Study of solid molecular deuterium D2 growth under gas pressure
Abstract
The injection of high-speed cryogenic pellets made of frozen hydrogen-isotopes, represents to date the most effective method to fuel magnetically confined thermonuclear fusion plasmas. Additionally, the injection of very large pellets composed of cryogenic solid of some suitable impurity (typically a noble-gas such as H2, Ne, or H2/Ne, D2/Ne mixtures), shattered in relatively small fragments just before entering the plasma, seems to be the most promising method to reduce the damage risks for the plasma-facing components in case of a plasma disruption. This technology, known as "Shattered Pellet Injection" (SPI), allows to spread out the plasma energy and mitigate possible damage to the in-vessel components, as well as to densify the plasma to suppress the formation of runaway electrons, and/or dissipate their energy. Several techniques to produce and launch cryogenic pellets have been investigated in the past decades. "Pipe gun" injectors are reliable and relatively simple devices are still commonly used today. They make use of single- or two-stage pneumatic light-gas guns to accelerate the pellet at high speeds. In these injectors, the cryogenic pellets are formed “in situ” (i.e., inside the launching barrel), by de-sublimating them directly from the gas phase, i.e., at temperatures and pressures below those of the triple point. The simplest case is pure deuterium pellets ($$\mathcal{T}$$ < 18.7 K, $$\mathcal{P}$$ < 171.3 hPa). The production of good quality solid deuterium, capable of withstanding the mechanical stress during the acceleration of the pellets, is a key issue. To this end the phase transition of deuterium from gas to solid (and vice versa) is modeled with extensive molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations. Furthermore, the solid growth from the gas phase is simulated in an ample range of temperatures and pressures, to find the best compromise between growth velocity and mechanical properties of the resulting solid system.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2];
- Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) (Italy)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL); Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1881159
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Fusion Engineering and Design
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 182; Journal ID: ISSN 0920-3796
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; Molecular dynamics simulations; Deuterium; Pellet formation
Citation Formats
Giusepponi, S., Buonocore, F., Celino, M., Lupo Pasini, Massimiliano, Frattolillo, A., and Migliori, S. Study of solid molecular deuterium D2 growth under gas pressure. United States: N. p., 2022.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113252.
Giusepponi, S., Buonocore, F., Celino, M., Lupo Pasini, Massimiliano, Frattolillo, A., & Migliori, S. Study of solid molecular deuterium D2 growth under gas pressure. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113252
Giusepponi, S., Buonocore, F., Celino, M., Lupo Pasini, Massimiliano, Frattolillo, A., and Migliori, S. Thu .
"Study of solid molecular deuterium D2 growth under gas pressure". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113252. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1881159.
@article{osti_1881159,
title = {Study of solid molecular deuterium D2 growth under gas pressure},
author = {Giusepponi, S. and Buonocore, F. and Celino, M. and Lupo Pasini, Massimiliano and Frattolillo, A. and Migliori, S.},
abstractNote = {The injection of high-speed cryogenic pellets made of frozen hydrogen-isotopes, represents to date the most effective method to fuel magnetically confined thermonuclear fusion plasmas. Additionally, the injection of very large pellets composed of cryogenic solid of some suitable impurity (typically a noble-gas such as H2, Ne, or H2/Ne, D2/Ne mixtures), shattered in relatively small fragments just before entering the plasma, seems to be the most promising method to reduce the damage risks for the plasma-facing components in case of a plasma disruption. This technology, known as "Shattered Pellet Injection" (SPI), allows to spread out the plasma energy and mitigate possible damage to the in-vessel components, as well as to densify the plasma to suppress the formation of runaway electrons, and/or dissipate their energy. Several techniques to produce and launch cryogenic pellets have been investigated in the past decades. "Pipe gun" injectors are reliable and relatively simple devices are still commonly used today. They make use of single- or two-stage pneumatic light-gas guns to accelerate the pellet at high speeds. In these injectors, the cryogenic pellets are formed “in situ” (i.e., inside the launching barrel), by de-sublimating them directly from the gas phase, i.e., at temperatures and pressures below those of the triple point. The simplest case is pure deuterium pellets ($\mathcal{T}$ < 18.7 K, $\mathcal{P}$ < 171.3 hPa). The production of good quality solid deuterium, capable of withstanding the mechanical stress during the acceleration of the pellets, is a key issue. To this end the phase transition of deuterium from gas to solid (and vice versa) is modeled with extensive molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations. Furthermore, the solid growth from the gas phase is simulated in an ample range of temperatures and pressures, to find the best compromise between growth velocity and mechanical properties of the resulting solid system.},
doi = {10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113252},
journal = {Fusion Engineering and Design},
number = ,
volume = 182,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Aug 04 00:00:00 EDT 2022},
month = {Thu Aug 04 00:00:00 EDT 2022}
}
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