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Porous tungsten scrubbed by glow discharge cleaning
Researchers conducted experiments in Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s Lithium Tokamak Experiment-Beta (LTX-β) showing glow discharge cleaning can be used to effectively clean samples of porous tungsten—used to hold liquid lithium in fusion machine inner walls—manufactured from powder-reconstituted materials, according to a paper published in Nuclear Materials and Energy.
Tungsten is widely used for plasma-facing components in fusion machines, especially in the divertor region where materials must withstand extreme levels of power flow. According to the paper, spark plasma sintering can be used to make tungsten into spongelike samples for holding liquid lithium.
Amitanshu Mishra, Paban Kumar Guchhait, Samiran Sengupta
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 10 | October 2024 | Pages 1932-1951
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2024.2304915
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Simulation of a station blackout (SBO) scenario was carried out for an open pool–type nuclear research reactor. The SBO transient was analyzed using the best estimate (BE) thermal-hydraulic code RELAP5/MOD3.2 to evaluate the performance of safety systems and inherent thermal inertia provided by the reactor pool in ensuring adequate core cooling during a prolonged SBO condition lasting up to 7 days. This encompasses assessment of cooling provided by battery-operated auxiliary pumps in the initial phase followed by setup of the natural convection cooling mode for the extended period. Best Estimate Plus Uncertainty (BEPU) methodology was applied for assessment of safety margins. This involved estimation of required simulations using the Wilks first-order formulation to achieve results within the tolerance limit of 95/95. Identification of relevant uncertainties and their propagation was carried out; subsequently, a case matrix for 59 simulation runs was generated using the Latin hypercube sampling method. The upper/lower bounds of uncertainty results were analyzed and compared with the BE code results. Later, sensitivity analysis was carried out using sensitivity coefficients generated using the Pearson and Spearman coefficient. The results show that the values of the crucial thermal-hydraulic parameters obtained with the tolerance limit of 95/95 met the acceptance criteria, with adequate safety margins.