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Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
P. H. Rebut, B. E. Keen
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 11 | Number 1 | January 1987 | Pages 13-42
Overview | JET Project | doi.org/10.13182/FST87-A24999
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The background to the decision to build the Joint European Torus (JET) is described, and a brief introduction to the main aims, overall design philosophy, and the planned parameter range of the large tokamak device (major radius R = 2.96 m; horizontal and vertical minor radii a = 1.25 m and b = 2.10 m, respectively; plasma current Ip = 4.8 MA) is provided. JET is situated on the Culham Laboratory site, United Kingdom, and its main objective is to obtain and study plasmas in conditions and with dimensions approaching those needed in a fusion reactor. The main emphasis in the initial operation has been in the ohmic heating phase, in which results have covered a wide range of parameters: plasma currents Ip < 5 MA; toroidal magnetic fields BT = 1.3 to 3.4 T; elongation ratios b/a = 1.2 to 1.7; and safety factor values q = 2.2 to 12. Average electron densities ne = (1 to 4) × 1019 m-3, with high central electron temperatures (Te up to 5 keV) and ion temperatures (Ti up to 4 keV) have been achieved, although Zeff was in the range of 2.5 to 10. Energy confinement times (τE) of up to 0.8 s have been obtained. Some problems with metallic and low-Z impurities are noted, causing high radiation levels. Initial experiments, with ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) heating of hydrogen and 3He minorities in deuterium plasmas at megawatt levels, are reported. A discussion of certain limitations observed generally in tokamaks and how these might affect future developments of the JET program is presented. Planned future experiments on impurity control, additional heating (ICRF ≈ 15 MW, and neutral injection ≈ 10 MW), and preparations for tritium operation are also described.
