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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
General Atomics announces breeding blanket test facility
General Atomics announced it is developing design concepts in collaboration with the Department of Energy for the Fusion Blanket Component Test Facility (BCTF), which will test full-scale breeding blankets.
“No one has tested a fusion blanket at this scale. While there are more research and development challenges ahead, a BCTF brings us closer to turning fusion from proven science into practical, sustainable power,” said Anantha Krishnan, senior vice president of the General Atomics Energy Group.
S. K. Combs, J. W. Leachman, S. J. Meitner, L. R. Baylor, C. R. Foust, N. Commaux, T. C. Jernigan
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 60 | Number 2 | August 2011 | Pages 473-479
Plasma Engineering - Fueling and Diagnostics | Proceedings of the Nineteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE) (Part 2) | doi.org/10.13182/FST60-473
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A special single-shot pellet injection system that produces and accelerates large cryogenic pellets (~16mm diameter and composed of D2 or Ne) to relatively high speeds (>300 and 600 m/s, respectively) was previously developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Subsequently, a similar system was installed on DIII-D and used successfully in disruption mitigation experiments. To circumvent some operational issues with injecting the large Ne pellets, a technique has been developed in which a relatively thin layer (0.1 to 1.0 mm) of D2 is frozen on the inner wall of the pipe-gun barrel, followed by filling the core with solid Ne.A fast solenoid valve operating with a light gas (H2 or He) at relatively high pressure (~70 bar) provides the force necessary to break away the dual-layer pellet and accelerate it. The technique and the initial laboratory tests are described, as well as the implementation and operational issues for fusion experiments.