Location and repair of air leaks in the ATF (Advanced Toroidal Facility) vacuum vessel

Conference · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5587935

Schwenterly, S W; Gabbard, W A; Schaich, C R; Yarber, J L ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)

On the basis of partial pressure rate-of-rise and base pressure measurements, it was determined that the Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF) vacuum vessel had an air leak in the low 10{sup -4} mbar-{ell}/s range. Pinpointing this leak by conventional helium leak-checking procedures was not possible, because large portions of the outside of the vessel are covered by the helcial field coils and a structural shell. Various alternative leak-detection schemes that were considered are summarized and their advantages and disadvantages noted. In the method ultimately employed, gun-rubber patches of various sizes ranging from 12.7 by 12.7 cm to 20.3 by 30.5 cm were positioned on the inside surfaces of the vessel and evacuated by the leak detector (LD). After roughly 5% of the surface was inspected in this way, a leak of > 10{sup -5} mbar-{ell}/s was discovered and localized to an area of 5 by 5 cm. Dye penetrant applied to this area disclosed three pinholes. Two small slag pockets were discovered while these points were being ground out. After these were rewelded, no furthered leakage could be found in the repaired area. Global leak rates measured after the machine was reevacuated indicated that this leak was about 30% of the overall leak rate. 1 ref., 5 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5587935
• Report Number(s): CONF-891007-77; ON: DE90002488; TRN: 89-029900
• Resource Relation: Conference: 13. international symposium on fusion engineering, Knoxville, TN (USA), 2-6 Oct 1989
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
PRESSURE VESSELS
LEAK TESTING
AIR
ATF TORSATRON
LEAK DETECTORS
LEAKS
REPAIR
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
CONTAINERS
FLUIDS
GASES
STELLARATORS
TESTING
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
TORSATRON STELLARATOR
700209* - Fusion Power Plant Technology- Component Development & Materials Testing