Equilibrium Reconstruction of Anisotropic Pressure Profile in the Levitated Dipole Experiment

The Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX) is an innovative confinement concept that uses an internal superconducting dipole field to confine plasma. Plasma equilibrium is calculated by a least-squares fit of an anisotropic pressure model to magnetic measurements constrained by X-ray images. Reconstructions have been done for different heating schemes using two-frequency electron cyclotron heating at 2.45 and 6.4 GHz. Results show that a maximum local β ∼ 20% has been achieved using two frequency heating at a combined full power of 5 kW. Analysis of the reconstruction results shows that the magnetic sensors are sensitive primarily to changes in the plasma dipole moment. This is partly due to the fact that the dipole current decreases as the plasma current increases (as required by flux conservation through the superconducting dipole) and the magnetic sensors detect the sum of these changes. This paper will present details of the reconstruction procedure and describe how new magnetic sensors will aid in resolving the pressure profile more accurately.     

A new facility for investigation on neutron irradiation effect on superconducting properties of Nb3Sn strand for fusion magnet

To perform post irradiation tests of superconducting strands, a 15.5 T superconducting magnet and a variable temperature insert (VTI) were installed at a radiation control area in Oarai center, Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University. Both of the 15.5 T magnet and the VTI are conductively cooled with GM refrigeration. The commissioning test of the system is still ongoing because unexpected troubles occurred during the commissioning. Also, a SQUID system with the maximum field of 7 T has been installed at another radiation control area to investigate the magnetic property of uranium and its isotopes. These devices are very useful to study the electro-magnetic properties of the neutron irradiated superconducting strands. This paper will introduce the new superconducting test facility, and some data recently obtained will be presented together with the data of magnetization evaluated with the SQUID, and the discussion on the irradiation effect on superconducting properties will be performed.     

Investigation of beam dynamics in a linear superconducting heavy-ion accelerator

Questions concerning acceleration and focusing in a linear accelerator consisting of a periodic sequence of independently phased superconducting resonators and intended for accelerating radioactive ions are examined. The possibility of focusing heavy ions by means of a system of superconducting solenoids is analyzed. It is shown that solenoids with magnetic field greater than 15 T must be used in order to focus ions with low charge/mass ratio Z/A ≈ 1/66 in a superconducting accelerator. A method is proposed for lowering the magnetic field by means of additional high-frequency focusing.     

Development and Investigation of a Dipole Magnet with a High-Temperature Superconductor Winding

The structure of a dipole magnet with an iron yoke, where the winding is made of a Bi-2223 high-temperature superconductor, has been developed and the magnet has been built at the Institute of High-Energy Physics. The magnet has also been tested. A magnetic field 0.9 T has been attained in the aperture at temperature 65 K and 1.9 T at 4.2 K. The special features of the magnet structure are described and the results of testing of the magnet in a submerged cryostat at different temperatures are presented.     

Influence of Transverse Magnetic Field on Heat Transport Characteristics of Potassium Heat Pipe

The influence of a transverse magnetic field on the heat transport characteristics of a potassium heat pipe was experimentally studied in the range of field strength 0~0.6 T. The wick was constituted of a multilayer mesh screen, and the adiabatic section, to which the magnetic field was applied, was made up of a concentric double-wall rectangular tube, with the inner wall completely separating the vapor and liquid flows.

The magnetic field was applied perpendicularly to the heat pipe, upon which the axial temperature distribution of the heat pipe was observed to be affected, and the heat transport rate to be reduced with increasing field strength.

The effect of the magnetic field on the heat transport rate is analyzed in terms of the liquid pumping ability of the wick and of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effect on the liquid flow through the wick. The MHD effect on the flow through wick is shown to be expressible by a formula similar to that for flow between parallel plates.

The heat transport rate measured in magnetic field are compared with values calculated assuming that the wick pumping ability was not influenced by the magnetic field but that it was the MHD effect on the liquid flow through the wick that affected the heat transport. The calculated results well explained the experimental data.     

Natural Convection Heat Transfer of Liquid Lithium under Transverse and Parallel Magnetic Fields

Stagnant liquid lithium contained in a vertically 1.3 m long and 46 mm I.D. 316-SS cylindrical vessel up to a 0.3 m level was heated by a concentrically inserted heater pin of 12.5 mm O.D. and 54 mm active length. The parallel magnetic field to the vessel was imposed by a superconducting magnet. The experiment covered the ranges of the lithium temperature: 320～510°C, the heat flux: 10～40 W/cm², the transverse B: 0～1.2 T (Ha = 0～2,730) and the parallel B= 0～3T (Ha = O～6,860).

The temperature fluctuation is enhanced by imposing a weak magnetic field of B = 0.1 ～ 0.3 T for both parallel and transverse fields and almost completely suppressed with increasing to B = 1 T in the case of the transverse field but its low frequency component still remains large, becoming oscillatory, up to B = 3 T in the case of parallel field. The heat transfer shows a similar trend to the temperature fluctuation. It increases singularly by a weak B especially in the perpendicular sector to the transverse magnetic field and decreases with increasing B. In the case of parallel magnetic field, the heat transfer increases in a weak field of B = 0.1 ～ 0.5 T, the same as in the transverse magnetic field, but it does not decrease so much in a strong field of B = 1～3 T, presenting a rather higher value than in B = 0 T.     

The structural design of superconducting magnets for the large coil program

Fusion reactor designs based on magnetic confinement will require the use of superconducting magnets to make them economically viable. For a tokamak fusion reactor; large magnetic field coils are required to produce a toroidal magnetic confinement volume. Although superconductors have been used for approximately 20 years, several requirements for their application in fusion reactors are beyond demonstrated technology in existing magnets. The Large Coil Program (LCP) is a research, development, and demonstration effort specifically for the advancement of the technologies involved in the production of large superconducting magnets. This paper presents a review of the status of the structural designs, analysis methods, and verification tests being performed by the participating LCP design teams in the US, Switzerland, Japan, and the Federal Republic of Germany. The significant structural mechanics concerns that are being investigated with the LCP are presented.     

反应堆中心孔道辐照材料的中子与γ释热研究

反应堆辐照材料上中子与γ的释热率是该材料在堆中热工计算的重要输入参数.本文基于蒙特卡罗粒子输运程序(MCNP),计算了某堆首炉高热中子堆芯布置下,L12中心孔道中不同材料(水、T6061铝、单晶硅、不锈钢、锆合金)轴向的中子、γ释热率分布.计算结果表明,活性区轴向高度为0～1000 mm,中子与γ在材料上的最大释热率点...     

Estimation of Excitation Coefficient by Floating Wire Technique for Reflection Magnet of EAST NBI

The principle of floating wire technique is introduced. Wire trace and current are measured through a dipole magnet through 180° in the horizontal plane. Measurements are made for testing the reflection magnet performance of neutral beam injector of experimental advanced superconducting tokamak. The magnetic field intensity is estimated by wire current, wire tension and radius of wire orbit. The excitation coefficient of the reflection magnet is about 1.07, which is in agreement with requirement of engineering design. Using the excitation coefficient, the operation guide data of reflection magnet is given with ion energy, $ I = 40.99\sqrt E $ .     

Neutron irradiation effects on superconducting wires and insulating materials

On the progress of the Deuterium–Deuterium (D–D) or Deuterium–Tritium (D–T) burning plasma devices, the importance of neutron irradiation on superconducting magnet materials increases and the data base is desired to design the next generation devices. To carry out the investigations on the effect of neutron irradiation, neutron irradiation fields are required together with post-irradiation test facilities. In these several years, a collaboration network of neutron irradiation effect on superconducting magnet materials has been constructed. 14 MeV neutron irradiation was carried out at Fusion Neutronics Sources (FNS) in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and fission neutron irradiation was performed at JRR-3 in JAEA. After the irradiation, the Nb₃Sn, NbTi and Nb₃Al samples were sent to High Field Laboratory for Superconducting Materials (HFLSM) in Tohoku University and the superconducting properties were evaluated with 28 T hybrid magnet. Also, the organic insulation materials are considered to be weaker than superconducting materials against neutron irradiation and cyanate ester resin composite was fabricated and tested at the fission reactor. One clear result on Nb₃Sn was the property change of Nb₃Sn by 14 MeV neutron irradiation over 13 T. The critical current was increased by 1.4 times around 13 T but the increment of the critical current became almost zero at higher magnetic fields and the critical magnetic field of the irradiated sample showed almost the same as non-irradiated one.     

Manufacture and test of the non-planar coils for WENDELSTEIN 7-X

The stellarator WENDELSTEIN 7-X, a superconducting fusion experiment, is presently under construction at the Greifswald branch of the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (IPP). The standard magnetic configuration of WENDELSTEIN 7-X (W7-X) is formed by 50 non-planar superconducting coils. Twenty additional planar superconducting coils can modify the magnetic configuration.This paper describes the production of the non-planar coils including the production of the winding packs, the cases and the assembly procedure of the coils. Five coils are already finished and tested at room temperature at the manufacturer's site.All coils will also be tested under cryogenic conditions. The main tests are at nominal current, a quench test by increasing the temperature of the helium, a high voltage test, a pressure and a helium leak test, the measurement of the shrinkage during cool down and the deformations due to electromagnetic forces. The test procedure and the results of the first tests of the coils are also presented.     

Spin polarization and production rate studies of surface muons in a novel solenoid capture system based on CSNS

A novel surface muon capture system with a large acceptance was proposed based on the China spallation neutron source(CSNS).This system was designed using a superconducting solenoid where a long graphite target was put inside it.Firstly,the spin polarization evolution was studied in a constant uniform magnetic field.As the magnetic field can interact with the spin of the surface muon,both the spin polarization and production rate of the surface muons collected by the new capture system were calculated by the G4beamline.Simulation results showed that the surface muons could still keep a high spin polarization([90%)with different magnetic fields(0–10 T),and the larger magnetic field is,the more surface muons can be captured.Finally,the proton phase space,Courant–Snyder parameters,and intensities of surface muons of different beam fractions were given with magnetic fields of 0 and 5T.The solenoid capture system can focus proton and surface muon beams and collect p?and l?particles.It can also provide an intense energetic positron source.     

Effects of the Hot Electron Interchange Instability on Plasma Confined in a Dipolar Magnetic Field

The Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX) explores confinement and stability of plasma created within the dipole field of a strong superconducting magnet. During initial experiments, long-pulse, quasi-steady state discharges that last more than 10 s and have peak beta of more than 20% are studied. The plasma is created by multi-frequency electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) at 2.45 and 6.4 GHz. A population of energetic electrons, with mean energies above 50 keV, dominates the plasma pressure. Creation of high pressure, high beta plasma is possible only when intense hot electron interchange (HEI) instabilities are stabilized by sufficient neutral gas fueling. The instabilities resonate with the magnetic drift motion of the energetic electrons and can cause rapid radial transport. Measurements of the electrostatic and magnetic fluctuations of the HEI instability are described along with observations of the instability’s spectral characteristics. Fluctuations of the outer poloidal field induced by the HEI show a rapid evolution of the perturbed pressure profile.      

Numerical and experimental analysis of AC loss for CFETR CS model coil

The central solenoid (CS) is an important com ponent of China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor,for producing,forming and stabilizing plasma in the superconducting tokamak.It is a complicated work to design and manufacture the large superconducting CS magnet,so it is meaningful to design a central solenoid model coil (CSMC) and analyze its electromagnetic properties in advance.In this paper,the structure,design parameters and magnetic field distribution of the CS model coil are dis cussed.The peak power of radial and axial turn conductors and time bucket loss are analyzed by using piecewise-linear method.The CSMC AC loss with different Nb3Sn CICCs and AC loss of ITER CS coil are compared.The special electrometric method to measure AC loss of the CS model coil for fu ture reference is presented.     

EAST in-vessel components design

Divertor and other in-vessel components are very important parts of EAST superconducting Tokamak. The primary purpose of these components is to protect the vacuum vessel, RF system and diagnostic components from plasma particles and heat loads. Other function of in-vessel components is additional to particles and heat loads handling. The divertor is designed to provide particles exhaust into the divertor cryopump, provide recycling control and impurity control. Passive plates stabilize plasma vertical instability. In-vessel coils are used for plasma instability control, error field correct, RWM and ELMs suppress. Heat loads and electric–magnetic forces are quite complicate for in-vessel components. To make the design of in-vessel components, we consider their proper geometry, structure strength, electro–magnetic characteristic, thermal conductive characteristic, particles exhaust characteristic and so on.     

北京正负电子对撞机重大改造工程中超导四极磁体传热与流动计算

超导四极(SCQ)磁体是北京正负电子对撞机重大改造工程(BEPCⅡ)的关键设备之一。本文对SCQ磁体恒温器进行稳定运行状态下传热和流动计算。计算得到了磁体在低温下的热负荷以及磁体恒温器内各组成部分的温度分布，并在此基础上，提出减小SCQ磁体热负荷的方法。比较计算了SCQ磁体采用超临界和过冷液氦两种冷却方式对磁体稳定运行的影响。     

Thermal anchoring of wires in large scale superconducting coil test experiment

Effective and precise thermal anchoring of wires in cryogenic experiment is mandatory to measure temperature in milikelvin accuracy and to avoid unnecessary cooling power due to additional heat conduction from room temperature (RT) to operating temperature (OT) through potential, field, displacement and stress measurement instrumentation wires. Instrumentation wires used in large scale superconducting coil test experiments are different compare to cryogenic apparatus in terms of unique construction and overall diameter/area due to errorless measurement in large time-varying magnetic field compare to small cryogenic apparatus, often shielded wires are used. Hence, along with other variables, anchoring techniques and required thermal anchoring length are entirely different in this experiment compare to cryogenic apparatus. In present paper, estimation of thermal anchoring length of five different types of instrumentation wires used in coils test campaign at Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), India has been discussed and some temperature measurement results of coils test campaign have been presented.     

Feedback Control of Plasma Current and Horizontal Position in HT-7

1. IntroductionA superconducting tokamak HT-7 has been estab-lished at ASIPP, Hefei, China. The machine.was de-signed to mainly investigate the reactor-relevant ls-sues, such as edvanced operation modes and plasmawall interastions in the near-steady-state condition.Its poloidal fie1d coils include ohmic heatlng coi1s'bias field coils' vertical field coils and horizontalfie1d coi1s (See Fig.1), being connected to indlvldualpower supplies which are all the thyristor--controlledrectifier unlt…     

Study of electromagnetic noise influence on quench detection system under different discharge conditions for EAST

EAST is the first Tokamak device whose toroidal and poloidal magnet are superconducting. The enormous magnetic field energy stored in the magnet system will transfer into thermal energy and cause the damage of superconducting magnet, if a quench happened. Therefore, reliable quench detection is a key issue for steady-state operation. In addition to electromagnetic noise from poloidal magnet fields and plasma current which will experience fast current ramp rate, radio frequency noise from heating system also have some interference on quench detection system to a certain degree. The most difficult point for quench detection system is required to have more detail evaluation on electromagnetic noise interference.Recently experiments have been carried out successfully in EAST device. The steady-state operation with 1 MA of plasma current and more than 100-s plasma duration has been obtained. In the paper, the electromagnetic noise interference on quench detection system under different discharge conditions are analyzed and relative process methods are also introduced. The technological experience and experimental data are significant for the constructing ITER and similar superconducting device have been mentioned which will supply significant technological experience and experimental data for constructing ITER and similar superconducting device.     

The implementation of magnetics verification in EAST plasma control system

Experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) is an experimental device aiming at steady state plasma operation for fusion research. The values of many discharge parameters, such as plasma shape, position and current must be directly acquired or indirectly evaluated from the magnetic measurements, so the accuracy of magnetic measurements plays an important role in reliable plasma control performance. A method for verifying the key magnetic measurements in real time for each shot is described in this paper. Such magnetics verification will prevent the discharge from a key magnetic signal failure and ensure the quality of a successful discharge. The diagnostics verification algorithm has been implemented in the plasma control system for the EAST. The implementation details and its application in the recent experiment are presented in this paper.