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Antares achieves zero-power criticality at INL
Leveraging more than $140 million in private capital fundraising, over 322,000 square feet of operational manufacturing space, and multifaceted partnerships with the Departments of Energy and Defense, reactor start-up Antares has become the first company involved in the Reactor Pilot Program to achieve zero-power fueled criticality—a full month ahead of the July 4 deadline set by President Trump’s Executive Order 14301.
This milestone, announced yesterday, was achieved with the company’s Mark-0: a sodium heat-pipe-cooled, TRISO-fueled microreactor. The Mark-0 is a forerunner to the company’s flagship design, which it calls the R1. For Antares, this development represents a key validation of its reactor physics, control systems, and supply chain.
Y. Nakashima, M. Sakamoto, H. Takeda, K. Ichimura, Y. Hosoda, M. Iwamoto, K. Shimizu, K. Hosoi, K. Oki, M. Yoshikawa, M. Hirata, R. Ikezoe, T. Imai, T. Kariya, I. Katanuma, J. Kohagura, R. Minami, T. Numakura, X. Wang, M. Ichimura
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 68 | Number 1 | July 2015 | Pages 28-35
Technical Paper | Open Magnetic Systems 2014 | doi.org/10.13182/FST14-882
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper describes the recent results of divertor simulation research toward the realization of the detached plasma using the end-mirror of a large tandem mirror device. The additional ion cyclotron range of frequency heating in the anchor-cells for higher particle flux generation significantly increases the density, which attained the highest particle flux up to 1.76×1023 particles/s·m2 at the end-mirror exit. Massive gas injection (H2 and noble gases) into the divertor simulation experimental module (D-module) was performed, and a remarkable reduction of the electron temperature on the target plate was successfully achieved associated with the strong reduction of particle and heat fluxes in D-module. Two-dimensional images of Hα emission in D-module observed with a high-speed camera showed strong emission in the upstream region and significant reduction near the target plate. These results clarified the effect of radiation cooling and formation of detached plasma due to gas injection. It is also found that Xe gas is much more effective in achieving detached plasma than Ar gas. Numerical simulation studies also have been performed toward the understanding of the cooling mechanism of divertor plasma. The above results will contribute to establishment of detached plasma control and clarification of the radiation cooling mechanism toward the development of future divertor systems.