Disruption-Mitigation-Technology Concepts and Implications for ITER

• Published in: IEEE transactions on plasma science Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 419 - 424
• Main Authors: Baylor, L.R., Jernigan, T.C., Combs, S.K., Meitner, S.J., Caughman, J.B., Commaux, N., Rasmussen, D.A., Parks, P.B., Glugla, M., Maruyama, S., Pearce, R., Lehnen, M.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.03.2010; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; Assessments; Collision mitigation; Conductivity; Conversion; Delta modulation; DESIGN; DEUTERIUM; Disruption; Electrical resistivity; Electrons; Exact sciences and technology; FIRST WALL; Halos; HEAT FLUX; HELIUM; ITER; Laboratories; Magnetic confinement and equilibrium; MITIGATION; MIXTURES; pellet; Physics; PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; PLASMA; Plasma applications; Plasma density; Plasma materials processing; PROCESSING; RUNAWAY ELECTRONS; Superconductors; Thermal quenching; Tokamak devices; Tokamaks; VACUUM SYSTEMS; Walls; Deuterium; Thermonuclear reactors; ITER tokamak; pellet; Resistivity; Heat flow; Helium; Heat flux; Design; Vacuum systems; Magnetic confinement; Runaway electrons; Confined plasma; ITER; Plasma disruption; Disruption; Damage; First wall
• ISSN: 0093-3813; 1939-9375
• DOI: 10.1109/TPS.2009.2039496

Disruptions on ITER present challenges to handle the intense heat flux, the large forces from halo currents, and the potential first wall damage from energetic runaway electrons. Injecting large quantities of material into the plasma during the disruption can reduce the plasma energy and increase its resistivity to mitigate these effects. Assessments of the amount of various mixtures and quantities of the material required have been made to provide collision mitigation of runaway-electron conversion, which is the most difficult challenge. The quantities of the material required (~0.5 MPa·m 3 for deuterium or helium gas) are large enough to have implications on the design and operation of the vacuum system and tokamak exhaust processing system.