TSTA compound cryopump

Conference · Mon Aug 18 04:00:00 EDT 1980

OSTI ID:5176096

Batzer, T H; Patrick, R E; Call, W R

The Tritium System Test Assembly (TSTA), at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, is intended to demonstrate realistic fuel supply and cleanup scenarios for future fusion reactors. The vacuum pumps must be capable of handling large quantities of reactor exhaust gases consisting largely of mixtures of hydrogen and helium isotopes. Cryocondensing pumps will not pump helium at 4.2 K; while cryosorption pumps using molecular sieves or charcoal have good helium pumping speed, the adsorbent clogs with condensed hydrogen while pumping mixtures of both. A solution to this problem is a compound design whereby the first stage condenses the hydrogen and the second, or sorption, stage pumps the helium. The TSTA pump designed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory uses argon gas to cryotrap the helium in the helium-hydrogen mixture. The argon is sprayed directly onto the 4.2 K surface at a rate proportional to the helium flow rate, permitting continuous pumping of the helium-hydrogen mixtures in a single-stage pump. However, the possibility of differential desorption as a first stage in the TSTA gas separation cycle required the inclusion of a first-stage hydrogen isotope condenser. The design, performance, and operating characteristics are discussed.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore National Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5176096
• Report Number(s): UCRL-84456; CONF-801037-2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700206 -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Environmental Aspects
700209* -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Component Development & Materials Testing
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CLEANING
CRYOPUMPS
DESIGN
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
LIGHT NUCLEI
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE
PUMPS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR FUELING
RECOVERY
TEST FACILITIES
TRITIUM
TRITIUM RECOVERY
VACUUM PUMPS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES