BPX commitment to total remote maintenance

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5002748

Davis, F C; Burgess, T W

The Burning Plasma Experiment (BPX), to be located at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, is the next major experimental machine in the US Fusion Program. It will be fueled with deuterium-tritium (D-T) that, when burned, will generate high-energy neutrons. This will activate the various materials used in construction of the machine, which will result in high levels of gamma radiation. Any subsequent maintenance activities on the machine or in the test cell area must be performed remotely. The initial criteria for BPX assumed that failure of toroidal field (TF) coil or poloidal field (PF) coil was an unlikely event. Therefore, no provisions were made for remote replacement. Expected failures were limited to the plasma-facing components and the external auxiliary equipment such as heating systems and diagnostics. Recent coil failures experienced at the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), the Joint European Torus (JET), JT-60, and Tore Supra caused the BPX project staff to reconsider the need for remote replacement. A study was undertaken to investigate how the project would be affected if the capability to recover from a coil failure were required. Potential effects including configuration changes to the machine and facility, project cost, and project operation were considered. The study revealed that it is indeed feasible to design BPX for remote recovery from any coil failure. However, for this to be accomplished effectively, it is imperative to incorporate the necessary remote maintenance features of the components to be remotely replaced into the original design along with all of the other functional features. The remote maintenance capability cannot be retrofitted after the design is complete or the equipment is built. This paper discusses the impacts of the coil remote replacement study and the subsequent changes to the design. 4 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5002748
• Report Number(s): CONF-910968-37; ON: DE92002322
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700202* -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Magnet Coils & Fields
700209 -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Component Development & Materials Testing
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
COMPACT IGNITION TOKAMAK
CONTAINERS
CONTROL EQUIPMENT
CRYOSTATS
DESIGN
ELECTRIC COILS
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
MAGNET COILS
MAINTENANCE
MODIFICATIONS
PRESSURE VESSELS
REMOTE HANDLING
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
THERMOSTATS
TOKAMAK DEVICES
TOKAMAK TYPE REACTORS