Characterization of high flux magnetized helium plasma in SCU-PSI linear device

A high-flux linear plasma device in Sichuan University plasma-surface interaction(SCU-PSI)based on a cascaded arc source has been established to simulate the interactions between helium and hydrogen plasma with the plasma-facing components in fusion reactors.In this paper,the helium plasma has been characterized by a double-pin Langmuir probe.The results show that the stable helium plasma beam with a diameter of 26 mm was constrained very well at a magnetic field strength of 0.3 T.The core density and ion flux of helium plasma have a strong dependence on the applied current,magnetic field strength and gas flow rate.It could reach an electron density of1.2?×?10~(19)m~(-3)and helium ion flux of 3.2?×?10~(22)m~(-2)s~(-1),with a gas flow rate of 4 standard liter per minute,magnetic field strength of 0.2 T and input power of 11 k W.With the addition of-80 Vapplied to the target to increase the helium ion energy and the exposure time of 2 h,the flat top temperature reached about 530°C.The different sizes of nanostructured fuzz on irradiated tungsten and molybdenum samples surfaces under the bombardment of helium ions were observed by scanning electron microscopy.These results measured in the SCU-PSI linear device provide a reference for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor related PSI research.     

The Test Facility for the EAST Superconducting Magnets

A large facility for testing superconducting magnets has been in operation at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since the completion of its construction that began in 1999. A helium refrigerator is used to cool the magnets and liquefy helium which can provide 3.8 K-4.5 K, 1.8 bar-5 bar, 20g/s-40g/s supercritical helium for the coils or a 150 L/h liquefying helium capacity. Other major parts include a large vacuum vessel （3.5 m in diameter and 6.1 m in height） with a liquid nitrogen temperature shield, two pairs of current lead, three sets of 14.5 kA-50 kA power supply with a fast dump quench protection circuitry, a data acquisition and control system, a vacuum pumping system, and a gas tightness inspecting devise. The primary goal of the test facility is to test the EAST TF and PF magnets in relation to their electromagnetic, stability, thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical performance. The construction of this facility was completed in 2002, followed by a series of systematic coil testing. By now ten TF magnets, a central solenoid model coil, a central solenoid prototype coil, and a model coil of the PF large coil have been successfully tested in the facility.     

Research of the CICC Stability by the Numerical Code Gandalf

1. IntroductionIn this zpaper, we introduce cable--in-conduit conductor (i.e. CICC) which is used in the HT--7U superconducting TOkamak to obtain an effective andstable superconductor design for large magnets. Thedesign of the HT-7U superconducting TOkamak incorporates superconducting magnets of the toroidalfield (TF) and poloidal field (PF) systems [1]. TheCICC is cooled with a forced -flow supercritical helium at 4.5K. One of the most key problems relatedto conductor and coil prote…     

A New Method for Measurement of Helium Mass Flow Rate in the Cryogenic System of TORE SUPRA

The TORE SUPRA Tokamak was built by EURATOM-CEA association. The NbTi conductor of superconducting coils is inserted in a tight enclosure filled with pressurized superfluid helium of 0.125 MPa at 1.8 K. The thick casing is cooled to 4.5 K by 1.8 MPa in 4.5 K supercritical helium circulation. Around this thick casing, a 80 K thermal shield protects the parts at very low temperatures from the thermal radiation, which is cooled by pressurized helium at 80 K and 1.8 MPa. A new measurement method for helium mass flow rate of 80 K shield and 4.5 K casing is described in this paper. The commissioning was done on the two helium loops of the cryoplant: the supercritical 4.5 K thick casing and 80 K shields. The purpose is to improve control of the 4.5 K and 80 K refrigeration loops.     

Temperature detection circuit on the low-temperature superconducting coils

Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak(EAST) is the fully superconducting Tokamak.The EAST magnet system comprises 16 D-shaped toroidal field coils and 14 poloidal field coils which are cooled by supercritical helium at 4.2 K and 3.8 K.The temperature of superconducting coils is measured by Cernox as a new type low-temperature sensor,and monitored during the cooling and operation.The helium temperature can offer reference for quench signal.In this paper,a technique for the weak temperature signal measurement of superconducting coils is introduced,and its weak voltage is extracted from the intrinsic noise of the amplifier by the low-noise instrumentation amplifier,filter circuit,and high-linearity analog optocoupler.The temperature detection circuit works accurately and safely whether in cooling or operating process.This technique is an effective for the temperature detection on the low-temperature superconducting coils.     

Effect of Mirror Magnetic Field on Abnormal Glow Discharge of Four-Anode Device

Abstract In the four-anode device, the mirror magnetic field affects the characteristics of charged particles motion, so that the current-voltage relations of glow discharge are changed. Firstly, the discharge device is introduced, and the distribution of mirror magnetic field generated by the loops surrounding the discharge chamber is presented. Both the discharge current-voltage characteristics and the radial distributions of electron density are measured, respectively, with/without the magnetic field. When the discharge occurs in a 99.99% helium with a pressure ranging from 100 Pa to 800 Pa without magnetic field, the voltage, sustaining a certain abnormal glow discharge current, decreases with the increase in gas pressure. With a mirror magnetic field of certain intensity, the discharge voltage increases with the current in a rate slower than that without the magnetic field. Moreover, when the magnetic field intensity increases, the discharge voltage first decreases then increases. Simultaneously, the mirror magnetic field affects the moving characteristics of charged particles, and causes a more inhomogeneous electron density.     

Development of 5 T NbTi Superconducting Magnet with 160 mm Warm Bore for Magnetic Separation

A wide-bore 5 T NbTi superconducting magnet, for magnetic separator, with an operational current of 106 A is designed and fabricated. This magnet with a Ф60 mm roomtemperature bore is installed in a vacuum cryostat and immersed in liquid helium. A two-stage 4 K Gifford-McMahon （GM） cryocooler is used to maintain the cooling shield at 70 K and the condenser at 4 K in order to achieve the zero vaporization loss of liquid helium. The cooling power of the GM cryocooler is 1.5 W. In this paper, the design, heat leakage, stress analysis, quench protection characteristics and preliminary test results are presented.     

Investigation on Retention and Release Behaviors of Hydrogen and Helium in Vanadium Alloy

Vanadium alloy is proposed as an attractive candidate for first wall and blanket structural material of fusion reactors. The retention and release behaviors of hydrogen and helium in vanadium alloy may be an important issue. In the present work, 1.7 keV deuterium and 5 keV helium ions are respectively implanted into V-4Cr-4Ti and V-4Ti at room temperature. The retention and release of deuterium and helium are measured with thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). When the helium ion fluence is larger than 3 ×1017 He/cm2, the retained helium saturates with a value of approximately 2.5 ×1017 He/cm2. However, when the ion fluence is 1×1019 D/cm2, the hydrogen saturation in vanadium alloy does not take place. Experimental results indicates that hydrogen and helium retention in vanadium alloy may lead to serious problems and special attention should be paid when it is applied to fusion reactors.     

Commissioning and operation of the cryostat for 3W1 SC wiggler

A 3W1 superconducting wiggler (SCW) with the pole gap of 68 mm was successfully tested and installed in a BEPC II storage ring in November, 2019. The goal of zero liquid helium consumption was achieved, and the cryogenic system exhibited a 12%residual cooling capacity (approximately 0.69 W@4.2 K). The 3W1-SCW was set to operate at 2.49 T and has been operating for more than seven months. Three instances of magnet quenching occurred during the normal operation. The evaporated helium gas can be re...     

A Computerized System for the Measurement of Nanomaterial Field Emission and Ionization

We have developed a computerized system for measuring field electron emission (FE) and field ionization (FI),which has a three-electrode configuration with emitters biased up to 25 kV,and is programmed by the Labview software.The current-voltage curves of nano-tip tungsten and carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays were measured.The electron emission of CNTs proceeded with a turn-on field of 1.24V/μm and a threshold field of 1.85V/μm.Compared to the field emission,field ionization turned on at 3.5V/μm.Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements showed degradation of the CNTs after FE/FI testing.The measurement of a W-tip revealed strong electron emission and instability behavior at a field strength higher than 7.0V/μm.     

The first performance of the facility for testing ITER CC conductor short sample

A new facility had been set up to test the low temperature properties of the short sample of the small-size cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC). The facility consisted of the background magnet which could provide 7 T centric magnetic field, a 50 kA superconducting transformer which provided sample current, a 500 W/4.5 K helium refrigerator which produced both the liquid helium (LHe) and supercritical helium (SHe). An ITER CC conductor short sample was prepared and measured in this testing system. T_cs of 7.02 K (@4.1 T, 10 kA) and I_c of 8.9 kA (@4.1 T, 7.06 K) were measured.     

Numerical analysis of the static performance of an annular aerostatic gas thrust bearing applied in the cryogenic turbo-expander of the EAST subsystem

The EAST superconducting tokamak,an advanced steady-state plasma physics experimental device,has been built at the Institute of Plasma Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences.All the toroidal field magnets and poloidal field magnets,made of NbTi/Cu cable-in-conduit conductor,are cooled with forced flow supercritical helium at 3.8 K.The cryogenic system of EAST consists of a 2 kW/4 K helium refrigerator and a helium distribution system for the cooling of coils,structures,thermal shields,bus-lines,etc.The high-speed turbo-expander is an important refrigerating component of the EAST cryogenic system.In the turbo-expander,the axial supporting technology is critical for the smooth operation of the rotor bearing system.In this paper,hydrostatic thrust bearings are designed based on the axial load of the turbo-expander.Thereafter,a computational fluid dynamics-based numerical model of the aerostatic thrust bearing is set up to evaluate the bearing performance.Tilting effect on the pressure distribution and bearing load is analyzed for the thrust bearing.Bearing load and stiffness are compared with different static supply pressures.The net force from the thrust bearings can be calculated for different combinations of bearing clearance and supply pressure.     

Process Modeling and Dynamic Simulation for EAST Helium Refrigerator

In this paper,the process modeling and dynamic simulation for the EAST helium refrigerator has been completed.The cryogenic process model is described and the main components are customized in detail.The process model is controlled by the PLC simulator,and the realtime communication between the process model and the controllers is achieved by a customized interface.Validation of the process model has been confirmed based on EAST experimental data during the cool down process of 300-80 K.Simulation results indicate that this process simulator is able to reproduce dynamic behaviors of the EAST helium refrigerator very well for the operation of long pulsed plasma discharge.The cryogenic process simulator based on control architecture is available for operation optimization and control design of EAST cryogenic systems to cope with the long pulsed heat loads in the future.     

Research and Development of Superconducting Magnet for Fusion Power

This paper describes mainly technological achievment of superconducting magnet for fusion power for the latest 10 years in Japan. The magnet development had been devoted to tokamak Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER). The major results obtained up to now are as follows.

In toroidal coil program, 12 T field generation, which is requested in a reactor toroidal coil, was realized with 6 kA multifilamentary Nb3Sn conductor in 1 m bore. For scaling-up of toroidal coil, half size coils of FER, LCT coils were tested up to 9 T.

In poloidal coil program, Demo Poloidal Coil project is now under way and coil testing will be started in spring of 1989. The stored energy of this coil is around 40 MJ.

In cryogenic technology program, fabrication and operation of large helium refrigerator technology were well established. A supercritical helium pump of 500 g/s was tested for forced flow coil.     

Present status and one upgrading method with a cold compressor of the EAST sub-cooling helium cryogenic system

Since 2006,the superconducting toroidal field (TF) coils of the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokomak (EAST) have been successfully cooled by supercritical helium at a temperature of 4.5 K and a pressure of 4 bara in eleven experiments.To obtain higher operating currents and magnetic fields it is necessary to lower the operating temperature of the TF coils.The EAST sub-cooling helium cryogenic system,with a warm oil ring pump (ORP),was tested twice in cool-down experiments,which made the TF coils operate at 3.8 K.However,the long term operational stability of the sub-cooling system cannot be guaranteed because of the ORP's poor mechanical and control performance.In this paper,the present status of the EAST subcooling helium cryogenic system is described,and then several cooling methods below 4.2 K and their merits are presented and analyzed.Finally,an upgrading method with a cold compressor for an EAST sub-cooling helium cryogenic system is proposed.The new process flow and thermodynamic calculation of the sub-cooling helium system,and the main parameters of the cold compressor,are also presented in detail.This work will provide a reference for the future upgrading of the sub-cooling helium system for higher operation parameters of the EAST device.     

钨中氦泡融合条件的分子动力学模拟研究

在托卡马克聚变装置中,钨偏滤器会受到低能高束流的氦等离子体冲刷,导致材料表面形成绒毛状纳米结构或针孔状表面损伤,使钨材料使用性能发生退化,影响等离子体的稳态运行。目前普遍认为,氦致表面损伤的形成与钨表面下氦泡的生长密切相关。钨受到氦等离子体辐照后会在材料的近表层形成高密度的小氦泡,它们可通过融合的方式长大,氦泡的融合是近表层大氦泡形成的关键环节。为了解氦泡的相对位置、温度、氦空位比(He/V)、氦泡初始间距对氦泡融合的影响,本文采用分子动力学方法模拟氦泡在金属钨中的融合过程。结果表明：氦泡的相对位置、温度、He/V、氦泡初始间距都会影响氦泡的融合,但影响的机理并不相同。其中,氦泡的相对位置是影响氦泡融合的关键因素,当氦泡沿〈100〉方向排列时,氦泡易发生融合,而沿 〈111〉方向排列则不易发生融合,其原因是氦泡附近存在各向异性的应力场。温度升高有利于氦泡体积得到更快、更充分的弛豫,进而促进氦泡发生融合。高He/V的氦泡具有较高的压力,更易发生融合。当温度为1 500 K时,2个He/V为3、半径为1 nm的氦泡之间的相互作用距离可达1.28 nm甚至更远,但它们发生融合的最大初始距离为0.96 nm。本研究可促进对钨中氦泡融合机理的理解,为钨中大氦泡的形成提供可能的解释。此外,本研究结果可为大尺度模拟（如动力学蒙特卡罗、团簇动力学）提供相关输入参数用于研究高密度氦泡的长时间演化。     

钨中氘氦行为的高分辨热脱附谱实验方法研究

氢同位素在材料中的扩散、捕获和滞留等行为可通过热脱附谱实验方法进行研究。为实现对同时含有氘氦的钨材料进行热脱附测量并研究钨中氘氦滞留行为,搭建了1套基于高分辨四极质谱仪的热脱附实验系统HiTDS。HiTDS实现了1.2×10^-6 Pa的高本底真空度,速率为1 K/s的精确线性升温,最高加热温度达1423 K,能准确测量样品中气体元素的脱附速率和脱附量。通过配备高分辨四极质谱仪,HiTDS可快速分辨氘氦元素并测量其脱附速率。HiTDS经过调谐校准、标定系数标定后,对氘氦等离子体辐照钨样品进行了热脱附测量。测得的氘氦热脱附谱显示,纯氘脱附量与剂量正相关,而氦的引入显著抑制氘滞留并使其趋于饱和。热脱附实验结果与类似辐照条件的其他研究成果基本一致,检验了该实验方法的有效性。     

Resistivity studies of interstitial helium mobility in niobium

The mobility of interstitial helium in Nb and Nb-O alloys was studied in the temperature range of 10–383 K using resistivity measurements. The helium was introduced by radioactive decay of solute tritium (~ 1 at%). At $\text{T < 100 K}$ the resistivity increased due to conversion of tritium trapped at oxygen interstitials to helium. The formation of helium caused a very significant resistance increase at room temperature and above. The results suggest that helium is mobile at temperatures above 295 K and that the precipitation of large helium bubbles occurs along grain boundaries. The mobile helium species may either be single interstitials or small helium clusters. The activation enthalpy for the diffusion of the mobile helium species was estimated to be about 55 kJ/mol (0.66 eV).     

Annealing effects of helium implanted single crystals and polycrystalline magnesium aluminate spinel

The effects of transmutation produced -particles and the thermal behaviour of the incorporated helium is simulated by 900 keV ³He ion implantations at 2 μm depth in (100) surface oriented single crystals and in polycrystalline samples. Thermal Helium Desorption Spectrometry (THDS) and Neutron Depth Profiling (NDP) have been applied to study the release rate of helium and changes in the depth profile, respectively, during isothermal annealing. Release of the helium took place in at least two stages in a wide temperature interval ranging from 600 to 1600 K. For polycrystalline spinel an additional high temperature release stage at T> 1300 K was ascribed to trapping in pores. For the high dose implanted single crystals mainly helium release in bursts was observed due to thermally induced flaking.