S. Slutz
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
S. Anghaie
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
B. M. Smith
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
L. Brown
General Atomics, San Diego, CA
P. Tsvetkov
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
R. Hart
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
T. Parish
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
R. Williams
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
K. Jordan
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
Paper No:
ICONE10-22478, pp. 119-123; 5 pages
Published Online:
March 4, 2009
Citation
Rochau, G, Cash, J, King, D, Morrow, C, Seidel, D, Slutz, S, Anghaie, S, Smith, BM, Brown, L, Tsvetkov, P, Hart, R, Parish, T, Williams, R, & Jordan, K. "An Overview of the Direct Energy Conversion Power Production Program." Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering. 10th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, Volume 4. Arlington, Virginia, USA. April 14–18, 2002. pp. 119-123. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/ICONE10-22478
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