Measurement of limiter heating due to fusion product losses during high fusion power deuterium-tritium operation of TFTR
Preliminary analysis has been completed on measurements of limiter heating during high fusion power deuterium-tritium (D-T) operation of TFTR, in an attempt to identify heating from alpha particle losses. Recent operation of TFTR with a 50-50 mix of D-T has resulted in fusion power output ({approx} 6.2 MW) orders of magnitude above what was previously achieved on TFTR. A significantly larger absolute number of particles and energy from fusion products compared to D-D operation is expected to be lost to the limiters. Measurements were made in the vicinity of the midplane ({plus_minus} 30{degree}) with thermocouples mounted on the tiles of an outboard limiter. Comparisons were made -between discharges which were similar except for the mix of deuterium and tritium beam sources. Power and energy estimates of predicted alpha losses were as high as 0.13 MW and 64 kJ. Depending on what portion of the limiters absorbed this energy, temperature rises of up to 42 {degrees}C could be expected, corresponding to a heat load of 0.69 MJ/m{sup 2} over a 0.5 sec period, or a power load of 1.4 MW/m{sup 2}. There was a measurable increase in the limiter tile temperature as the fusion power yield increased with a more reactive mixture of D and T at constant beam power during high power D-T operation. Analysis of the data is being conducted to see if the alpha heating component can be extracted. Measured temperature increases were no greater than 1 {degree}C, indicating that there was probably neither an unexpectedly large fraction of lost particles nor unexpected localization of the losses. Limits on the stochastic ripple loss contribution from alphas can be deduced.
- Research Organization:
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH03073
- OSTI ID:
- 35266
- Report Number(s):
- PPPL-3056; CONF-940552-41; ON: DE95008717; TRN: 95:009630
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 10. topical conference on high-temperature plasma diagnostics, Rochester, NY (United States), 8-12 May 1994; Other Information: PBD: Mar 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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