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Fusion Science and Technology
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WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
P. T. Lang, B. Ploeckl, M. Bernert, A. Bock, R. Dux, A. Kallenbach, V. Rohde, M. Siccinio, W. Suttrop, A. Zito, and the ASDEX Upgrade Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 1 | January 2021 | Pages 42-50
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2020.1842713
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Xenon is a potential candidate as a pedestal and edge radiator in DEMO, but it is considered troublesome in cases where larger amounts have to be handled in the fuel cycle. Hence, direct and efficient codeposition inside the confined plasma with the fuel injected by means of solid cryogenic pellets is regarded as more favorable than simple gas puffing. At ASDEX Upgrade, investigations are underway to develop a versatile reactor-relevant pellet actuator. Equipped with an accordingly set up pellet launching system and well diagnosed, this all-metal-wall tokamak is well suited for this task. Here, we report on efforts to produce and inject pellets made from deuterium with a reasonable amount of admixed xenon. Results indicate xenon supply via carrier fueling pellets is possible while showing advanced performance. Compared to xenon gas puffing where long latency is observed, presumably due to wall sticking, doped pellets provide much shorter response times. Hence, this first exploration suggests fueling pellets with admixed auxiliary gases can be a versatile, efficient, and fast actuator for additional control features such as, e.g., radiative plasma cooling.