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Securing the advanced reactor fleet
Physical protection accounts for a significant portion of a nuclear power plant’s operational costs. As the U.S. moves toward smaller and safer advanced reactors, similar protection strategies could prove cost prohibitive. For tomorrow’s small modular reactors and microreactors, security costs must remain appropriate to the size of the reactor for economical operation.
G. Waidmann
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 33 | Number 2 | March 1998 | Pages 90-96
Basic Theory and Fusion Devices | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11946998
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Different operational limits of tokamaks are reviewed. The finally limiting processes are hard or soft plasma disruptions or a strong x-ray source. The underlying events are explained as far as the physical causes are known. Treated are the density limit, the low-q-limit, the runaway limit, the β–-limit, and the vertical displacement limit. In addition, the spontaneous MHD-instability and a hollow temperature profile situation are presented. The graphical displays are experimental results from the TEXTOR tokamak.
VIII. SUMMARY
A number of practical limitations for tokamak operation was briefly discussed. These limits play an important role for the operation of future large tokamak devices. They must be avoided by all means to minimize the risk of technical defects on machine and electrical components. The physical mechanisms involved and the precursors to coming disruptions must be known and should be studied on existing experiments today. Strategies to bring the future machines into a safe state, whenever a known precursor to a tokamak disruption is detected, must be developed. Tokamak plasmas are susceptible to disruptive behaviour in the limiting parameter regimes.