EFFECT OF D-D REACTIONS ON THE VOLUME IGNITION OF LASER-DRIVEN D-3HE FUSION PELLETS

As the volume ignition of deuterium-helium-3 (D-He-3) and deuterium-de uterium (D-D) fuels has been numerically modeled, the nuclear fusion r eaction D + He-3(2) --> p + He-4(2), including the secondary D(d, n) H e and D(d, p) reactions, is now investigated, and its energy efficienc y and ignition conditions are examined. For the first time, it is show n that although the n/D-He-3 ratio depends on volume and density, this ratio is small and nearly the same for different pellet volumes and p ellet concentrations for conditions where pellet ignition occurs. Also , the inclusion of the D-D reactions increases the fusion gain and sig nificantly changes the ignition conditions.