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Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
Fred Dahlgren, Art Brooks, Paul Goranson, Mike Cole, Peter Titus
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 47 | Number 4 | May 2005 | Pages 926-930
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - Fusion Materials | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A807
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The NCSX vacuum vessel has a rather unique shape being very closely coupled topologically to the three-fold stellerator symmetry of the plasma it contains. This shape does not permit the use of the common forms of pressure vessel analysis and necessitates the reliance on finite element analysis. The current paper describes the NCSX vacuum vessel stress analysis including external pressure, thermal, and electro-magnetic loading from internal plasma disruptions and bakeout temperatures of up to 400 degrees centigrade. Buckling and dynamic loading conditions are also considered.