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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
I. Castillo, H. Boniface, S. Suppiah, B. Kennedy, A. Minichilli, T. Mitchell
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 67 | Number 2 | March 2015 | Pages 296-299
Proceedings of TRITIUM 2013 | doi.org/10.13182/FST14-T14
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Recently, AECL developed a novel method to reduce tritium emissions (to groundwater) and personnel doses at the NRU (National Research Universal) reactor irradiated fuel storage bay (also known as rod or spent fuel bay) through a water swap process. The light water in the fuel bay had built up tritium that had been transferred from the heavy water moderator through normal fuel transfers. A demonstration of the method was done that involved Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of the swap process and a test program that showed excellent agreement with model prediction for the effective removal of almost all the tritium with a minimal water volume. Building on the successful demonstration, AECL fabricated, installed, commissioned and operated a full-scale system to perform a water swap. This paper describes the results of the successful full-scale water swap operation, which achieved a tritium removal efficiency of ∼96%