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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
N. S. Klimov, V. L. Podkovyrov, A. M. Zhitlukhin, A. D. Muzichenko, D. V. Kovalenko, A. B. Putrik, I. B. Kupriyanov, R. N. Giniyatulin, A. A. Gervash, V. M. Safronov
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 66 | Number 1 | July-August 2014 | Pages 118-124
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-759
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The beryllium (Be) plasma-facing components (PFCs) of the ITER first wall (FW) were tested in the plasma gun QSPA-Be under pulsed plasma heat loads of 0.5-ms duration relevant to those expected in ITER during transient plasma events (edge-localized modes and disruptions). The experiments were performed for different Be grades (Russian TGP-56FW and US S65-C). The measured Be melting threshold decreases from 0.5 MJm−2 down to 0.4 MJm−2 with Be initial temperature increasing in the range of 250–500 °C. Under plasma heat loads on the exposed surface below the melting point the Be PFC erosion was mainly due to melting of the plasma-facing and lateral edges of the Be tiles. Under plasma heat loads above the melting point the Be PFC erosion was mainly due to intense melt layer movement and splashing. The Be melt layer behavior at 0.5 and 1.0 MJm−2 is similar to early investigated W melt layer behavior at higher heat loads of 1.0 and 1.5 MJm−2 correspondingly. Unlike W the Be erosion rate significantly increases with initial temperature in the range of 250–500 °C. These experimental observations are supported by calculation of temperature dynamics and melt layer thickness dynamics.