Reviewing the IEC fusion work mentioned in the George Miley Presentation

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There was a 98 page technical presentation from 2009 by George Miley on IEC nuclear fusion. I have embedded it below. It is related to a larger nuclear fusion space propulsion program. I will pull out the specific research progress that was reviewed by George Miley. A lot of it is work done at the University of Illinois where George leads a nuclear fusion research lab.

Other IEC Fusion configurations and approaches
Dipole assisted
Cylindrical
Electron injected
MSCA = linked IECs (discussed later for high power units)

A 7 page paper- Magnetically-Channeled SIEC Array (MCSA) Fusion Device for Interplanetary Missions



Dipole Assisted Fusion

Cylindrical IEC Fusion
Less convergence than spherical – reduced fusion rate, but large volume along axis gives large total yield.

Very useful for certain practical applications, for example:
Broad area scans for HS inspections
Insertion into cylindrical fuel element slot in fission systems for drive sub-crical operation

Current Worldwide efforts on IEC fusion:

U of IL – G. Miley, et al.
U of Wisc – J. Kulciniski, et al.
MIT – R. Sedwich, et al.
U Mo – M. Prelas, et al.
LANL and EMC2 – R. Nebel, et al.
Japan – Kyoto – M Ohnishi, et al.
Australia – U Sydney – Joe Kenney, et al.
UNSW – H. Hora, et al.

The Star mode neutron generator was commercialized by Daimler-Benz. It generates ten million neutrons per second.

IEC fusion for space

Components have been studied experimentally. Ion Injection. Collimation and direct convertor.

Near Term -The IEC Has Been Investigated as a Propulsion Unit Operating in “Jet Mode. Estimated Performance: T = 34 mN, Isp = 3000 s, Accelerating Potential: 600 V Input Power ~750-800 W, Pjet = 500 W, ht ~ 62-68%


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