Publication

T-cs degradation of ITER TF samples due to fast current discharges

Abstract

Direct current tests performed in the past on the conductor samples of the toroidal field (TF) ITER coils revealed degradation of current sharing temperature, T-cs. The degradation progresses with repetitive electromagnetic loading, and also with thermal cycles between 4.5 K and room temperature. This feature was observed on short samples in SULTAN test facility (EPFL-SPC, Switzerland) as well as in TF Insert Coil tests in CSMC test facility (Naka, Japan). We present three independent observations suggesting that initiation of sample quench followed by a fast current discharge, which normally complements every I-c and T-cs test in both SULTAN and CSMC, enhances the T-cs degradation rate. The exact mechanism of this contribution to the degradation remains unidentified.

About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related concepts (31)
Fusion power
Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors. Research into fusion reactors began in the 1940s, but as of 2023, no device has reached net power. Fusion processes require fuel and a confined environment with sufficient temperature, pressure, and confinement time to create a plasma in which fusion can occur.
High-voltage direct current
A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system (also called a power superhighway or an electrical superhighway) uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating current (AC) transmission systems. Most HVDC links use voltages between 100 kV and 800 kV. However, a 1,100 kV link in China was completed in 2019 over a distance of with a power capacity of 12 GW. With this dimension, intercontinental connections become possible which could help to deal with the fluctuations of wind power and photovoltaics.
ITER
ITER (initially the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, iter meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy through a fusion process similar to that of the Sun. Upon completion of construction of the main reactor and first plasma, planned for late 2025, it will be the world's largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment and the largest experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor.
Show more
Related publications (34)

EMC and earthing concept of the ITER EC-system

Damien Fasel, Ugo Siravo, Jérémie Dubray, Francisco Sanchez

Gyrotrons and High Voltage Power Supplies (HVPS) used on electron cyclotron (EC) systems are the source of large electromagnetic interference (EMI). Arcing events inside gyrotrons is the most frequently cited issue, but fast shutdown of a HVPS can produce ...
ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA2023

Experimental study of stability, quench propagation and detection methods on 15 kA sub-scale HTS fusion conductors in SULTAN

Pierluigi Bruzzone, Kamil Sedlák, Nikolay Bykovskiy, Ortensia Dicuonzo

High-temperature superconductors (HTSs) enable exclusive operating conditions for fusion magnets, boosting their performance up to 20 T generated magnetic fields in the temperature range from 4 K to 20 K. One of the main technological issues of HTS conduct ...
IOP Publishing Ltd2023

AC loss and electrical resistance of the RW3 diffusion-bonded joint

Vincenzo D'Auria

For the European DEMO fusion reactor, several options of the Toroidal Field (TF) coil design were proposed. The winding of the TF coil option 1 is based on React&Wind (RW), Nb3Sn, graded conductors in order to optimize the amount of superconductor accordin ...
2023
Show more
Related MOOCs (7)
Plasma Physics: Introduction
Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.
Plasma Physics: Introduction
Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.
Plasma Physics: Applications
Learn about plasma applications from nuclear fusion powering the sun, to making integrated circuits, to generating electricity.
Show more

Graph Chatbot

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.