ORNL centrifuge pellet fueling system
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- CEA Centre d`Etudes Nucleaires de Cadarache, 13 - Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France)
A centrifuge pellet injecter designed and built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is in operation on Tore Supra. This injector has the capability of injecting up to 100 pellets at speeds up to 800 M/s. The solid deuterium pellets can be formed with a variable mass from 3 to 10 torr-L and are fired at a rate of up to 10 pellets per second. The experimental program that is under way combines repetitive pellet fueling with the ergodic divertor and pump limiters to establish and understand long-pulse plasmas in which the pellet fuel source is in balance with the particle exhaust. With lower hybrid current drive, pulse lengths of up to 2 min might be achieved. To prepare for these extended pulse lengths, the pellet source on the centrifuge will be extended to provide a 300- to 500-pellet capability. A similar system extended to steady-state pellet fabrication technology and designed for a radiation and tritium environment would be a candidate for a fueling system for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Analysis of pellet-fueled ITER discharges using the WHIST code shows the potential for controlling the radial fuel deposition point to achieve the desired core density while maintaining the edge density and temperatures so as to minimize the diverter plate erosion. A centrifuge fueling system would have the capability of taking the D-T exhaust directly from the cryopumping systems, recondensing and purifying the fuel, and injecting the reconstituted pellets into the plasma, thereby minimizing the tritium inventory.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 10185196
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-920930-10; ON: DE93001362
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 17. symposium on fusion technology (SOFT-17),Rome (Italy),14-18 Sep 1992; Other Information: PBD: [1992]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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