BriefingtoDOEOfficeofScienceonFusionChamber

1、Briefing to DOE Office of Science on Fusion Chamber TechnologyWashington, D.C., June 3, 2003Prepared on behalf of the US Fusion Chamber Technology Community by Mohamed Abdou ForDr. Ray Orbach, Dr. Anne Davies, andDr. Roberto Peccei1Chamber Technology (CT) Research must continue to be a key element o

2、f the US Fusion Energy Sciences Program under all scenarios of budget level and research focus CT Research plays a central role in understanding and defining the key scientific and engineering questions, including direction of plasma physics research, that need to be addressed for fusion to be viewe

3、d as viable (“headlights”) CT research is the key to demonstrating the principles of tritium self-sufficiency, the fundamental premise of fusion as an exhaustible/renewable energy source Most of the key issues related to practicality and attractiveness (safety, power density, environmental impact, e

4、conomics) of fusion energy are Chamber-related Proceeding with ITER makes Chamber Research even more critical. The dominant features of DT burning plasma are: burning tritium, which must be supplied,emitting neutrons, which must be safely captured, andproducing high heat fluxes, which must be handle

5、d.All of these features require Chamber Technology (first wall, blanket, shield, etc.) that will work reliably in the “neutron-tritium-vacuum- magnetic field” environmentQuestion: What should we do to communicate this message to those who influence fusion policy outside DOE? 2The importance of Chamb

6、er Technology has been clearly recognized by all Fusion Advisory Panels, Planning Studies (e.g. the latest 35-yr plan by FESAC), and all the world fusion programsThis is why the fusion community was shocked (and fusions critics delighted) by the FY04 budget submission (terminating Fusion/Chamber Tec

7、hnology). This situation can undermine the credibility of any fusion research or fusion energy development plans, with devastating consequences to the US Fusion Programs ability to make progress.FESAC Letter to Dr. Orbach: “However, design and construction of ITER will be extremely demanding with re

8、gard to fusion technology. Thus FESAC is puzzled by the elimination in FY2004 budget of funding for fusion technology. This loss will seriously compromise US participation in ITER as well as other burning plasma research activities.”The community appreciates Dr. Orbachs efforts to move the fusion pr

9、ogram forward. We also appreciate the efforts by Dr. A. Davies and OFES staff to rectify the situation. But we need to provide a reassuring message to the U.S. Chamber Community, especially young scientists, and to our international partners.3The Chamber serves 2 of the 3 fundamental functions of fu

10、sion energy systems: breed sufficient tritium to assure that the plasma is self-sustained and that fusion is a “renewable” energy sourcehigh-temperature power extraction in a practical, reliable, safe, and economical fusion energy system. embodies the scientific and engineering research required to

11、understand, develop, design, test, build, and operate safely and reliably the systems that “hold” and surround a burning plasma, includes all components and functions from the edge of the plasma to the magnets: the first wall, conducting shells, breeding and non-breeding blankets, cooling systems, r

12、adiation shielding, vacuum vessel, electric and thermal insulators, tritium permeation barriers, and structure, provides state-of-the-art predictive capabilities for many technical disciplines required for the fusion program: neutron/photon transport, neutron-material interactions, heat/mass transfe

13、r, thermofluid MHD, thermal hydraulics, structural mechanics, thermomechanics, thermo-dynamics, chemistry, radioactivity, decay heat, engineering scaling, reliability methodology, etc, develops key non-structural materials (e.g. solid breeders, neutron multipliers, insulators, etc.) and material sys

14、tems interactions, andis made up of scientists and engineers who must understand and help resolve the competing requirements of high performance plasma operation with the material, engineering and safety limits of the chamber, as well as the production of sufficient tritium and efficient reliable en

15、ergy. The kind of training needed to perform research and engineering within this highly constrained fusion system takes many years of education and experience. (Building competence takes decades) CT Research: 4Importance of the Chamber Technology Research for ITER and DEMO (selected examples)All of

16、 the chamber component design ideas for ITER came from CT Research activities that started in the 80s (BCSS, FINESSE, INTOR, IEA, etc.). The ITER Chamber design took the longest of all the major systems because of the need to resolve many scientific and technological challenges. An understanding of

17、the CT for the step beyond ITER will be crucial in setting relevant physics programs in ITER, in the same way that the CT constraints for ITER were critical in shaping the physics programs of present plasma experiments CT Research provides training and development of skills for people that go on to

18、lead other programs. (The head of the US Safety Program, the Head of the Vacuum Vessel Division in KSTAR, and the Head of the PFC components in Europe and ITER, for example, were all students trained in the US Chamber Technology Research Program. Many of the fusion leaders and university professors

19、in Europe and Japan were trained as part of the US CT Research Program).CT research results were a major driver for starting physics research on steady state and disruption-free plasmasCT methods for predicting radiation fields allowed optimized shield design and a huge size reduction of ITER and po

20、wer plants; methods for testing materials in fission reactors CT Research also develops innovative concepts for better plasma performance and more attractive fusion systems. As one example, the concept of liquid walls, originally advanced as a power handling innovation, has also been embraced by pla

21、sma physicists as an effective tool to control edge recycling and MHD stability ITER is not only a burning plasma experiment, but also an experiment to test technologies in the fusion environment. CT has a leading role in both the basic device and the blanket testing mission5Tritium supply and self-

22、sufficiency are “Go-No Go” issues for fusion energy, as critical NOW as demonstrating a burning plasmaThere is no practical external source of tritium for fusion energy development beyond a few months of DT plasma operation in an ITER-like device. It takes tens of “neutron-poor” fission reactors to

23、supply one fusion reactor. There is NOT a single experiment yet in the fusion environment to show that the DT fusion fuel cycle is viable. Test blanket program in ITER is vital.ITER has now set the schedule for test blanket modules beginning “day 1” of operation. R&D must start immediately.6World Tr

24、itium Supply Exhausted by 2025 by ITER at 1000MW at 10% Availabilityor ITER at 500 MW at 20% Availability05101520253019952000200520102015202020252030203520402045YearProjected Ontario (OPG) Tritium Inventory (kg)CANDU Supplyw/o Fusion ITER-FEAT(2004 start)1000 MW Fusion10% Avail, TBR 0.0Powerful DT B

25、urning Plasma Experiments such as ITER Must Breed their own TritiumTritium Consumption in Fusion Is HUGE! 55.8 kg per 1GW.year fusion powerProduction & Cost from fission are LIMITED & EXPENSIVE!CANDU Reactors: 27 kg over 40 years, $30M/kg (current) Fission reactors: few kg per year, $200M/kg! (proje

26、cted cost)ConclusionChamber technology is not just for power reactors.It is essential for continuing burning plasma and fusion research 7The US Chamber Program enthusiastically worked on CDA and EDA phases of ITER, playing critical rolesThe Chamber Program suffered a MAJOR Budget cut in 1996. OFES a

27、nd the community worked very hard to maintain a “bare minimum of critical skills “ (skills that took 30 years to develop)Over the past few years, CT research focused on developing innovative ideas for the Chamber that could substantially improve the plasma performance and our vision of fusionRecent

28、History of US Chamber TechnologyNow, a New Emphasis is required: As we move forward with joining ITER, the CT community is ready to restructure its activities to best support the new initiatives8Test Blanket Module Program Restart tritium breeding blanket test module R&D program for ITER reflective

29、of the US priorities on chamber systems. This is critical as the ITER plan calls for testing from day-1 of operation in 2013, and a decision on blanket test modules by 2005 in order to initiate design, fabrication and out-of-pile testing. US has been the World LeaderFNT Support for ITER Basic Device As ITER moves toward construction it will need more a