Railgun pellet injection system using a laser-induced plasma armature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onozuka, M.; Oda, Y.; Azuma, K. [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Yokohama (Japan). Advanced Technology Development Dept.; Kasai, S.; Hasegawa, K. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Naka, Ibaraki (Japan)

1996-06-01

An electromagnetic railgun pellet injection system that utilizes a laser-induced plasma armature formation has been developed for fusion experimental devices. Using the laser-induced plasma formation technique, the required breakdown voltage was reduced by one-tenth compared with that for the spark-discharged plasma. A small amount of hydrogen gas increased the breakdown voltage of helium gas. This effect is considered to be one of the reasons for lowering the energy conversion coefficient for hydrogen pellet acceleration. To compensate for the low pellet acceleration efficiency, a railgun with ceramic insulators and an augmented rail structure has been tested. The energy conversion coefficient using the augmented railgun was further increased from that using a single-rail structure with the plastic insulators. The average acceleration rate was almost doubled. The highest hydrogen pellet velocity was about 2.3 km s{sup -1}. (Author).

Railgun pellet injection system using a laser-induced plasma armature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onozuka, M.; Oda, Y.; Azuma, K.

1996-01-01

An electromagnetic railgun pellet injection system that utilizes a laser-induced plasma armature formation has been developed for fusion experimental devices. Using the laser-induced plasma formation technique, the required breakdown voltage was reduced by one-tenth compared with that for the spark-discharged plasma. A small amount of hydrogen gas increased the breakdown voltage of helium gas. This effect is considered to be one of the reasons for lowering the energy conversion coefficient for hydrogen pellet acceleration. To compensate for the low pellet acceleration efficiency, a railgun with ceramic insulators and an augmented rail structure has been tested. The energy conversion coefficient using the augmented railgun was further increased from that using a single-rail structure with the plastic insulators. The average acceleration rate was almost doubled. The highest hydrogen pellet velocity was about 2.3 km s -1 . (Author)

IAEA technical committee meeting on pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The IAEA Technical Committee Meeting on Pellet Injection, May 10-12, 1993, at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Naka, Ibaraki-ken, Japan, was held to review the latest results on pellet injection and its effects on plasma confinement. In particular, topics included in the meeting include (i) pellet ablation and particle fueling results, (ii) pellet injection effects on confinement, including improved confinement modes, edge effects, magnetohydrodynamic activity and impurity transport, and (iii) injector technology and diagnostics using pellets. About 30 experts attended and 23 papers were presented. Refs, figs and tabs

Pellet injection and toroidal confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-12-01

The proceedings of a technical committee meeting on pellet injection and toroidal confinement, held in Gut Ising, Federal Republic of Germany, 24-26 October, 1988, are given in this report. Most of the major fusion experiments are using pellet injectors; these were reported at this meeting. Studies of confinement, which is favorably affected, impurity transport, radiative energy losses, and affects on the ion temperature gradient instability were given. Studies of pellet ablation and effects on plasma profiles were presented. Finally, several papers described present and proposed injection guns. Refs, figs and tabs

Application of EMILAC to pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwamura, Yasuhiro; Yamasaki, Takao; Nakamura, Hirone; Hashimoto, Mitsuo; Miya, Kenzo

1987-01-01

A new type of electromagnetic accelerator for pellet injection is proposed. Projectile of cylinder shape is accelerated with the repulsive force generated by a combination of two coils, which are different in purpose. And the accelerator is named EMILAC (Electro-Magnetic Inductive Linear Accelerator). In this paper, we investigate the method of applying EMILAC to pellet injection, and calculate the ablation rate of pellet. (author)

Table-top pellet injector (TATOP) for impurity pellet injection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szepesi, Tamás, E-mail: szepesi.tamas@wigner.mta.hu [Wigner RCP, RMI, Konkoly Thege 29-33, H-1121 Budapest (Hungary); Herrmann, Albrecht [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Kocsis, Gábor; Kovács, Ádám; Németh, József [Wigner RCP, RMI, Konkoly Thege 29-33, H-1121 Budapest (Hungary); Ploeckl, Bernhard [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • A portable pellet injector for solid state pellets was designed. • Aims to study ELM triggering potential of impurity pellets. • Aims for multi-machine comparison of pellet–plasma interaction. • Max. pellet speed: 450 m/s, max. rate: 25 Hz. • Pellet size: 0.5–1.5 mm (diameter). - Abstract: A table-top pellet injector (TATOP) has been designed to fulfill the following scientific aims: to study the ELM triggering potential of impurity pellets, and to make pellet injection experiments comparable over several fusion machines. The TATOP is based on a centrifugal accelerator therefore the complete system is run in vacuum, ensuring the compatibility with fusion devices. The injector is able to launch any solid material (stable at room temperature) in form of balls with a diameter in the 0.5–1.5 mm range. The device hosts three individual pellet tanks that can contain e.g. pellets of different materials, and the user can select from those without opening the vacuum chamber. A key element of the accelerator is a two-stage stop cylinder that reduces the spatial scatter of pellets exiting the acceleration arm below 6°, enabling the efficient collection of all fired pellets. The injector has a maximum launch speed of 450 m/s. The launching of pellets can be done individually by providing TTL triggers for the injector, giving a high level of freedom for the experimenter when designing pellet trains. However, the (temporary) firing rate cannot be larger than 25 Hz. TATOP characterization was done in a test bed; however, the project is still in progress and before application at a fusion oriented experiment.

Pellet ablation and cloud flow characteristics in the JIPP T-IIU plasma with the injection-angle controllable system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakakita, H.; Sato, K.N.; Liang, R.; Hamada, Y.; Ando, A.; Kano, Y.; Sakamoto, M.

1994-01-01

Pellet ablation and flow characteristics of ablation cloud have been studied in the JIPP T-IIU plasma by using an injection-angle controllable system. A new technique for an ice pellet injection system with controllability of injection angle has been developed and installed to the JIPP T-IIU tokamak in order to vary deposition profile of ice pellets within a plasma. Injection angle can be varied easily and successfully during an interval of two plasma shots in the course of an experiment, so that one can carry out various basic experiments by varying the pellet deposition profile. The injection angle has been varied poloidally from -6 to 6 degree by changing the angle of the last stage drift tube. This situation makes possible for pellets to aim at from about r = -2a/3 to r = 2a/3 of the plasma. From two dimensional observations by CCD cameras, details of the pellet ablation structures with various injection angles have been studied, and a couple of interesting phenomena have been found. In the case of an injection angle (θ) larger than a certain value (θ ≥ 4 o ), a pellet penetrates straightly through the plasma with a trace of straight ablation cloud, which has been expected from usual theoretical consideration. On the other hand, a long helical tail of ablation light has been observed in the case of the angle smaller than the certain value (θ ≤ 4 o ). (author) 4 refs., 4 figs

Injection of pellets into the TCA tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, Y.

1993-05-01

This thesis presents experimental results from the analysis of the ablation process of pellets injected into the TCA tokamak. The determination of scaling laws relating the pellet penetration to the pellet and plasma parameters preceding injection, were used to improve the understanding of the interaction of the pellet with the plasma since a) the pellet and plasma conditions preceding injection were varied over a large range, and b) the estimation of the penetration depth takes into account the influence of striations in the deposition profile. Over 400 pellets with a range of sizes and speeds were injected into a range of plasma parameters in order to create a database from which the scaling laws could be deduced. The ablation characteristics were principally measured with two CCD video cameras, which provided good spatial resolution, and two filtered photomultiplier tubes, which provided good temporal resolution of the light emitted from the pellet ablation cloud. In the text, the traditional methods of analysing these diagnostics are examined with special reference to the presumptions that a) the pellet velocity is constant in the plasma, and b) the light intensity determined from the ablation cloud is proportional to the ablation rate. After successive data reduction from the database, in order to separate the effects of varying different parameters, the main observations were that, a) the pellet penetration varies as the square root of the pellet velocity, b) the scaling laws for the other parameters strongly depend on whether the pellet has sufficient velocity to reach the q=1 rational magnetic surface in the tokamak. (author) 45 refs

Impurity pellet injection experiments at TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marmar, E.S.

1992-01-01

Impurity (Li and C) pellet injection experiments on TFTR have produced a number of new and significant results. (1) We observe reproducible improvements of TFTR supershots after wall-conditioning by Li pellet injection ('lithiumization'). (2) We have made accurate measurements of the pitch angle profiles of the internal magnetic field using two novel techniques. The first measures the internal field pitch from the polarization angles of Li + line emission from the pellet ablation cloud, while the second measures the pitch angle profiles by observing the tilt of the cigar-shaped Li + emission region of the ablation cloud. (3) Extensive measurements of impurity pellet penetration into plasmas with central temperatures ranging from ∼0.3 to ∼7 keV have been made and compared with available theoretical models. Other aspects of pellet cloud physics have been investigated. (4) Using pellets as a well defined perturbation has allowed study of transport phenomena. In the case of small pellet perturbations, the characteristics of the background plasmas are probed, while with large pellets, pellet induced effects are clearly observed. These main results are discussed in more detail in this paper

Pellet injection and plasma behavior simulation code PEPSI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takase, Haruhiko; Tobita, Kenji; Nishio, Satoshi

2003-08-01

Fueling is one of the major issues on design of nuclear fusion reactor and the injection of solid hydrogen pellet to the core plasma is a useful method. On the design of a nuclear fusion reactor, it is necessary to determine requirements on the pellet size, the number of pellets, the injection speed and the injection cycle. PEllet injection and Plasma behavior SImulation code PEPSI has been developed to assess these parameters. PEPSI has two special features: 1) Adopting two numerical pellet models, Parks model and Strauss model, 2) Calculating fusion power and other plasma parameters in combination with a time-dependent one-dimensional transport model. This report describes the numerical models, numerical scheme, sequence of calculation, list of subroutines, list of variables and an example of calculation. (author)

Experimental study of curved guide tubes for pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, S.K.; Baylor, L.R.; Foust, C.R.; Gouge, M.J.; Jernigan, T.C.; Milora, S.L.

1997-01-01

The use of curved guide tubes for transporting frozen hydrogen pellets offers great flexibility for pellet injection into plasma devices. While this technique has been previously employed, an increased interest in its applicability has been generated with the recent ASDEX Upgrade experimental data for magnetic high-field side (HFS) pellet injection. In these innovative experiments, the pellet penetration appeared to be significantly deeper than for the standard magnetic low-field side injection scheme, along with corresponding greater fueling efficiencies. Thus, some of the major experimental fusion devices are planning experiments with HFS pellet injection. Because of the complex geometries of experimental fusion devices, installations with multiple curved guide tube sections will be required for HFS pellet injection. To more thoroughly understand and document the capability of curved guide tubes, an experimental study is under way at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In particular, configurations and pellet parameters applicable for the DIII-D tokamak and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) were simulated in laboratory experiments. Initial test results with nominal 2.7- and 10-mm-diam deuterium pellets are presented and discussed

Experiments on Li pellet injection into Heliotron E

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sergeev, V.Yu.; Khlopenkov, K.V.; Kuteev, B.V.; Sudo, S.; Kondo, K.; Zushi, H.; Besshou, S.; Sano, F.; Okada, H.; Mizuuchi, T.; Nagasaki, K.; Obiki, T.; Kurimoto, Y.

1998-01-01

Li pellets of large size were injected into electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) heated plasmas and neutral beam injection (NBI) heated plasmas of Heliotron E. The discharge behaviour, pellet ablation and wall conditioning were studied. The electron pressure is doubled after injection into the NBI plasma and remains unchanged in the case of ECR heating. This may be due to the energy exchange between the electrons and thermal ions with the fast ions from the neutral beam. The observed discrepancy between the experimental and modelled ablation rates may be caused by both the plasma cooling due to pellet ablatant and the ablation stimulated by the fast ions in the NBI-heated regime and by the fast electrons in the ECR-heated regime. In preliminary experiments on wall conditioning by Li pellet injection, no improvement of plasma performance after Li pellet injection was observed in the divertor or limiter configuration, with the limiter radii r L =24-25cm. (author)

Model for pneumatic pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hogan, J.T.; Milora, S.L.; Schuresko, D.D.

1983-07-01

A hydrodynamic code has been developed to model the performance of pneumatic pellet injection systems. The code describes one dimensional, unsteady compressible gas dynamics, including gas friction and heat transfer to the walls in a system with variable area. The mass, momentum, and energy equations are solved with an iterated Lax-Wendroff scheme with additional numerical viscosity. The code is described and comparisons with experimental data are presented

Hydrogen pellet injection into Alcator C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenwald, M.

1983-09-01

A four-shot pneumatic pellet injector, based on an ORNL design, has been built and operated on the Alcator C tokamak at MIT. The injector fires four independently-timed frozen hydrogen pellets with velocities in the range 8 x 10 4 - 1 x 10 5 cm/sec. Each contains 6 x 10 19 particles which corresponds to = 2 x 10 14 /cm 3 . The objectives of this experiment are to study pellet fueling and penetration, particle confinement, dependence of energy confinement on density profile and fueling mode, and edge physics and recycling as a function of fueling mode. Typical pre-injection plasmas have had anti n/sub e/ = 2 - 3 x 10 14 , Bt = 80 - 100 kG, Ip = 400 - 500 kA, T/sub e/(0) = 1200 - 1500 ev. A single pellet injected into this plasma will roughly double the electron density. Record plasma densities have been obtained by multiple injections. Line average densities in excess of 8 x 10 14 have been achieved, with highly peaked profiles. Central densities of 1.5 - 2 x 10 15 have been measured

Second jet workshop on pellet injection: pellet fueling program in the United States. Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milora, S.L.

1983-01-01

S. Milora described the US programme on pellet injection. It has four parts: (1) a confinement experimental program; (2) pellet injector development; (3) theoretical support; and (4) tritium pellet study for TFTR

Pellet injection in the RFP (Reversed Field Pinch)

Science.gov (United States)

Wurden, G. A.; Weber, P. G.; Munson, C. P.; Cayton, T. E.; Bunting, C. A.; Carolan, P. G.

Observation of pellets injected into the ZT-40M Reversed Field Pinch has allowed a new twist on the usual tokamak ablation physics modeling. The RFP provides a strong ohmic heating regime with relatively high electron drift parameter (xi sub drift approx. 0.2), in the presence of a highly sheared magnetic field geometry. In situ photos of the pellet ablation cloud using a grated-intensified CCD camera, as well as two-view integrated photos of the pellet trajectory show substantial modification of the original pellet trajectory, in both direction and speed. Depending on the launch geometry, increases in the initial 500 m/s pellet speed by 50 percent were observed, and a ski jump deflector plate in the launch port has been used to counteract strong poloidal curvature. In contrast to the tokamak, the D sub alpha light signature is strongest near the edge, and weaker in the plasma center. Additional information on ion temperature response to pellet injection with 20 microsec time resolution has been obtained using a 5-channel neutral particle analyzer (NPA). The energy confinement is transiently degraded while the beta is largely unchanged. This may be indicative of pellet injection into a high-beta plasma operating at fixed beta.

Pellet injection in the RFP [Reversed Field Pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wurden, G.A.; Weber, P.G.; Munson, C.P.; Cayton, T.E.; Bunting, C.A.; Carolan, P.G.

1988-01-01

Observation of pellets injected into the ZT-40M Reversed Field Pinch has allowed a new twist on the usual tokamak ablation physics modeling. The RFP provides a strong ohmic heating regime with relatively high electron drift parameter (ξ/sub drift/ /approximately/ 0.2), in the presence of a highly sheared magnetic field geometry. In situ photos of the pellet ablation cloud using a grated-intensified CCD camera, as well as two-view integrated photos of the pellet trajectory show substantial modification of the original pellet trajectory, in both direction and speed. Depending on the launch geometry, increases in the initial 500 m/s pellet speed by 50% have been observed, and a ski jump deflector plate in the launch port has been used to counteract strong poloidal curvature. In contrast to the tokamak, the D/sub α/ light signature is strongest near the edge, and weaker in the plasma center. Additional information on ion temperature response to pellet injection with 20 μsec time resolution has been obtained using a 5-channel neutral particle analyzer (NPA). The energy confinement is transiently degraded while the beta is largely unchanged. This may be indicative of pellet injection into a high-beta plasma operating at fixed beta. 10 refs., 6 figs

Lithium pellet injection experiments on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garnier, Darren Thomas [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1996-06-01

A pellet enhanced performance mode, showing significantly reduced core transport, is regularly obtained after the injection of deeply penetrating lithium pellets into Alcator C-Mod discharges. These transient modes, which typically persist about two energy confinement times, are characterized by a steep pressure gradient (ℓ_p ℓ a/5) in the inner third of the plasma, indicating the presence of an internal transport barrier. Inside this barrier, particle and energy diffusivities are greatly reduced, with ion thermal diffusivity dropping to near neoclassical values. Meanwhile, the global energy confinement time shows a 30% improvement over ITER89-P L-mode scaling. The addition of ICRF auxiliary heating shortly after the pellet injection leads to high fusion reactivity with neutron rates enhanced by an order of magnitude over L-mode discharges with similar input powers. A diagnostic system for measuring equilibrium current density profiles of tokamak plasmas, employing high speed lithium pellets, is also presented. Because ions are confined to move along field lines, imaging the Li⁺ emission from the toroidally extended pellet ablation cloud gives the direction of the magnetic field. To convert from temporal to radial measurements, the 3-D trajectory of the pellet is determined using a stereoscopic tracking system. These measurements, along with external magnetic measurements, are used to solve the Grad-Shafranov equation for the magnetic equilibrium of the plasma. This diagnostic is used to determine the current density profile of PEP modes by injection of a second pellet during the period of good confinement. This measurement indicates that a region of reversed magnetic shear exists at the plasma core. This current density profile is consistent with TRANSP calculations for the bootstrap current created by the pressure gradient. MHD stability analysis indicates that these plasmas are near the n = ∞ and the n = 1 marginal stability limits.

Lithium pellet injection experiments on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garnier, D.T.

1996-06-01

A pellet enhanced performance mode, showing significantly reduced core transport, is regularly obtained after the injection of deeply penetrating lithium pellets into Alcator C-Mod discharges. These transient modes, which typically persist about two energy confinement times, are characterized by a steep pressure gradient (ell p ≤ a/5) in the inner third of the plasma, indicating the presence of an internal transport barrier. Inside this barrier, particle and energy diffusivities are greatly reduced, with ion thermal diffusivity dropping to near neoclassical values. Meanwhile, the global energy confinement time shows a 30% improvement over ITER89-P L-mode scaling. The addition of ICRF auxiliary heating shortly after the pellet injection leads to high fusion reactivity with neutron rates enhanced by an order of magnitude over L-mode discharges with similar input powers. A diagnostic system for measuring equilibrium current density profiles of tokamak plasmas, employing high speed lithium pellets, is also presented. Because ions are confined to move along field lines, imaging the Li + emission from the toroidally extended pellet ablation cloud gives the direction of the magnetic field. To convert from temporal to radial measurements, the 3-D trajectory of the pellet is determined using a stereoscopic tracking system. These measurements, along with external magnetic measurements, are used to solve the Grad-Shafranov equation for the magnetic equilibrium of the plasma. This diagnostic is used to determine the current density profile of PEP modes by injection of a second pellet during the period of good confinement. This measurement indicates that a region of reversed magnetic shear exists at the plasma core. This current density profile is consistent with TRANSP calculations for the bootstrap current created by the pressure gradient. MHD stability analysis indicates that these plasmas are near the n = ∞ and the n = 1 marginal stability limits

Deuterium pellet injection in the TFR Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazare, O.

1985-07-01

Injecting fresh fuel deep inside the plasma of a thermonuclear reactor appears to be necessary; the only way to do that is to inject fast solid deuterium pellets. The existing theoretical, technical and experimental aspects of this method are presented. The experiments on TFR have confirmed that injecting pellets is technically feasible; a new kind of injector is presented. The injection does not degrade stability nor confinement of the plasma. The study of the transient phenomena occuring during the injection has proved to be an efficient way to investigate particles and energy transport in the discharge; in particular, a fast transport phenomenon, similar to those occuring during disruptions, has been studied in details. Conclusions about disruptions are drawn. (Ref 101) [fr

Hydrogen pellet injection device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanno, Masahiro.

1992-01-01

In a hydrogen pellet injection device, a nozzle block having a hydrogen gas supply channel is disposed at the inner side of a main cryogenic housing, and an electric resistor is attached to the block. Further, a nozzle block and a hydrogen gas introduction pipe are attached by way of a thermal insulating spacer. Electric current is supplied to the resistor to positively heat the nozzle block and melt remaining solid hydrogen in the hydrogen gas supply channel. Further, the effect of temperature elevation due to the resistor is prevented from reaching the side of the hydrogen gas introduction pipe by the thermal insulation spacer. That is, the temperature of the nozzle block is directly and positively elevated, to melt the solid hydrogen rapidly. Preparation operation from the injection of the hydrogen pellet to the next injection can be completed in a shorter period of time compared with a conventional case thereby enabling to make the test more efficient. Further, only the temperature of the nozzle block is elevated with no effect of temperature elevation due to the resistor to other components by the thermal insulation flange. (N.H.)

Vertical pellet injection in FTU discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giovannozzi, E.; Annibaldi, S.V.; Buratti, P.

2005-01-01

Central fuelling and pellet enhanced performance modes have been obtained with pellets injected vertically from the high field side on the FTU tokamak. Four phases have been recognized: ablation of the pellets, drifting plasmoids, MHD modes which take the density to the centre of the discharge and finally an anomalous drift which further increases the density peaking. Pellet ablation data have been compared with values from a pellet ablation and deposition code. Comparison between 0.8 and 1.1 MA discharges at a high magnetic field (B T = 7 T) has been carried out: a higher performance has been obtained with the latter due to the higher target density and the larger inversion radius which would increase the effects of m = 1 modes to take the density to the plasma centre

Current generation by phased injection of pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisch, N.J.

1983-08-01

By phasing the injection of frozen pellets into a tokamak plasma, it is possible to generate current. The current occurs when the electron flux to individual members of an array of pellets is asymmetric with respect to the magnetic field. The utility of this method for tokamak reactors, however, is unclear; the current, even though free in a pellet-fueled reactor, may not be large enough to be worth the trouble. Uncertainty as to the utility of this method is, in part, due to uncertainty as to proper modeling of the one-pellet problem

Review: study of single-pellet injection experiments and development of pellet injector in JFT-2M

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasai, Satoshi; Miura, Yukitoshi; Hasegawa, Kouichi; Sengoku, Seio

1987-10-01

The single pellet injector developed for JFT-2M and the improvement of plasma characteristics in the auxiliary-heated discharges by single-pellet injection are reviewed for the period 1982 - 1986. The pellet injector is a pneumatic type and the designed pellet size is 1.65 mmD x 1.65 mmL and 1 mmD x 1 mmL. The hydrogen, deuterium and mixed (H 2 + D 2 ) pellets can be produced with good reproducibility. Maximum pellet velocity is about 970 m/s (pellet is deuterium and propellant gas is hydrogen). In the pellet injection experiments into auxiliary-heated (NB, ICRF) divertor or limiter discharges, the plasma confinement time is improved by a factor of 1.4 - 1.7 compared with the confinement time in the Ohmic discharges. The achieved confinement time is longer than that on the high confinement mode (H-mode) in gas fueled discharges, although the phenomena are transient. (author)

Pellet injection in a tokamak hot plasma. Theory and experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Picchiottino, J.M.

1994-01-01

The ultimate aim of pellet ablation studies is to predict what the plasma temperature and density profiles are just after a pellet injection. This requires description of the pellet ablation process, the parallel expansion of the ablatant and the fast outward motion of the deposited material since these three phenomena successively occur from the time of pellet injection to the moment when new axisymmetric profiles are reached. Only the two first points have been quantitatively modelled. If the most important processes of ablation physics are identified and although current models reproduce both measured penetrations and averaged characteristics of ablation clouds, some debatable points remain, mainly bearing on the drifts associated with the pellet motion and, consequently, on the effective shielding efficiency of the ionized part of the ablation cloud. During its parallel expansion, the ablated material experiences a strong poloidal rotation which depends on the ratio of the pellet and plasma masses and is due to the total kinetic momentum conservation on each magnetic surface. The fact that this rotation occurs on the same timescale as the outward motion suggests that both phenomena can be linked and that a comprehensive model of the whole fuelling process may emerge from considering the pellet and the plasma as a unique system. (author). 94 refs., 142 figs., 4 annexes

Impurity pellet injection experiments at TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marmar, E.S.

1991-01-01

Impurity (Li and C) pellet experiments, which began at TFTR in 1989, and are expected to continue at least through 1991, have continued to produce new and significant results. The most significant of these are: (1) improvements in TFTR supershots after wall-conditioning by Li pellet injection; (2) accurate measurements of the pitch angle profiles of the internal magnetic field using the polarization angles of line emission from Li + in the pellet ablation cloud; and (3) initial measurements of pitch angle profiles using the tilt of the LI + emission region of the ablation cloud which is stretched out along the field lines

Solid hydrogen pellet injection into the ORMAK Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, C.A.; Colchin, R.J.; Milora, S.L.; Kim, K.; Turnbull, R.J.

1977-06-01

Solid hydrogen spheres were injected into the ORMAK tokamak as a test of pellet refueling for tokamak fusion reactors. Pellets 70 μm and 210 μm in diameter were injected with speeds of 91 m/sec and 100 m/sec, respectively. Each of the 210-μm pellets added about 1% to the number of particles contained in the plasma. Excited neutrals, ablated from these hydrogen spheres, emitted light which was monitored either by a photomultiplier or by a high speed framing camera. From these light signals it was possible to measure pellet lifetimes, ablation rates, and the spatial distribution of hydrogen atoms in the ablation clouds. The average measured lifetime of the 70-μm pellets was 422 μsec, and the 210-μm spheres lasted 880 μsec under bombardment by the plasma. These lifetimes and measured ablation rates are in good agreement with a theoretical model which takes into account shielding of plasma electrons by hydrogen atoms ablated from spherical hydrogen ice

Energetic ion diagnostics using neutron flux measurements during pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heidbrink, W.W.

1986-01-01

Neutron measurements during injection of deuterium pellets into deuterium plasmas on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) indicate that the fractional increase in neutron emission about 0.5 msec after pellet injection is proportional to the fraction of beam-plasma reactions to total fusion reactions in the unperturbed plasma. These observations suggest three diagnostic applications of neutron measurements during pellet injection: (1) measurement of the beam-plasma reaction rate in deuterium plasmas for use in determining the fusion Q in an equivalent deuterium-tritium plasma, (2) measurement of the radial profile of energetic beam ions by varying the pellet size and velocity, and (3) measurement of the ''temperature'' of ions accelerated during wave heating. 18 refs., 3 figs

Energetic ion diagnostics using neutron flux measurements during pellet injection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heidbrink, W.W.

1986-01-01

Neutron measurements during injection of deuterium pellets into deuterium plasmas on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) indicate that the fractional increase in neutron emission about 0.5 msec after pellet injection is proportional to the fraction of beam-plasma reactions to total fusion reactions in the unperturbed plasma. These observations suggest three diagnostic applications of neutron measurements during pellet injection: (1) measurement of the beam-plasma reaction rate in deuterium plasmas for use in determining the fusion Q in an equivalent deuterium-tritium plasma, (2) measurement of the radial profile of energetic beam ions by varying the pellet size and velocity, and (3) measurement of the ''temperature'' of ions accelerated during wave heating. 18 refs., 3 figs.

Pellet injection requirements for TORE SUPRA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafferranderie, J.

1986-01-01

The main parameters of TORE SUPRA are outlined and pellet injection requirements to meet plasma density goals are discussed. Topics considered include plasma buildup, plasma refueling and penetration depth

Pellet injection experiments on the TFR Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-02-01

Single pellet injection experiments have been carried out on TFR with the aim to improve the experimental knowledge of ablation physical processes and also to get a better description of the heat and matter transport during and after pellet evaporation. Ablation clouds have been photographed, providing experimental penetration depths in rough agreement with the neutral shielding model. Observation of striations in the cloud has led to an experimental determination of the safety factor profile. Parameters of the plasma in the ablation cloud have been spectroscopically determined. Fast heat transport has been evidenced during pellet evaporation (∼ 100 μs) which exhibits some features of minor or major disruptions (appearance of a m = 1, n = 1 island on the q = 1 surface, bursts of density fluctuations, comparable heat diffusivity, ...). Matter transport takes place on a larger time scale (∼ 10 ms). This long temporal relaxation is well accounted for by the 1D-MAKOKOT computer code without changing the transport coefficients after pellet injection. Heat and matter transport are affected by the presence of the m = 1, n = 1 island on the q = 1 surface

Improved fueling and transport barrier formation with pellet injection from different locations on DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baylor, L.R.; Jernigan, T.C.; Gohil, P.

2001-01-01

Pellet injection has been employed on DIII-D from different injection locations to optimize the mass deposition for density profile control and internal transport barrier formation. Transport barriers have been formed deep in the plasma core with central mass deposition from high field side (HFS) injected pellets and in the edge with pellets that trigger L-mode to H-mode transitions. Pellets injected from all locations can trigger the H-mode transition, which depends on the edge density gradient created and not on the radial extent of the pellet deposition. Pellets injected from inside the magnetic axis from the inner wall or vertical port lead to stronger central mass deposition than pellets injected from the low field side (LFS) and thus yield deeper more efficient fueling. (author)

A Comparison of Fueling with Deuterium Pellet Injection from Different Locations on the DIII-D Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baylor, L.R.; Combs, S.K.; Gohil, P.; Houlberg, W.A.; Hsieh, C.; Jernigan, T.C.; Parks, P.B.

1999-01-01

Initial pellet injection experiments on DIII-D with high field side (HFS) injection have demonstrated that deeper pellet fuel deposition is possible even with HFS injected pellets that are significantly slower than pellets injected from the low field side (LFS) (outer midplane) location. A radial displacement of the pellet mass shortly after or during the ablation process is consistent with the observed mass deposition profiles measured shortly after injection. Vertical injection inside the magnetic axis shows some improvement in fueling efficiency over LFS injection and may provide an optimal injection location for fueling with high speed pellets

Pellet injection experiments on tokamaks in ASIPP, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Y.; Bao, Y.; Li, J.; Gu, X.; He, Y.

1999-01-01

Pellet Injection has been proven to be an effective method for deep fuelling of fusion devices. Improvements of both the particle confinement and the energy confinement were observed in many experiments. In HT-6M and HT-7 tokamaks, single and multi-pellet experiments are tried, and attractive results are obtained

3D MHD simulations of pellet injection and disruptions in tokamak plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strauss, H.R.; Park, W.; Belova, E.; Fu, G.Y.; Sugiyama, L.E.

2001-01-01

Nonlinear MHD simulation results of pellet injection show that MHD forces can accelerate large pellets, injected on the high field side of a tokamak, to the plasma center. Magnetic reconnection can produce a reverse shear q profile. Ballooning instability caused by pellets is also reduced by high field side injection. Studies are also reported of the current quench phase of disruptions, which can cause 3D halo currents and runaway electrons. (author)

3D MHD simulations of pellet injection and disruptions in tokamak plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strauss, H.R.; Park, W.; Belova, E.; Fu, G.Y.; Sugiyama, L.E.

1999-01-01

Nonlinear MHD simulation results of pellet injection show that MHD forces can accelerate large pellets, injected on the high field side of a tokamak, to the plasma center. Magnetic reconnection can produce a reverse shear q profile. Ballooning instability caused by pellets is also reduced by high field side injection. Studies are also reported of the current quench phase of disruptions, which can cause 3D halo currents and runaway electrons. (author)

Determination of the effective source of particles associated with pellet injection. Application to ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nehme, H.

2009-11-01

The determination of the effective source of particle associated with the injection of a pellet requires a thorough description of both pellet ablation and deposited material homogenization. The goal of this report is the description of such a study. In the first part, which is devoted to ablation physics, we first analyze the relative importance of the different processes shielding the pellet against the plasma heat flux, then present an attempt for validating the calculation of the over-ablation due to the suprathermal ion tail generated by the discharge heating systems and then estimate the influence of the initial shape of the pellet on the ablation rate. In the second part, which is devoted to the description of the drift of the pellet deposited material down the magnetic field gradient, we present a critical review of the drift models available up to now, then compare the measured characteristics of deposition profiles to our own simulations, showing a good agreement. This was done for data originating from different machines. Then, we describe the several improvements brought to our model and demonstrate - which is new, that there is a correlation between the location of the maximum of matter deposition and that of integer (and/or half-integer) q-surfaces. It must be noted that the underlying process is intrinsic to our modeling and that our calculations reproduce reasonably well the observed correlation for both the LFS (Low Field Side) and HFS (High Field Side) pellet data bases of Tore Supra and DIII-D. The last part reports on the modeling of pellet injection in ITER. First, from the present design of the pellet injection system, we estimate the expected deposition depth of the pellet material (ρ/a ∼ 0.85) and the flux to be injected for pacing the ELMs (Edge Localized Mode) and maintaining the core density (between 150 and 200 Pam 3 s -1 ). Then, we present a parametric study demonstrating that it is not possible to improve significantly the fuelling

Pellet injection experiments on tokamaks in ASIPP, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Y.; Bao, Y.; Li, J.; Gu, X.; He, Y.

2001-01-01

Pellet injection has been proved to be an effective method for deep fueling of fusion devices. Improvements of both the particle confinement and the energy confinement were observed in many experiments. In HT-6M and HT-7 tokamaks, single and multi-pellet experiments are tried, and attractive results are obtained. (author)

Interaction of an ice pellet and a toroidal plasma in the JIPP T-IIU tokamak with the injection-angle controllable system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, K.N.; Sakakita, H.; Liang, R.; Hamada, Y.; Ida, K.; Kano, Y.; Sakamoto, M.

1994-01-01

The interaction of an ice pellet and a toroidal plasma has been studied in the JIPP T-IIU tokamak by using an injection-angle controllable system. In order to carry out various basic experiments by varying the pellet deposition profile within a plasma, anew technique for an ice pellet injection system with controllability of the injection angle has been developed and installed with the JIPP t-IIU tokamak. Injection angle can be varied easily and successfully during an interval of two plasma shots in the course of an experiment. The injection angle has been varied poloidally from 6 to 6 degree by changing the angle of the last stage drift tube, and this makes possible for pellets to aim at from about r = -2 a/3 to r = 2 a/3 of the plasma. From two dimensional observations by CCD cameras, details of the pellet ablation structures with various injections angles have been studied, and a couple of interesting phenomena have been found. In the case of an injection angle (θ) larger than a certain value (θ ≥ 4 0 ), a pellet penetrates straightly through the plasma with a trace of straight ablation cloud, which has been expected from usual theoretical consideration. On the other hand, a long helical tail of ablation light has been observed in the case of the angle smaller than the certain value (θ ≤ 4 0 ). The direction of helical rotation (tail) is independent to that of the total magnetic field lines of the torus. In order to examine the tail direction, further experiments have been carried out as to four conditions of the combination with two (clockwise and counter-clockwise) toroidal field directions and with two plasma current directions. The results show that it seems to rotate to the electron diamagnetic direction poloidally, and to the opposite to the plasma current direction toroidally. Consideration on various cross sections including charge exchange, ionization and elastic collisions leads us to the conclusion that the tail-shaped phenomena may come from

Runaway electron generation during plasma shutdown by killer pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gal, K; Feher, T; Smith, H; Fueloep, T; Helander, P

2008-01-01

Tokamak discharges are sometimes terminated by disruptions that may cause large mechanical and thermal loads on the vessel. To mitigate disruption-induced problems it has been proposed that 'killer' pellets could be injected into the plasma in order to safely terminate the discharge. Killer pellets enhance radiative energy loss and thereby lead to rapid cooling and shutdown of the discharge. But pellets may also cause runaway electron generation, as has been observed in experiments in several tokamaks. In this work, runaway dynamics in connection with deuterium or carbon pellet-induced fast plasma shutdown is considered. A pellet code, which calculates the material deposition and initial cooling caused by the pellet is coupled to a runaway code, which determines the subsequent temperature evolution and runaway generation. In this way, a tool has been created to test the suitability of different pellet injection scenarios for disruption mitigation. If runaway generation is avoided, the resulting current quench times are too long to safely avoid large forces on the vessel due to halo currents

Internal transport barrier formation and pellet injection simulation in helical and tokamak reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higashiyama, You; Yamazaki, Kozo; Arimoto, Hideki; Garcia, Jeronimo

2008-01-01

In the future fusion reactor, plasma density peaking is important for increase in the fusion power gain and for achievement of confinement improvement mode. Density control and internal transport barrier (ITB) formation due to pellet injection have been simulated in tokamak and helical reactors using the toroidal transport linkage code TOTAL. First, pellet injection simulation is carried out, including the neutral gas shielding model and the mass relocation model in the TOTAL code, and the effectiveness of high-field side (HFS) pellet injection is clarified. Second, ITB simulation with pellet injection is carried out with the confinement improvement model based on the E x B shear effects, and it is found that deep pellet penetration is helpful for ITB formation as well as plasma core fuelling in the reversed-shear tokamak and helical reactors. (author)

High-speed pellet injection with a two-stage pneumatic gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reggiori, A.; Carlevaro, R.; Riva, G.; Daminelli, G.B.; Scaramuzzi, F.; Frattolillo, A.; Martinis, L.; Cardoni, P.; Mori, L.

1988-01-01

The injection of pellets of frozen hydrogen isotopes into fusion plasmas is envisioned as a fueling technique for future fusion reactors. Research is underway to obtain high injection speeds for solid H 2 and D 2 pellets. The optimization of a two-stage light gas gun is being pursued by the Milano group; the search for a convenient method of creating pellets with good mechanical properties and a secure attachment to the cold surface on which they are formed is carried out in Frascati. Velocities >2000 m/s have been obtained, but reproducibility is not yet satisfactory

Alpha particle diagnostics using impurity pellet injection (invited)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, R.K.; McChesney, J.M.; Howald, A.W.; Parks, P.B.; Snipes, J.A.; Terry, J.L.; Marmar, E.S.; Zweben, S.J.; Medley, S.S.

1992-01-01

We have proposed using impurity pellet injection to measure the energy distribution of the fast confined alpha particles in a reacting plasma [R. K. Fisher et al., Fusion Technol. 13, 536 (1988)]. The ablation cloud surrounding the injected pellet is thick enough that an equilibrium fraction F ∞ 0 (E) of the incident alphas should be neutralized as they pass through the cloud. By observing neutrals created in the large spatial region of the cloud which is expected to be dominated by the heliumlike ionization state, e.g., Li + ions, we can determine the incident alpha distribution dn He 2+ /dE from the measured energy distribution of neutral helium atoms dn He 0 /dE using dn He 0 /dE = dn He 2+ /dE·F ∞ 0 (E,Li + ). Initial experiments were performed on the Texas Experimental Tokamak (TEXT) in which we compared pellet penetration with our impurity pellet ablation model [P. B. Parks et al., Nucl. Fusion 28, 477 (1988)], and measured the spatial distribution of various ionization states in carbon pellet clouds [R. K. Fisher et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 61, 3196 (1990)]. Experiments have recently begun on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) with the goal of measuring the alpha particle energy distribution during D--T operation in 1993--94. A series of preliminary experiments are planned to test the diagnostic concept. The first experiments will observe neutrals from beam-injected deuterium ions and the high energy 3 He tail produced during ion cyclotron (ICH) minority heating on TFTR interacting with the cloud. We will also monitor by line radiation the charge state distributions in lithium, boron, and carbon clouds

Characteristics of post-disruption runaway electrons with impurity pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawano, Yasunori; Nakano, Tomohide; Isayama, Akihiko; Asakura, Nobuyuki; Tamai, Hiroshi; Kubo, Hirotaka; Takenaga, Hidenobu; Bakhtiari, Mohammad; Ide, Shunsuke; Kondoh, Takashi; Hatae, Takaki

2005-01-01

Characteristics of post-disruption runaway electrons with impurity pellet injection were investigated for the first time using the JT-60U tokamak device. A clear deposition of impurity neon ice pellets was observed in a post-disruption runaway plasma. The pellet ablation was attributed to the energy deposition of relativistic runaway electrons in the pellet. A high normalized electron density was stably obtained with n e bar /n GW ∼2.2. Effects of prompt exhaust of runaway electrons and reduction of runaway plasma current without large amplitude MHD activities were found. One possible explanation for the basic behavior of runaway plasma current is that it follows the balance of avalanche generation of runaway electrons and slowing down predicted by the Andersson-Helander model, including the combined effect of collisional pitch angle scattering and synchrotron radiation. Our results suggested that the impurity pellet injection reduced the energy of runaway electrons in a stepwise manner. (author)

3D Adaptive Mesh Refinement Simulations of Pellet Injection in Tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samtaney, S.; Jardin, S.C.; Colella, P.; Martin, D.F.

2003-01-01

We present results of Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) simulations of the pellet injection process, a proven method of refueling tokamaks. AMR is a computationally efficient way to provide the resolution required to simulate realistic pellet sizes relative to device dimensions. The mathematical model comprises of single-fluid MHD equations with source terms in the continuity equation along with a pellet ablation rate model. The numerical method developed is an explicit unsplit upwinding treatment of the 8-wave formulation, coupled with a MAC projection method to enforce the solenoidal property of the magnetic field. The Chombo framework is used for AMR. The role of the E x B drift in mass redistribution during inside and outside pellet injections is emphasized

Impacts of pellets injected from the low-field side on plasma in ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wisitsorasak, A.; Onjun, T.

2011-01-01

Impacts of pellets injected from the low-field side (LFS) on plasma in ITER are investigated using the 1.5D BALDUR integrated predictive modeling code. In these simulations, the pellet ablation is described using the neutral gas shielding (NGS) model. The pellet ablation model is coupled with the plasma core transport model, which is a combination of the MMM95 anomalous transport model and NCLASS neoclassical transport model. The boundary conditions are assumed to be at the top of the pedestal, in which the pedestal parameters are predicted using a pedestal model based on the theoretical-based pedestal width scaling (either magnetic and flow shear stabilization width scaling, or flow shear stabilization width scaling, or normalized poloidal pressure width scaling) and the infinite-n ballooning mode pressure gradient limit. These pedestal models depend sensitively on the density at the top of the pedestal, which can be strongly influenced by the injection of pellets. The combination of the MMM95 and NCLASS models, together with the pedestal and NGS models, is used to simulate the time evolution of the plasma current, ion and electron temperatures, and density profiles for ITER standard type-I ELMy H-mode discharges during the injection of LFS pellets. It is found that the injection of pellets results in a complicated plasma scenario, especially in the outer region of the plasma and the plasma conditions at the boundary in which the pellet has an impact on increasing the plasma edge density, but reducing the plasma edge temperature. The LFS pellet has a stronger impact on the edge as compared to the center. For fusion performance, the pellet can result in either enhancement or degradation, depending sensitively on the pellet parameters; such as the pellet size, pellet velocity, and pellet frequency. For example, when a series of deuterium pellets with a size of 0.5 cm, velocity of 1 km/s, and frequency of 2 Hz are injected into the ITER plasma from the LFS, the

Solid deuterium pellet injection with a two-stage pneumatic gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reggiori, A.; Riva, G.; Daminelli, G.; Frattolillo, A.; Martinis, L.; Scaramuzzi, F.

1989-01-01

Recent results on injection of D 2 pellets, using an improved light gas gun, are reported. In order to overcome the limits imposed by the low mechanical strength of solid hydrogen, a double-piston gun has been developed, in which the pressure pulse can be shaped in different ways, allowing reduction of the maximum acceleration of the pellet. Experiments have been performed with plastic and D 2 pellets. Velocities above 2500 m/s have been obtained with unbroken D 2 pellets

Pellet injection into H-mode ITER plasma with the presence of internal transport barriers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leekhaphan, P. [Thammasat University, School of Bio-Chemical Engineering and Technology, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (Thailand); Onjun, T. [Thammasat University, School of Manufacturing Systems and Mechanical Engineering, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (Thailand)

2011-04-15

The impacts of pellet injection into ITER type-1 ELMy H-mode plasma with the presence of internal transport barriers (ITBs) are investigated using self-consistent core-edge simulations of 1.5D BALDUR integrated predictive modeling code. In these simulations, the plasma core transport is predicted using a combination of a semi-empirical Mixed B/gB anomalous transport model, which can self-consistently predict the formation of ITBs, and the NCLASS neoclassical model. For simplicity, it is assumed that toroidal velocity for {omega}{sub E Multiplication-Sign B} calculation is proportional to local ion temperature. In addition, the boundary conditions are predicted using the pedestal temperature model based on magnetic and flow shear stabilization width scaling; while the density of each plasma species, including both hydrogenic and impurity species, at the boundary are assumed to be a large fraction of its line averaged density. For the pellet's behaviors in the hot plasma, the Neutral Gas Shielding (NGS) model by Milora-Foster is used. It was found that the injection of pellet could result in further improvement of fusion performance from that of the formation of ITB. However, the impact of pellet injection is quite complicated. It is also found that the pellets cannot penetrate into a deep core of the plasma. The injection of the pellet results in a formation of density peak in the region close to the plasma edge. The injection of pellet can result in an improved nuclear fusion performance depending on the properties of pellet (i.e., increase up to 5% with a speed of 1 km/s and radius of 2 mm). A sensitivity analysis is carried out to determine the impact of pellet parameters, which are: the pellet radius, the pellet velocity, and the frequency of injection. The increase in the pellet radius and frequency were found to greatly improve the performance and effectiveness of fuelling. However, changing the velocity is observed to exert small impact.

Pellet injection into H-mode ITER plasma with the presence of internal transport barriers

Science.gov (United States)

Leekhaphan, P.; Onjun, T.

2011-04-01

The impacts of pellet injection into ITER type-1 ELMy H-mode plasma with the presence of internal transport barriers (ITBs) are investigated using self-consistent core-edge simulations of 1.5D BALDUR integrated predictive modeling code. In these simulations, the plasma core transport is predicted using a combination of a semi-empirical Mixed B/gB anomalous transport model, which can self-consistently predict the formation of ITBs, and the NCLASS neoclassical model. For simplicity, it is assumed that toroidal velocity for ω E× B calculation is proportional to local ion temperature. In addition, the boundary conditions are predicted using the pedestal temperature model based on magnetic and flow shear stabilization width scaling; while the density of each plasma species, including both hydrogenic and impurity species, at the boundary are assumed to be a large fraction of its line averaged density. For the pellet's behaviors in the hot plasma, the Neutral Gas Shielding (NGS) model by Milora-Foster is used. It was found that the injection of pellet could result in further improvement of fusion performance from that of the formation of ITB. However, the impact of pellet injection is quite complicated. It is also found that the pellets cannot penetrate into a deep core of the plasma. The injection of the pellet results in a formation of density peak in the region close to the plasma edge. The injection of pellet can result in an improved nuclear fusion performance depending on the properties of pellet (i.e., increase up to 5% with a speed of 1 km/s and radius of 2 mm). A sensitivity analysis is carried out to determine the impact of pellet parameters, which are: the pellet radius, the pellet velocity, and the frequency of injection. The increase in the pellet radius and frequency were found to greatly improve the performance and effectiveness of fuelling. However, changing the velocity is observed to exert small impact.

First demonstration of laser engagement of 1-Hz-injected flying pellets and neutron generation

Science.gov (United States)

Komeda, Osamu; Nishimura, Yasuhiko; Mori, Yoshitaka; Hanayama, Ryohei; Ishii, Katsuhiro; Nakayama, Suisei; Kitagawa, Yoneyoshi; Sekine, Takashi; Sato, Nakahiro; Kurita, Takashi; Kawashima, Toshiyuki; Kan, Hirofumi; Nakamura, Naoki; Kondo, Takuya; Fujine, Manabu; Azuma, Hirozumi; Motohiro, Tomoyoshi; Hioki, Tatsumi; Kakeno, Mitsutaka; Sunahara, Atsushi; Sentoku, Yasuhiko; Miura, Eisuke

2013-01-01

Pellet injection and repetitive laser illumination are key technologies for realizing inertial fusion energy. Numerous studies have been conducted on target suppliers, injectors, and tracking systems for flying pellet engagement. Here we for the first time demonstrate the pellet injection, counter laser beams' engagement and neutron generation. Deuterated polystyrene (CD) bead pellets, after free-falling for a distance of 18 cm at 1 Hz, are successfully engaged by two counter laser beams from a diode-pumped, ultra-intense laser HAMA. The laser energy, pulse duration, wavelength, and the intensity are 0.63 J per beam, 104 fs, and 811 nm, 4.7 × 1018 W/cm2, respectively. The irradiated pellets produce D(d,n)3He-reacted neutrons with a maximum yield of 9.5 × 104/4π sr/shot. Moreover, the laser is found out to bore a straight channel with 10 μm-diameter through the 1-mm-diameter beads. The results indicate potentially useful technologies and findings for the next step in realizing inertial fusion energy. PMID:24008696

Laser fusion: an assessment of pellet injection, tracking and beam pointing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monsler, M.J.

1978-01-01

A conceptual design is presented for a target injection and final optical system which can be integrated with a lithium waterfall laser fusion reactor and operate repetitively within the presented tolerances. A high f-number focusing system using coated metal optics at 30 to 60 meters distance is suggested. An intermediate section of the differentially pumped beam tube contains flowing xenon which effectively shields the optics from debris and x rays, allowing the mirrors to operate at least a year without optical degradation. Pellets are injected with a repeating gas gun positioned horizontally just above the laser beam. No pellet trajectory correction is desired or required. Simple tracking of the target using a low power laser illuminator, a position sensing photodetector, and a trajectory prediction scheme are assumed. Two-degree of freedom x-y beam steering is preferred, without focus capability. Both the tracker and the adaptive mirror are placed in the laser building, well away from the fixed final optical mirror which faces the microexplosion

Tritium pellet injection sequences for TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houlberg, W.A.; Milora, S.L.; Attenberger, S.E.; Singer, C.E.; Schmidt, G.L.

1983-01-01

Tritium pellet injection into neutral deuterium, beam heated deuterium plasmas in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) is shown to be an attractive means of (1) minimizing tritium use per tritium discharge and over a sequence of tritium discharges; (2) greatly reducing the tritium load in the walls, limiters, getters, and cryopanels; (3) maintaining or improving instantaneous neutron production (Q); (4) reducing or eliminating deuterium-tritium (D-T) neutron production in non-optimized discharges; and (5) generally adding flexibility to the experimental sequences leading to optimal Q operation. Transport analyses of both compression and full-bore TFTR plasmas are used to support the above observations and to provide the basis for a proposed eight-pellet gas gun injector for the 1986 tritium experiments

Results of hydrogen pellet injection into ISX-B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milora, S.L.; Foster, C.A.; Thomas, C.E.

1980-09-01

High speed pellet fueling experiments have been performed on the ISX-B device in a new regime characterized by large global density rise in both ohmic and neutral beam heated discharges. Hydrogen pellets of 1 mm in diameter were injected in the plasma midplane at velocities exceeding 1 km/s. In low temperature ohmic discharges, pellets penetrate beyond the magnetic axis, and in such cases a sharp decrease in ablation is observed as the pellet passes the plasma center. Density increases of approx. 300% have been observed without degrading plasma stability or confinement. Energy confinement time increases in agreement with the empirical scaling tau/sub E/ approx. n/sub e/ and central ion temperature increases as a result of improved ion-electron coupling. Laser-Thomson scattering and radiometer measurements indicate that the pellet interaction with the plasma is adiabatic. Penetration to r/a approx. 0.15 is optimal, in which case large amplitude sawtooth oscillations are observed and the density remains elevated. Gross plasma stability is dependent roughly on the amount of pellet penetration and can be correlated with the expected temporal evolution of the current density profile

Pneumatic pellet injector for JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andelfinger, C.; Buechl, K.; Jacobi, D.; Sandmann, W.; Schiedeck, J.; Schilling, H.B.; Weber, G.

1983-07-01

Pellet injection is a useful tool for plasma diagnostics of tokamaks. Pellets can be applied for investigation of particle, energy and impurity transport, fueling efficiency and magnetic surfaces. Design, operation and control of a single shot pneumatic pellet gun is described in detail including all supplies, the vacuum system and the diagnostics of the pellet. The arrangement of this injector in the torus hall and the interfaces to the JET system and CODAS are considered. A guide tube system for pellet injection is discussed but it will not be recommended for JET. (orig.)

Pellet injectors for JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andelfinger, C.; Buechl, K.; Lang, R.S.; Schilling, H.B.; Ulrich, M.

1981-09-01

Pellet injection for the purpose of refuelling and diagnostic of fusion experiments is considered for the parameters of JET. The feasibility of injectors for single pellets and for quasistationary refuelling is discussed. Model calculations on pellet ablation with JET parameters show the required pellet velocity ( 3 ). For single pellet injection a light gas gun, for refuelling a centrifuge accelerator is proposed. For the latter the mechanical stress problems are discussed. Control and data acquisition systems are outlined. (orig.)

Fast cooling phenomena with ice pellet injection in the JIPP T-IIU Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakamoto, M.; Sato, K.N.; Ogawa, Y.

1991-01-01

Ice pellet injection experiments were carried out in the JIPP T-IIU Tokamak in order to study thermal (cooling) transport just after injection. The cut-off problem of ECE signals due to the rise in density has been resolved by careful measurements of the temperature profile at a high time resolution (Δt = 2μs) during its decay phase. The phenomenon of ultra-fast cooling (so-called pre-cooling) has been identified using the two different methods of ECE and soft X-ray (SXR) measurements. In the outer region (r > r q=1 ) of the plasma the cooling propagation velocity is comparable to or slightly greater than the pellet velocity, while in the central region (r q=1 ) the propagation velocity is significantly greater than the pellet velocity. Ice pellets were injected into various kinds of JIPP T-IIU plasmas, the current and sawtooth phase of which had different values, including a no-sawtooth plasma. The existence of the q = 1 surface and arrival of a pellet near the q = 1 surface have turned out to be necessary conditions for pre-cooling, and even just after the sawtooth crash the pre-cooling starts around the q = 1 surface, not at the plasma center. Simultaneous measurements of electron temperature and density profiles indicate that the central temperature always decreases before the central density increases. Some anomalous transport might be induced by pellet injection at the central region. (Author)

Large potential change induced by pellet injection in JIPP T-IIU tokamak plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamada, Y.; Sato, K.N.; Sakakita, H.

1995-05-01

A large, rapid change in the local plasma potential is found to be induced by off-axis hydrogen ice-pellet injection into a tokamak plasma. The polarity of the rapid change is reversed when the pellet is injected into the upper and lower halves of the poloidal plasma cross-section. This change can be interpreted as being due to the gradient-B drift of particles in the high-density plasmas of the pellet cloud, before the increase of the plasma density due to the ablation becomes uniform on the magnetic surface. (author)

Dissipation of post-disruption runaway electron plateaus by shattered pellet injection in DIII-D

Science.gov (United States)

Shiraki, D.; Commaux, N.; Baylor, L. R.; Cooper, C. M.; Eidietis, N. W.; Hollmann, E. M.; Paz-Soldan, C.; Combs, S. K.; Meitner, S. J.

2018-05-01

We report on the first demonstration of dissipation of fully avalanched post-disruption runaway electron (RE) beams by shattered pellet injection in the DIII-D tokamak. Variation of the injected species shows that dissipation depends strongly on the species mixture, while comparisons with massive gas injection do not show a significant difference between dissipation by pellets or by gas, suggesting that the shattered pellet is rapidly ablated by the relativistic electrons before significant radial penetration into the runaway beam can occur. Pure or dominantly neon injection increases the RE current dissipation through pitch-angle scattering due to collisions with impurity ions. Deuterium injection is observed to have the opposite effect from neon, reducing the high-Z impurity content and thus decreasing the dissipation, and causing the background thermal plasma to completely recombine. When injecting mixtures of the two species, deuterium levels as low as  ∼10% of the total injected atoms are observed to adversely affect the resulting dissipation, suggesting that complete elimination of deuterium from the injection may be important for optimizing RE mitigation schemes.

Tokamak fuelling with pellets: Effect of transport phenomena on the injection requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lengyel, L.L.

1979-01-01

Results of calculations on pellet-plasma interaction that take into account transport phenomena inherent in tokamak plasmas are analyzed. It is shown that the results obtained by different authors on the optimum pellet penetration depth and required pellet injection frequencies, which are partly contradictory, can be explained by means of the different transport processes taken into account or neglected in the calculations concerned. (orig.)

Control System for the NSTX Lithium Pellet Injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sichta, P.; Dong, J.; Gernhardt, R.; Gettelfinger, G.; Kugel, H.

2003-01-01

The Lithium Pellet Injector (LPI) is being developed for the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). The LPI will inject ''pellets'' of various composition into the plasma in order to study wall conditioning, edge impurity transport, liquid limiter simulations, and other areas of research. The control system for the NSTX LPI has incorporated widely used advanced technologies, such as LabVIEW and PCI bus I/O boards, to create a low-cost control system which is fully integrated into the NSTX computing environment. This paper will present the hardware and software design of the computer control system for the LPI

Application of railgun principle to high-velocity hydrogen pellet injection for magnetic fusion reactor fueling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K.; Zhang, J.

1992-01-01

Three separate papers are included which report research progress during this period: (1) A new railgun configuration with perforated sidewalls, (2) development of a fuseless small-bore railgun for injection of high-speed hydrogen pellets into magnetically confined plasmas, and (3) controls and diagnostics on a fuseless railgun for solid hydrogen pellet injection

PBX/TFTR pellet program PPPL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, G.

1986-01-01

Goals, current results and plans for pellet injection work for the PBX and TFTR programs are outlined. The present PBX injector is a prototype for ORNL 4 pellet condensing injectors. It has demonstrated that pellet injection on PBX can be used to increase overall density and alter the density profile. Future PBX operation requires reliable operation in deuterium and tritium, multiple pellet capability and ability to vary the size of pellets. These goals will require the construction of a new injector similar to the TFTR DPI system. It has also been demonstrated that pellets can efficiently fuel TFTR, producing a clean, high density plasma. Issues which are still outstanding include isotope exchange effects, use of different pellet sizes, optimization of pellet density perturbations and pellet penetration at high beam power

Wall conditioning experiments on TFTR using impurity pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strachan, J.D.; Mansfield, D.K.; Bell, M.G.; Collins, J.; Ernst, D.; Hill, K.; Hosea, J.; Timberlake, J.; Ulrickson, M.; Terry, J.; Marmar, E.; Snipes, J.

1994-01-01

This work describes experiments intended to optimize the limiter conditioning for TFTR supershots. It is shown that deposition of thin layers of lithium on the limiters by impurity pellet injection changes the plasma-wall interaction and improves supershot performance. Series of up to ten Ohmic plasmas each with two lithium pellets were useful in pre-conditioning the limiter. Generally, plasma performance increased with the amount of lithium deposited up to the maximal amount which could be deposited. Experiments were performed with different materials being deposited (carbon, boron and lithium) and with different methods of deposition. ((orig.))

Combined operation of pellet injection and lower hybrid current drive on ASDEX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soeldner, F.X.; Mertens, V.; Bosch, H.S.; Kornherr, M.; Lang, R.; Leuterer, F.; Loch, R.; Sandmann, W.; Bartiromo, R.; Ushigusa, K.

1990-10-01

Simultaneous operation of Lower Hybrid-current drive and pellet injection could be successfully achieved. With peripheral ablation of the pellets by suprathermal electrons, the same net inward flux of particles is found as with deep penetration of pellets into ohmically heated plasmas. The density profile n e (r) peaks with the same increment of the peaking factor Q n = n eo / e > in both cases. The global energy confinement time rises with density, τ E ∝ anti n e , in the combined operation. (orig.)

Hydrogen and deuterium pellet injection into ohmically and additionally ECR-heated TFR plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drawin, H.W.

1987-01-01

The ablation clouds of hydrogen and deuterium pellets injected into ohmically and electron cyclotron resonance heated (ECRH) plasmas of the Fontenay-aux-Roses tokamak TFR have been photographed, their emission has been measured photoelectrically. Without ECRH the pellets penetrate deeply into the plasma, the clouds are striated. Injection during ECRH leads to ablation in the outer plasma region. The position of the ECR layer has no influence on the penetration depth which is only a few centimeters. The ablation clouds show no particular structure when ECRH is applied

Determination of the effective source of particles associated with pellet injection. Application to ITER; Calcul de la source de matiere effective associee a l'alimentation par injection de glacon. Application a ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nehme, H.

2009-11-15

The determination of the effective source of particle associated with the injection of a pellet requires a thorough description of both pellet ablation and deposited material homogenization. The goal of this report is the description of such a study. In the first part, which is devoted to ablation physics, we first analyze the relative importance of the different processes shielding the pellet against the plasma heat flux, then present an attempt for validating the calculation of the over-ablation due to the suprathermal ion tail generated by the discharge heating systems and then estimate the influence of the initial shape of the pellet on the ablation rate. In the second part, which is devoted to the description of the drift of the pellet deposited material down the magnetic field gradient, we present a critical review of the drift models available up to now, then compare the measured characteristics of deposition profiles to our own simulations, showing a good agreement. This was done for data originating from different machines. Then, we describe the several improvements brought to our model and demonstrate - which is new, that there is a correlation between the location of the maximum of matter deposition and that of integer (and/or half-integer) q-surfaces. It must be noted that the underlying process is intrinsic to our modeling and that our calculations reproduce reasonably well the observed correlation for both the LFS (Low Field Side) and HFS (High Field Side) pellet data bases of Tore Supra and DIII-D. The last part reports on the modeling of pellet injection in ITER. First, from the present design of the pellet injection system, we estimate the expected deposition depth of the pellet material (rho/a approx 0.85) and the flux to be injected for pacing the ELMs (Edge Localized Mode) and maintaining the core density (between 150 and 200 Pam{sup 3}s{sup -1}). Then, we present a parametric study demonstrating that it is not possible to improve significantly

SPINS-IND: Pellet injector for fuelling of magnetically confined fusion systems

Science.gov (United States)

Gangradey, R.; Mishra, J.; Mukherjee, S.; Panchal, P.; Nayak, P.; Agarwal, J.; Saxena, Y. C.

2017-06-01

Using a Gifford-McMahon cycle cryocooler based refrigeration system, a single barrel hydrogen pellet injection (SPINS-IND) system is indigenously developed at Institute for Plasma Research, India. The injector is based on a pipe gun concept, where a pellet formed in situ in the gun barrel is accelerated to high speed using high pressure light propellant gas. The pellet size is decided by considering the Greenwald density limit and its speed is decided by considering a neutral gas shielding model based scaling law. The pellet shape is cylindrical of dimension (1.6 mm ℓ × 1.8 mm φ). For pellet ejection and acceleration, a fast opening valve of short opening duration is installed at the breech of the barrel. A three-stage differential pumping system is used to restrict the flow of the propellant gas into the plasma vacuum vessel. Diagnostic systems such as light gate and fast imaging camera (240 000 frames/s) are employed to measure the pellet speed and size, respectively. A trigger circuit and a programmable logic controller based integrated control system developed on LabVIEW enables to control the pellet injector remotely. Using helium as a propellant gas, the pellet speed is varied in the range 650 m/s-800 m/s. The reliability of pellet formation and ejection is found to be more than 95%. This paper describes the details of SPINS-IND and its test results.

Development of railgun pellet injector for nuclear fusion fueling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azuma, Kingo; Oda, Yasushi; Onozuka, Masanori.

1996-01-01

Recent fusion plasmas have become larger as fusion research progresses. This requires high-velocity solid-hydrogen pellet injection that is the most efficient fueling method. The application of the electro-magnetic railgun system for pellet injection is one of the most feasible technologies for accelerating a pellet to a high speed. The system consists of a pneumatic pre-accelerator for the first acceleration stage and a railgun for the second stage. The railgun is operated by a low voltage discharged from a pulse-forming-network power supply to accelerate a plasma armature between the rail electrodes. The plasma is induced by high-power laser beam irradiation. The highest velocity of a solid-hydrogen pellet obtained using the railgun was 2.6 km/s. This velocity is higher than the maximum pellet velocity of 2.3 km/s achieved by MHI's pneumatic pellet injector. It was also found that the pellet velocity could be controlled easily using railgun pellet injection. (author)

Development of railgun pellet injector for nuclear fusion fueling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Azuma, Kingo [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Takasago, Hyogo Takasago Research and Development Center (Japan); Oda, Yasushi; Onozuka, Masanori

1996-03-01

Recent fusion plasmas have become larger as fusion research progresses. This requires high-velocity solid-hydrogen pellet injection that is the most efficient fueling method. The application of the electro-magnetic railgun system for pellet injection is one of the most feasible technologies for accelerating a pellet to a high speed. The system consists of a pneumatic pre-accelerator for the first acceleration stage and a railgun for the second stage. The railgun is operated by a low voltage discharged from a pulse-forming-network power supply to accelerate a plasma armature between the rail electrodes. The plasma is induced by high-power laser beam irradiation. The highest velocity of a solid-hydrogen pellet obtained using the railgun was 2.6 km/s. This velocity is higher than the maximum pellet velocity of 2.3 km/s achieved by MHI`s pneumatic pellet injector. It was also found that the pellet velocity could be controlled easily using railgun pellet injection. (author).

Operation and reliability of a pneumatic hydrogen pellet injection system on the Joint European Torus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, S.K.; Jernigan, T.C.; Baylor, L.R.; Milora, S.L.; Foust, C.R.; Kupschus, P.; Gadeberg, M.; Bailey, W.; Commission of the European Communities, Abingdon

1989-01-01

A pneumatic-based, hydrogen isotope pellet injector that was developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the plasma fueling application on the Joint European Torus (JET) was described at the last Symposium on Fusion Engineering (1987). The injector was installed on JET during 1987 and has since been used in plasma fueling experiments. The injector consists of three independent machine-gun-like mechanisms (nominal pellet sizes of 2.7, 4.0, and 6.0 mm in diameter), and it features repetitive operation (1-5 Hz) for quasi-steady-state conditions (>10 s). An extensive set of injector diagnostics permits evaluation of parameters for each pellet shot, including speed, mass, and integrity. Pellet speeds can be varied but typically range from 1.0 to 1.5 km/s. Over 5000 pellets have been fired with the equipment at JET, including about 2000 pellets shot for plasma fueling experiments. In recent experiments, the system performance has been outstanding, including excellent reproducibility in pellet speed and mass and a reliability of >98% in delivery of pellets to the plasma. 7 refs., 5 figs

Development of repeating pneumatic pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oda, Y.; Onozuka, M.; Shimomura, T.

1990-01-01

A repeating pneumatic pellet injector has been constructed to experiment with the technique of continuous injection for fueling fusion reactors. This device is composed of a cryogenic extruder and a gun assembly in (among others) a high-vacuum vessel, diagnostic vessels, LHe, fuel-gas and propellant-gas supply systems, control and data acquisition systems, etc. The performance tests, using hydrogen, have proved that the device provides the function of extruding frozen hydrogen ribbons at the speed of 6 mm s -1 , chambering pellet at the rate of 5 Hz, and injecting pellet at the speed of 900 m s -1 , as planned. (author)

Application of railgun principle to high-velocity hydrogen pellet injection for magnetic fusion reactor refueling: Technical progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K.

1986-01-01

A detailed experimental study successfully demonstrates the acceleration of frozen hydrogen pellets by means of a fuseless two-stage electromagnetic railgun system. This system consists of a pneumatic hydrogen pellet injector, which freezes and pneumatically pre-accelerates (with high-pressure helium as the propellant gas) cylindrical 1.6-mm-dia by 2.15-mm-long hydrogen pellets, and a 60-cm-long, 1.6-mm-dia circular-bore electromagnetic railgun. The pellet is introduced into the railgun by means of a coupling piece, and a plasma-arc armature is created from the propellant gas by means of a very unique, fuseless, arc-initiation scheme. Railgun-accelerated hydrogen pellet velocities in excess of 1.6 km/s are achieved from pneumatically accelerated injection velocities of 800 m/s. Streak-camera and current-probe data show that the plasma-arc armature moves at a velocity proportional to the railgun current, I. Insight to this I-dependence is gained through the use of streak photography and current probes for varying bore geometries and gas pressures

Potential safe termination by injection of polypropylene pellets in JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, G.L.; Ali-Arshad, S.; Bartlett, D.

1995-01-01

Thermal energy and the magnetic field energy associated with the plasma current must be dissipated safely when a tokamak discharge is terminated in a disruption. Magnetic energy can be dissipated by impurity radiation if position control is maintained. Prior to the dissipation of magnetic energy, thermal energy is usually conducted to the plasma contact points on a 1ms time scale in a thermal quench. A resistive, highly radiating plasma formed prior to the thermal quench, might dissipate both the thermal and magnetic energy by radiation minimizing damage due to local deposition. High speed injection of a low Z material can produce a resistive, highly radiating plasma on a 1ms time scale. Neon has recently been used in such an application on JT60-U. A large carbon pellet producing dilution temperatures < 1 keV is a possible alternative. This paper summarizes the results of an initial experiment performed in JET using carbon injected at high speed, as a 6mm polypropylene pellet, to investigate this potential approach to a safe plasma termination

Development of repeating pneumatic pellet injector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oda, Y.; Onozuka, M.; Shimomura, T. (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Kobe (Japan)) (and others)

1990-01-01

A repeating pneumatic pellet injector has been constructed to experiment with the technique of continuous injection for fueling fusion reactors. This device is composed of a cryogenic extruder and a gun assembly in (among others) a high-vacuum vessel, diagnostic vessels, LHe, fuel-gas and propellant-gas supply systems, control and data acquisition systems, etc. The performance tests, using hydrogen, have proved that the device provides the function of extruding frozen hydrogen ribbons at the speed of 6 mm s{sup -1}, chambering pellet at the rate of 5 Hz, and injecting pellet at the speed of 900 m s{sup -1}, as planned. (author).

Pellet to Part Manufacturing System for CNCs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roschli, Alex C. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Love, Lonnie J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Post, Brian K. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Chesser, Phillip C. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Lloyd, Peter D. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bandari, Yashwanth Kumar [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Jones, Jason [Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies, Swadlincote (United Kingdom); Gaul, Katherine T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2018-03-14

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility worked with Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies to develop a compact prototype composite additive manufacturing head that can effectively extrude injection molding pellets. The head interfaces with conventional CNC machine tools enabling rapid conversion of conventional machine tools to additive manufacturing tools. The intent was to enable wider adoption of Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) technology and combine BAAM technology with conventional machining systems.

High-speed hydrogen pellet acceleration using an electromagnetic railgun system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onozuka, M.; Oda, Y.

1997-01-01

Using a low electric energy railgun system, solid hydrogen pellet acceleration test have been conducted to investigate the application of the electromagnetic railgun system for high-speed pellet injection into fusion plasmas. Pneumatically pre-accelerated hydrogen pellets measuring 3 mm in diameter and 4-9 mm in length were successfully accelerated by a railgun system that uses a laser-induced plasma armature formation. A 2 m long single railgun with ceramic insulators accelerated th hydrogen pellet to 2.6 kms -1 with a supplied energy of 1.7 kJ. The average acceleration rate and the energy conversion coefficient were improved to about 1.6 x 10 6 ms -2 and 0.37%, which is 1.6 times and three times as large as that using a railgun with plastic insulators, respectively. Furthermore, using the 1 m long augment railgun with ceramic insulators, the energy conversion coefficient was improved to about 0.55% while the acceleration rate was increased to 2.4 x 10 6 ms -2 . The highest hydrogen pellet velocity attained was about 2.3 kms -1 for the augment railgun under an energy supply of 1.1 kJ. Based on the findings, it is expected that the acceleration efficiency and the pellet velocity can be further improved by using a longer augment railgun with ceramic insulators and by applying an optimal power supply. (orig.)

Repeating pneumatic pellet injector in JAERI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kasai, Satoshi; Hasegawa, Kouichi; Suzuki, Sadaaki; Miura, Yukitoshi (Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Naka, Ibaraki (Japan). Naka Fusion Research Establishment); Oda, Yasushi; Onozuka, Masanori; Tsujimura, Seiichi.

1992-09-01

A repeating pneumatic pellet injector has been developed and constructed at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. This injector can provide repetitive pellet injection to fuel tokamak plasmas for an extended period of time, aiming at the improvement of plasma performance. The pellets with nearly identical speed and mass can be repeatedly injected with a repetition rate of 2-3.3 Hz and a speed of up to 1.7 km/s by controlling the temperature of the cryogenic system, the piston speed and the pressure of the propellant gas. (author).

Repeating pneumatic pellet injector in JAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasai, Satoshi; Hasegawa, Kouichi; Suzuki, Sadaaki; Miura, Yukitoshi; Oda, Yasushi; Onozuka, Masanori; Tsujimura, Seiichi.

1992-09-01

A repeating pneumatic pellet injector has been developed and constructed at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. This injector can provide repetitive pellet injection to fuel tokamak plasmas for an extended period of time, aiming at the improvement of plasma performance. The pellets with nearly identical speed and mass can be repeatedly injected with a repetition rate of 2-3.3 Hz and a speed of up to 1.7 km/s by controlling the temperature of the cryogenic system, the piston speed and the pressure of the propellant gas. (author)

Repetitive Solid Spherical Pellet Injection and Irradiation toward the Repetitive-mode Fast-Ignition Fusion miniReactor CANDY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HANAYAMA, Ryohei; KOMEDA, Osamu; NISHIMURA, Yasuhiko; MORI, Yoshitaka; ISHII, Katsuhiro; NAKAYAMA, Suisei; OKIHARA, Shinichiro; FUJITA, Kazuhisa; SEKINE, Takashi; SATO, Nakahiro; KAWASHIMA, Toshiyuki; KAN, Hirofumi; KURITA, Takashi; NAKAMURA, Naoki; KONDO, Takuya; FUJINE, Manabu; AZUMA, Hirozumi; HIOKI, Tatsumi; KAKENO, Mitsutaka; MOTOHIRO, Tomoyoshi

2016-01-01

Pellet injection and repetitive laser illumination are key technologies for realizing inertial fusion energy [1-4]. Neutron generator using lasers also requires a repeating pellet target supplier. Here we present the first demonstration of target injection and neutron generation[5]. We injected more than 1300 spherical deuterated polystyrene(C 8 D 8 ) bead pellet targets during 23 minutes at 1 Hz(Fig. 1). After the pellet targets fell for a distance of 18 cm, we applied the synchronized laser-diode-pumped ultra-intense laser HAMA. The laser intensity at the focal point is 5 x 10 18 W/cm 2 , which is high enough to generate neutrons. As a result of the irradiation, we produced 2.45-MeV DD neutrons. Figure 2 shows the neutron time-of-flight signals detected by plastic scintillators coupled to photomultipliers. The neutron energy was calculated by the time-of-flight method. The maximum neutron yield was 9.5 x 10 4 /4π sr. The result is a step toward fusion power and also suggests possible industrial neutron sources. (paper)

Behavior of pellet injected Li ions into heliotron E plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondo, K.; Christou, C.; Ida, K.

1996-07-01

Li pellet injection has provided a complex plasma with a large fraction of Li ions, which is characterized by intense emissions from Li I and III. The spatial profiles of the fully ionized Li 3+ ions are measured by charge exchange recombination spectroscopy with a resolution of 13 mm, and the local decay time of the injected Li ion has been estimated. The spectral profile of the charge exchange recombination line of Li 2+ from n=5 to n=4 shows a complicated structure, which depends of Li 3+ density. The effects on other intrinsic impurities and recycled Li are also discussed. (author)

Development of repetitive railgun pellet accelerator and steady-state pellet supply system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oda, Y.; Onozuka, M.; Azuma, K.; Kasai, S.; Hasegawa, K.

1995-01-01

A railgun system for repetitive high-speed pellet acceleration and steady-state pellet supply system has been developed and investigated. Using a 2m-long railgun system, the hydrogen pellet was accelerated to 2.6km/sec by the supplied energy of 1.7kJ. It is expected that the hydrogen pellet can be accelerated to 3km/sec using the present pneumatic pellet accelerator and a 2m-long augment railgun. Screw-driven hydrogen-isotope filament extruding system has been fabricated and will be tested to examine its applicability to the steady-state extrusion of the solid hydrogen-isotope filament

Development of repetitive railgun pellet accelerator and steady-state pellet supply system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oda, Y.; Onozuka, M.; Azuma, K. [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Kobe (Japan); Kasai, S.; Hasegawa, K. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Naka (Japan)

1995-12-31

A railgun system for repetitive high-speed pellet acceleration and steady-state pellet supply system has been developed and investigated. Using a 2m-long railgun system, the hydrogen pellet was accelerated to 2.6km/sec by the supplied energy of 1.7kJ. It is expected that the hydrogen pellet can be accelerated to 3km/sec using the present pneumatic pellet accelerator and a 2m-long augment railgun. Screw-driven hydrogen-isotope filament extruding system has been fabricated and will be tested to examine its applicability to the steady-state extrusion of the solid hydrogen-isotope filament.

High-speed hydrogen pellet acceleration using an electromagnetic railgun system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onozuka, M.; Oda, Y. [Mitsubishi Heavy Ind., Ltd., Yokohama (Japan). Nucl. Fuel Cycle Eng. Dept.; Azuma, K.; Kasai, S.; Hasegawa, K. [Japan Atomic Energy Res. Inst., Tokai (Japan)

1997-07-01

Using a low electric energy railgun system, solid hydrogen pellet acceleration test have been conducted to investigate the application of the electromagnetic railgun system for high-speed pellet injection into fusion plasmas. Pneumatically pre-accelerated hydrogen pellets measuring 3 mm in diameter and 4-9 mm in length were successfully accelerated by a railgun system that uses a laser-induced plasma armature formation. A 2 m long single railgun with ceramic insulators accelerated th hydrogen pellet to 2.6 kms{sup -1} with a supplied energy of 1.7 kJ. The average acceleration rate and the energy conversion coefficient were improved to about 1.6 x 10{sup 6} ms{sup -2} and 0.37%, which is 1.6 times and three times as large as that using a railgun with plastic insulators, respectively. Furthermore, using the 1 m long augment railgun with ceramic insulators, the energy conversion coefficient was improved to about 0.55% while the acceleration rate was increased to 2.4 x 10{sup 6} ms{sup -2}. The highest hydrogen pellet velocity attained was about 2.3 kms{sup -1} for the augment railgun under an energy supply of 1.1 kJ. Based on the findings, it is expected that the acceleration efficiency and the pellet velocity can be further improved by using a longer augment railgun with ceramic insulators and by applying an optimal power supply. (orig.)

Lithium Pellet Injector Development for NSTX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gettelfinger, G.; Dong, J.; Gernhardt, R.; Kugel, H.; Sichta, P.; Timberlake, J.

2003-01-01

A pellet injector suitable for the injection of lithium and other low-Z pellets of varying mass into plasmas at precise velocities from 5 to 500 m/s is being developed for use on NSTX (National Spherical Torus Experiment). The ability to inject low-Z impurities will significantly expand NSTX experimental capability for a broad range of diagnostic and operational applications. The architecture employs a pellet-carrying cartridge propelled through a guide tube by deuterium gas. Abrupt deceleration of the cartridge at the end of the guide tube results in the pellet continuing along its intended path, thereby giving controlled reproducible velocities for a variety of pellets materials and a reduced gas load to the torus. The planned injector assembly has four hundred guide tubes contained in a rotating magazine with eight tubes provided for injection into plasmas. A PC-based control system is being developed as well and will be described elsewhere in these Proceedings. The development path and mechanical performance of the injector will be described

Pellet-press-to-sintering-boat nuclear fuel pellet loading system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bucher, G.D.

1988-01-01

This patent describes a system for loading nuclear fuel pellets into a sintering boat from a pellet press which ejects newly made the pellets from a pellet press die table surface. The system consists of: (a) a bowl having an inner surface, a longitudinal axis, an open and generally circular top of larger diameter, and an open and generally circular bottom of smaller diameter; (b) means for supporting the bowl in a generally upright position such that the bowl is rotatable about its longitudinal axis; (c) means for receiving the ejected pellets proximate the die table surface of the pellet press and for discharging the received pellets into the bowl at a location proximate the inner surface towards the top of the bowl with a pellet velocity having a horizontal component which is generally tangent to the inner surface of the bowl proximate the location; (d) means for rotating the bowl about the longitudinal axis such that the bowl proximate the location has a velocity generally equal, in magnitude and direction, to the horizontal component of the pellet velocity at the location; and (e) means for moving the sintering boat generally horizontally beneath and proximate the bottom of the bowl

Study of MHD events initiated by pellet injection into T-10 plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuteev, B.; Khimchenko, L.; Krylov, S.; Pavlov, Y.; Pustovitov, V.; Sarychev, D.; Sergeev, V.; Skokov, V.; Timokhin, V.

2005-01-01

There are several events which might be responsible for ultra fast transport of heat and particles during pellet ablation stage in a tokamak. Those are jumps of transport coefficients, plasma drifts in the pellet vicinity and MHD events with time scale significantly shorter than the pellet ablation time. The role of the latter is still not very well understood due to a lack of studies. This paper is devoted to detailed study of the effects during the pellet ablation phase (∼ one millisecond) with main objective to determine the relation between pellet (material Li, C., KCl, size and velocity) and plasma parameters ( q-value a the pellet position, plasma density and temperature) which initiate microsecond MHD events in plasma. The pellets were injected into both into Ohmic and ECE heated plasmas (up to 3 MW) in the T-10 tokamak at various stages of the plasma discharge, in a wide range from the very beginning up to the post-disruption stage. It is observed that at some conditions a pellet ablates in the plasma without accompanying MHD events. This occurs at the highest plasma densities even if a pellet penetrates through q=1 magnetic surface. The ablation rate corresponds to NGSM in this case. Small scale events may occur near rational magnetic surfaces and the ablation rate fluctuations may be explained by reconnection. Both increase of the longitudinal heat flow due to plasma conventional from higher temperature region and growth of the electric field generation supra-thermal electrons may be responsible for the enhanced ablation. Large scale MHD events envelop a region inside q<3. It is observed that the MHD-cooled area is not poloidally symmetric. Mechanisms of the phenomena observed and their consequences on tokamak operation are discussed. (Author)

Development of a pellet cutting and loading device for the JT-60 repetitive pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiratsuka, Hajime; Ichige, Hisashi; Kizu, Kaname; Iwahashi, Takaaki; Honda, Masao

2001-03-01

In JT-60, a pellet injector that repetitively injects deuterium pellets is under development to supply fuel to high temperature plasmas and sustain high-density plasmas. The pellet injector generates cubic pellets and accelerates them with a straight-arm rotor by centrifugal force. In this acceleration method, it is important to supply pellets reliably and stably, to prevent pellet orbits from disordering and to stabilize the launching direction. To achieve higher performance of the injector, a pellet cutting and loading device that cuts a deuterium ice rod into cubic pellets and loads them to the pellet injector successively and stably has been developed. The pellet cutting and loading device can cut a deuterium ice rod produced at low temperature of -8 Pam 3 /s, cutting time of <3 ms, cutting frequency of 1-20 Hz and cutter stroke of 2.5 mm were confirmed in the device test. In the operation test after assembling this device to the centrifugal pellet injector, the operational performance of pellet injection frequency of ∼10 Hz, pellet speed of ∼690 m/s and pellet injection duration time of ∼3.5 s was achieved. Thus, the development of the pellet cutting and loading device contributed to the upgrade of the JT-60 pellet injector. (author)

Particle balance studies in TEXTOR during experiments of pellet injection, helium injection, and ICR-heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banno, T.; Finken, K.H.; Gray, D.S.; Winter, J.

1995-01-01

Analysis based on the particle conservation law has been carried out to observe the global fuelling process in tokamak discharges. The response of the net recycling flux from the first wall is investigated in the tokamak TEXTOR, using calibrated signals of the gas feed rate, the neutral gas pressure in the vessel, the total amount of electrons, and the particle removal rates by the ALT-II belt-pump limiter and by a main pump unit. Net absorption (pumping) of hydrogen by the wall is observed for almost all tokamak discharges since a new wall conditioning technique called siliconisation is employed. The net absorption or fuelling depending on the discharge condition influenced by injection of pellets, by helium gas injection combined with neutral beam injection, and by rf heating can be interpreted in terms of the particle-induced desorption effect with depth profile taken into consideration. ((orig.))

Development of railgun pellet injector using a laser-induced plasma armature. Results of dummy pellet acceleration tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onozuka, Masanori; Oda, Yasushi; Azuma, Kingo; Ogino, Mutsuo

1995-01-01

Using the low electric energy railgun system, dummy pellet acceleration tests have been conducted to investigate the application of the electromagnetic railgun system for high-speed pellet injection into fusion plasmas. The primary objective of the development is to improve the pellet acceleration efficiency and durability of the rail materials. In the system, the pellet is pre-accelerated before railgun acceleration. A laser beam is used to induce plasma armature. The ignited plasma armature is accelerated by an electromagnetic force that accelerates the pellet. As low electric energy was used, rail materials were used for multiple operations. Tungsten-alloy rail provided longer durability and slightly higher energy conversion coefficient than copper rail. The energy conversion coefficient was from 0.3 to 0.5% using a plastic insulator. A ceramic insulator improved the energy conversion coefficient by 80%. The highest pellet velocity was 1.7 km/s using wooden pellets accelerated by 1m-long railgun. Based on the findings, it is estimated that the hydrogen pellet has the potential to be accelerated to 5 km/s using a 3m-long railgun. (author)

Development of railgun pellet injector using a laser-induced plasma armature. Results of dummy pellet acceleration tests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onozuka, Masanori; Oda, Yasushi; Azuma, Kingo; Ogino, Mutsuo [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Yokohama (Japan). Nuclear Energy Systems Engineering Center

1995-03-01

Using the low electric energy railgun system, dummy pellet acceleration tests have been conducted to investigate the application of the electromagnetic railgun system for high-speed pellet injection into fusion plasmas. The primary objective of the development is to improve the pellet acceleration efficiency and durability of the rail materials. In the system, the pellet is pre-accelerated before railgun acceleration. A laser beam is used to induce plasma armature. The ignited plasma armature is accelerated by an electromagnetic force that accelerates the pellet. As low electric energy was used, rail materials were used for multiple operations. Tungsten-alloy rail provided longer durability and slightly higher energy conversion coefficient than copper rail. The energy conversion coefficient was from 0.3 to 0.5% using a plastic insulator. A ceramic insulator improved the energy conversion coefficient by 80%. The highest pellet velocity was 1.7 km/s using wooden pellets accelerated by 1m-long railgun. Based on the findings, it is estimated that the hydrogen pellet has the potential to be accelerated to 5 km/s using a 3m-long railgun. (author).

Monitoring and data acquisition of the high speed hydrogen pellet in SPINS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mukherjee, Samiran Shanti, E-mail: samiran@ipr.res.in; Mishra, Jyotishankar; Gangradey, Ranjana; Dutta, Pramit; Rastogi, Naveen; Panchal, Paresh; Nayak, Pratik; Agarwal, Jyoti; Bairagi, Pawan; Patel, Haresh; Sharma, Hardik

2016-11-15

Highlights: • Pellet INjector System with monitoring and data acquisition is described. • A high speed camera was used to view pellet size, and its flight trajectory. • PXI based high speed control system is used data acquisition. • Pellets of length 2–4.8 mm and speed 250–750 m/s were obtained. - Abstract: Injection of solid hydrogen pellets is an efficient way of replenishing the spent fuel in high temperature plasmas. Aiming that, a Single Pellet INjector System (SPINS) is developed at Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), India, to initiate pellet injection related research in SST-1. The pellet injector is controlled by a PXI system based data acquisition and control (DAC) system for pellet formation, precise firing control, data collection and diagnostics. The velocity of high speed moving pellets is estimated by using two sets of light gate diagnostic. Apart from light gate, a fast framing camera is used to measure the pellet size and its speed. The pellet images are captured at a frame rate of ∼200,000 frames per second at (128 × 64) pixel resolution with an exposure time of 1 μs. Using these diagnostic, various cylindrical pellets of length ranging from 2 to 4.8 mm and speed 250–750 m/s were successfully obtained. This paper describes the control and data acquisition system of SPINS, the techniques for measurement of pellet velocity and capturing images of high speed moving pellet.

Comparison of cryogenic (hydrogen) and TESPEL (polystyrene) pellet particle deposition in a magnetically confined plasma

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, K. J.; Tamura, N.; Combs, S. K.; Panadero, N.; Ascabíbar, E.; Estrada, T.; García, R.; Hernández Sánchez, J.; López Fraguas, A.; Navarro, M.; Pastor, I.; Soleto, A.; TJ-II Team

2017-10-01

A cryogenic pellet injector (PI) and tracer encapsulated solid pellet (TESPEL) injector system has been operated in combination on the stellarator TJ-II. This unique arrangement has been created by piggy-backing a TESPEL injector onto the backend of a pipe-gun-type PI. The combined injector provides a powerful new tool for comparing ablation and penetration of polystyrene TESPEL pellets and solid hydrogen pellets, as well as for contrasting subsequent pellet particle deposition and plasma perturbation under analogous plasma conditions. For instance, a significantly larger increase in plasma line-averaged electron density, and electron content, is observed after a TESPEL pellet injection compared with an equivalent cryogenic pellet injection. Moreover, for these injections from the low-magnetic-field side of the plasma cross-section, TESPEL pellets deposit electrons deeper into the plasma core than cryogenic pellets. Finally, the physics behind these observations and possible implications for pellet injection studies are discussed.

Studies of hydrogen pellet acceleration with fuseless electromagnetic railgun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K.

1986-01-01

A fuseless circular-bore electromagnetic railgun specifically designed for injection of high-velocity hydrogen pellets was constructed and tested. Hydrogen pellets were first accelerated to medium velocities (∼ 500 m/s) using a gas gun and then injected into the railgun. Once a pellet entered the railgun, a plasma arc was initiated by electrically breaking down the propellant gas which followed the pellet from the gas gun into the railgun. Utilizing the propulsive force of this plasma arc armature, further acceleration of the hydrogen pellet was achieved. Using a 60 cm long railgun, proof-of-principle experiments were performed on hydrogen pellets, 1.6 mm, in diameter and 2.15 mm in length, producing velocities exceeding 1.5 km/s. Encouraged by this preliminary success, more extensive studies are in progress to further improve the performance and capabilities of the current system

PELLET: a computer routine for modeling pellet fueling in tokamak plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houlberg, W.A.; Iskra, M.A.; Howe, H.C.; Attenberger, S.E.

1979-01-01

Recent experimental results of frozen hydrogenic pellet injection into hot tokamak plasmas and substantial agreement with theoretical predictions have led to a much greater interest in pellets as a means of refueling plasmas. The computer routine PELLET has been developed and used as an aid in assessing pellet ablation models and the effects of pellets on plasma behavior. PELLET provides particle source profiles under various options for the ablation model and can be coupled either to a fluid transport code or to a brief routine which supplies the required input parameters

Optical visualization of electric and magnetic field perturbations in tokamak discharges by hydrogen pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drawin, H.W.; Dubois, M.A.

1992-04-01

Two-dimensional intensity distribution mappings of photographs of pellet ablation cloud trajectories in the TFR and TS tokamaks reveal irregular shapes of the luminous striations. The observed features are not well understood, but can be described and interpreted as the first direct visual observation of pre-existing electric and/or magnetic field perturbations in the hot core of tokamak plasmas. It is suggested to use pellet injection as a diagnostic tool for the study of plasma structures and transport phenomena

Pellet injector research and development at ORNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, S.K.; Argo, B.E.; Baylor, L.R.; Cole, M.J.; Dyer, G.R.; Fehling, D.T.; Fisher, P.W.; Foster, C.A.; Foust, C.R.; Gouge, M.J.; Jernigan, T.C.; Langley, R.A.; Milora, S.L.; Qualls, A.L.; Schechter, E.; Sparks, D.O.; Tsai, C.C.; Wilgen, J.B.; Whealton, J.W.

1993-01-01

A variety of pellet injector designs have been developed at ORNL including single-shot guns that inject one pellet, multiple-shot guns that inject four and eight pellets, machine gun-types (single- and multiple-barrel) that can inject up to >100 pellets, and centrifugal accelerators (mechanical devices that are inherently capable of high repetition rates and long-pulse operation). With these devices, macroscopic pellets (1--6 mm in diameter) composed of hydrogen isotopes are typically accelerated to speeds of ∼1.0 to 2.0 km/s for injection into plasmas of experimental fusion devices. In the past few years, steady progress has been made at ORNL in the development and application of pellet injectors for fueling present-day and future fusion devices. In this paper, we briefly describe some research and development activities at ORNL, including: (1) two recent applications and a new one on large experimental fusion devices, (2) high-velocity pellet injector development, and (3) tritium injector research

Intelligent Automated Nuclear Fuel Pellet Inspection System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keyvan, S.

1999-01-01

At the present time, nuclear pellet inspection is performed manually using naked eyes for judgment and decisionmaking on accepting or rejecting pellets. This current practice of pellet inspection is tedious and subject to inconsistencies and error. Furthermore, unnecessary re-fabrication of pellets is costly and the presence of low quality pellets in a fuel assembly is unacceptable. To improve the quality control in nuclear fuel fabrication plants, an automated pellet inspection system based on advanced techniques is needed. Such a system addresses the following concerns of the current manual inspection method: (1) the reliability of inspection due to typical human errors, (2) radiation exposure to the workers, and (3) speed of inspection and its economical impact. The goal of this research is to develop an automated nuclear fuel pellet inspection system which is based on pellet video (photographic) images and uses artificial intelligence techniques

Development of repetitive railgun pellet accelerator and steady-state solid hydrogen extruder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oda, Y.; Azuma, K.; Onozuka, M.; Kasai, S.; Hasegawa, K.

1995-01-01

Development of a railgun pellet accelerator and a steady-state solid hydrogen extruder has been conducted. A railgun accelerator has been investigated for a high-speed repetitive pellet acceleration. The final objective is to develop a railgun system that can achieve a 5km/s speed-class repetitive (2Hz) pellet injection. Improvement in the acceleration efficiency showed a pellet velocity of more than 2km/s using augment rails and a ceramic insulator applied to a 1m-long railgun. The other investigation focused on the development of a steady-state solid hydrogen extruder for continuous pellet injection. Screw-driven extruding system has been chosen to extrude the solid hydrogen filament continuously. Theoretical considerations suggest that temperature control of the system is important in future research. (orig.)

Development of repetitive railgun pellet accelerator and steady-state solid hydrogen extruder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oda, Y. [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Kobe (Japan); Azuma, K. [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Kobe (Japan); Onozuka, M. [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Kobe (Japan); Kasai, S. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Ibaraki (Japan); Hasegawa, K. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Ibaraki (Japan)

1995-12-31

Development of a railgun pellet accelerator and a steady-state solid hydrogen extruder has been conducted. A railgun accelerator has been investigated for a high-speed repetitive pellet acceleration. The final objective is to develop a railgun system that can achieve a 5km/s speed-class repetitive (2Hz) pellet injection. Improvement in the acceleration efficiency showed a pellet velocity of more than 2km/s using augment rails and a ceramic insulator applied to a 1m-long railgun. The other investigation focused on the development of a steady-state solid hydrogen extruder for continuous pellet injection. Screw-driven extruding system has been chosen to extrude the solid hydrogen filament continuously. Theoretical considerations suggest that temperature control of the system is important in future research. (orig.).

Repetitive fueling pellet injection in large helical device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, H.; Sakamoto, R.; Viniar, I.; Oda, Y.; Kikuchi, K.; Lukin, A.; Skoblikov, S.; Umov, A.; Takaura, K.; Onozuka, M.; Kato, S.; Sudo, S.

2003-01-01

A repetitive pellet injector has been developed for investigation of fueling issues towards the steady-state operation in Large Helical Device (LHD). The goal of this approach is achievement of the plasma operation for longer than 1000 s. A principal technical element of the pellet injector is solidification of hydrogen and extrusion of a solid hydrogen rod through a cryogenic screw extruder cooled by Giffard-McMahon (GM) cryo-coolers. Continuous operation of more than 10000 pellet launches at 10 Hz has been demonstrated. The reliability of pellet launch exceeds 99%. The pellet mass and velocity, the consumption of propellant gas and quality of pellets have been successfully tested to fit the experimental requirement in LHD

Repetitive fueling pellet injection in large helical device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamada, H. E-mail: hyamada@lhd.nifs.ac.jp; Sakamoto, R.; Viniar, I.; Oda, Y.; Kikuchi, K.; Lukin, A.; Skoblikov, S.; Umov, A.; Takaura, K.; Onozuka, M.; Kato, S.; Sudo, S

2003-09-01

A repetitive pellet injector has been developed for investigation of fueling issues towards the steady-state operation in Large Helical Device (LHD). The goal of this approach is achievement of the plasma operation for longer than 1000 s. A principal technical element of the pellet injector is solidification of hydrogen and extrusion of a solid hydrogen rod through a cryogenic screw extruder cooled by Giffard-McMahon (GM) cryo-coolers. Continuous operation of more than 10000 pellet launches at 10 Hz has been demonstrated. The reliability of pellet launch exceeds 99%. The pellet mass and velocity, the consumption of propellant gas and quality of pellets have been successfully tested to fit the experimental requirement in LHD.

Pellet injection and confinement in the tore supra tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maget, P.

1998-01-01

Pellet injection in the centre of tokamak plasmas can lead to an improved confinement regime called PEP (Pellet Enhanced Performance). The present work is dedicated to the mechanisms involved in the PEP regimes obtained in the tokamak Tore Supra. A neoclassical approach of transport shows that it is the anomalous transport, due to plasma turbulence, that causes the enhanced confinement. A linear model describing electrostatic instabilities has been developed in order to study the roles of density profile and current profile during the PEP, in the limit of large growth rates. The effect of radial shear in flows is taken into account by removing the ExB shear flow rate from the linear growth rate, as suggested by non-linear numerical simulations of turbulence. A local transport coefficient is estimated from the knowledge of the linear growth rate and the mode width. We find that the peaked density profile in PEP regime lowers the diffusion coefficient, and that the velocity shear amplifies this effect. The evolution of the current profile is also stabilizing, but this parameter is not known with sufficient accuracy, so that its role in Tore Supra PEP experiments remains uncertain. (author)

Simulation of peeling-ballooning modes with pellet injection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, S. Y. [College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, 610064 Chengdu (China); Key Laboratory of High Energy Density Physics and Technology of Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064 (China); Southwestern Institute of Physics, Chengdu 610041 (China); Huang, J.; Sun, T. T.; Tang, C. J. [College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, 610064 Chengdu (China); Key Laboratory of High Energy Density Physics and Technology of Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064 (China); Wang, Z. H. [Southwestern Institute of Physics, Chengdu 610041 (China)

2014-11-15

The influence of pellet ablation on the evolution of peeling-ballooning (P-B) modes is studied with BOUT++ code. The atoms coming from pellet ablation can significantly reshape the plasma pressure profile, so the behaviors of P-B modes and edge localized mode (ELM) are modified dramatically. This paper shows that the energy loss associated with an ELM increases substantially over that without the pellet, if the pellet is deposited at the top of the pedestal. On the contrary, for pellet deposition in the middle of the pedestal region the ELM energy loss can be less.

A centrifuge CO2 pellet cleaning system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, C.A.; Fisher, P.W.; Nelson, W.D.; Schechter, D.E.

1993-01-01

Centrifuge-based cryogenic pellet accelerator technology, originally developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the purpose of refueling fusion reactors with high-speed pellets of frozen deuterium/tritium,is now being developed as a method of cleaning without the use of conventional solvents. In these applications large quantities of pellets made of frozen CO 2 or argon are accelerated in a high-speed rotor. The accelerated pellet stream is used to clean or etch surfaces. The advantage of this system is that the spent pellets and debris resulting from the cleaning process can be filtered leaving only the debris for disposal. This paper discusses the centrifuge CO 2 pellet cleaning system, the physics model of the pellet impacting the surface, the centrifuge apparatus, and some initial cleaning and etching tests

ELM mitigation with pellet ELM triggering and implications for PFCs and plasma performance in ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baylor, Larry R. [ORNL; Lang, P. [EURATOM / UKAEA, Abingdon, UK; Allen, S. L. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Lasnier, C. J. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Meitner, Steven J. [ORNL; Combs, Stephen Kirk [ORNL; Commaux, Nicolas JC [ORNL; Loarte, A. [ITER Organization, Cadarache, France; Jernigan, Thomas C. [ORNL

2015-08-01

The triggering of rapid small edge localized modes (ELMs) by high frequency pellet injection has been proposed as a method to prevent large naturally occurring ELMs that can erode the ITER plasma facing components (PFCs). Deuterium pellet injection has been used to successfully demonstrate the on-demand triggering of edge localized modes (ELMs) at much higher rates and with much smaller intensity than natural ELMs. The proposed hypothesis for the triggering mechanism of ELMs by pellets is the local pressure perturbation resulting from reheating of the pellet cloud that can exceed the local high-n ballooning mode threshold where the pellet is injected. Nonlinear MHD simulations of the pellet ELM triggering show destabilization of high-n ballooning modes by such a local pressure perturbation.A review of the recent pellet ELM triggering results from ASDEX Upgrade (AUG), DIII-D, and JET reveals that a number of uncertainties about this ELM mitigation technique still remain. These include the heat flux impact pattern on the divertor and wall from pellet triggered and natural ELMs, the necessary pellet size and injection location to reliably trigger ELMs, and the level of fueling to be expected from ELM triggering pellets and synergy with larger fueling pellets. The implications of these issues for pellet ELM mitigation in ITER and its impact on the PFCs are presented along with the design features of the pellet injection system for ITER.

Color measurement of plastics - From compounding via pelletizing, up to injection molding and extrusion

Science.gov (United States)

Botos, J.; Murail, N.; Heidemeyer, P.; Kretschmer, K.; Ulmer, B.; Zentgraf, T.; Bastian, M.; Hochrein, T.

2014-05-01

The typical offline color measurement on injection molded or pressed specimens is a very expensive and time-consuming process. In order to optimize the productivity and quality, it is desirable to measure the color already during the production. Therefore several systems have been developed to monitor the color e.g. on melts, strands, pellets, the extrudate or injection molded part already during the process. Different kinds of inline, online and atline methods with their respective advantages and disadvantages will be compared. The criteria are e.g. the testing time, which ranges from real-time to some minutes, the required calibration procedure, the spectral resolution and the final measuring precision. The latter ranges between 0.05 to 0.5 in the CIE L*a*b* system depending on the particular measurement system. Due to the high temperatures in typical plastics processes thermochromism of polymers and dyes has to be taken into account. This effect can influence the color value in the magnitude of some 10% and is barely understood so far. Different suitable methods to compensate thermochromic effects during compounding or injection molding by using calibration curves or artificial neural networks are presented. Furthermore it is even possible to control the color during extrusion and compounding almost in real-time. The goal is a specific developed software for adjusting the color recipe automatically with the final objective of a closed-loop control.

Summary of fueling by pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, L.D.

1978-01-01

Model-based studies were presented which indicated in all cases that shielding will occur, but there was not total agreement in these studies on the mechanism of the shielding. The data from the pellet ablation experiment on ORMAK was explained by considering the plasma electron flux, incident on the pellet surface, to create an ablated neutral cloud which self-consistently attenuates the incident electron flux. The lack of total agreement in the studies comes about when extending this to tokamak reactor plasmas. Various groups contended either that this mechanism would continue to dominate in reactor plasmas, or that it would be modified by a comparable heat flux from alphas, or that it would be modified somewhat by electrostatic shielding because of electron flux induced charge buildup on the pellet, or that it would be modified by ionization of the neutral cloud yielding a plasma cloud shield, or that this same plasma cloud would exclude magnetic field causing deflection of the incident electron flux and therefore additional shielding

Study of electron temperature evolution during sawtoothing and pellet injection using thermal electron cyclotron emission in the Alcator C tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, C.C.

1986-05-01

A study of the electron temperature evolution has been performed using thermal electron cyclotron emission. A six channel far infrared polychromator was used to monitor the radiation eminating from six radial locations. The time resolution was <3 μs. Three events were studied, the sawtooth disruption, propagation of the sawtooth generated heatpulse and the electron temperature response to pellet injection. The sawtooth disruption in Alcator takes place in 20 to 50 μs, the energy mixing radius is approx. 8 cm or a/2. It is shown that this is inconsistent with single resonant surface Kadomtsev reconnection. Various forms of scalings for the sawtooth period and amplitude were compared. The electron heatpulse propagation has been used to estimate chi e(the electron thermal diffusivity). The fast temperature relaxation observed during pellet injection has also been studied. Electron temperature profile reconstructions have shown that the profile shape can recover to its pre-injection form in a time scale of 200 μs to 3 ms depending on pellet size

New automated pellet/powder assay system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olsen, R.N.

1975-01-01

This paper discusses an automated, high precision, pellet/ powder assay system. The system is an active assay system using a small isotopic neutron source and a coincidence detection system. The handling of the pellet powder samples has been automated and a programmable calculator has been integrated into the system to provide control and data analysis. The versatile system can assay uranium or plutonium in either active or passive modes

A centrifuge CO2 pellet cleaning system

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, C. A.; Fisher, P. W.; Nelson, W. D.; Schechter, D. E.

1995-01-01

An advanced turbine/CO2 pellet accelerator is being evaluated as a depaint technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The program, sponsored by Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (ALC), Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, has developed a robot-compatible apparatus that efficiently accelerates pellets of dry ice with a high-speed rotating wheel. In comparison to the more conventional compressed air 'sandblast' pellet accelerators, the turbine system can achieve higher pellet speeds, has precise speed control, and is more than ten times as efficient. A preliminary study of the apparatus as a depaint technology has been undertaken. Depaint rates of military epoxy/urethane paint systems on 2024 and 7075 aluminum panels as a function of pellet speed and throughput have been measured. In addition, methods of enhancing the strip rate by combining infra-red heat lamps with pellet blasting and by combining the use of environmentally benign solvents with the pellet blasting have also been studied. The design and operation of the apparatus will be discussed along with data obtained from the depaint studies.

Tritium pellet injector for TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouge, M.J.; Baylor, L.R.; Cole, M.J.; Combs, S.K.; Dyer, G.R.; Fehling, D.T.; Fisher, P.W.; Foust, C.R.; Langley, R.A.; Milora, S.L.; Qualls, A.L.; Wilgen, J.B.; Schmidt, G.L.; Barnes, G.W.; Persing, R.G.

1992-01-01

The tritium pellet injector (TPI) for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) will provide a tritium pellet fueling capability with pellet speeds in the 1- to 3-km/s range for the TFTR deuterium-tritium (D-T) phase. The existing TFTR deuterium pellet injector (DPI) has been modified at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to provide a four-shot, tritium-compatible, pipe-gun configuration with three upgraded single-stage pneumatic guns and a two-stage light gas gun driver. The TPI was designed to provide pellets ranging from 3.3 to 4.5 mm in diameter in arbitrarily programmable firing sequences at speeds up to approximately 1.5 km/s for the three single-stage drivers and 2.5 to 3 km/s for the two-stage driver. Injector operation is controlled by a programmable logic controller. The new pipe-gun injector assembly was installed in the modified DPI guard vacuum box, and modifications were made to the internals of the DPI vacuum injection line, including a new pellet diagnostics package. Assembly of these modified parts with existing DPI components was then completed, and the TPI was tested at ORNL with deuterium pellet. Results of the limited testing program at ORNL are described. The TPI is being installed on TFTR to support the D-D run period in 1992. In 1993, the tritium pellet injector will be retrofitted with a D-T fuel manifold and secondary tritium containment systems and integrated into TFTR tritium processing systems to provide full tritium pellet capability

Pellet injectors for the tokamak fusion test reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, S.K.

1986-01-01

The repeating pneumatic injector is a device from the ORNL development program. A new eight-shot deuterium pellet injector has been designed and constructed specifically for the TFTR application and is scheduled to replace the repeating injector this year. The new device combines a cryogenic extruder and a cold wheel rotary mechanism to form and chamber eight pellets in a batch operation; the eight pellets can then be delivered in any time sequence. Another unique feature of the device is the variable pellet size with three pellets each of 3.0 and 3.5 mm diam and two each of 4.0 mm diam. The experience and technology that have been developed on previous injectors at ORNL have been utilized in the design of this latest pellet injection system

Production and ejection of solid hydrogen-isotope pellet (single pellet)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasai, Satoshi; Hasegawa, Koichi; Miura, Yukitoshi; Ishibori, Ikuo

1986-03-01

The pneumatic gun type pellet injector (single pellet) has been constructed, which is basic type used at ORNL. The pellet in the carrier is 1.65 mm in diameter and 1.65 mm in length, and another is 1 mmD x 1 mmL. Hydrogen pellet velocity of about 900 m/s was observed at propellant gas (He) pressure of 14 kg/cm 2 . In the injection experiment into a plasma, typical velocity is 714 ∼ 833 m/s. These values are 80 ∼ 95 % of velocity calculated from the ideal gun model. The ejected pellet size is 71 ∼ 90 % of the hole size in the carrier disk (1.65 mmD x 1.65 mmL) and 46 ∼ 56 % (1 mmD x 1 mmL). The spread in the pellet trajectories is about 26 mm in diameter at a plasma center. (author)

Investigation on HL-1M pellet shape and cloud structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Yinjia

2001-01-01

When hydrogen multi-pellet flied out from the gun exit and was injected into the HL-1M plasma, the pellet injection and ablation cloud were observed by using a 2D CCD camera SensiCam 360LF. The shape of flight pellet from the gun exit was obtained with the photos taken. The pellet ablation process and the structure of its cloud were analyzed by means of photos with multiple exposure (exp. 100 ns) and long exposure. The experimental setup is described, the results of the pellet injection experiment and characteristic of ablation cloud are presented

Fast plasma shutdown by killer pellet injection in JT-60U with reduced heat flux on the divertor plate and avoiding runaway electron generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshino, R.; Kondoh, T.; Neyatani, Y.; Itami, K.; Kawano, Y.; Isei, N.

1997-01-01

A killer pellet is an impurity pellet that is injected into a tokamak plasma in order to terminate a discharge without causing serious damage to the tokamak machine. In JT-60U neon ice pellets have been injected into OH and NB heated plasmas and fast plasma shutdowns have been demonstrated without large vertical displacement. The heat pulse on the divertor plate has been greatly reduced by killer pellet injections (KPI), but a low-power heat flux tail with a long time duration is observed. The total energy on the divertor plate increases with longer heat flux tail, so it has been reduced by shortening the tail. Runaway electron (RE) generation has been observed just after KPI and/or in the later phase of the plasma current quench. However, RE generation has been avoided when large magnetic perturbations are excited. These experimental results clearly show that KPI is a credible fast shutdown method avoiding large vertical displacement, reducing heat flux on the divertor plate, and avoiding (or minimizing) RE generation. (Author)

The enhanced ASDEX Upgrade pellet centrifuge launcher

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plöckl, B.; Lang, P. T.

2013-01-01

Pellets played an important role in the program of ASDEX Upgrade serving both for investigations on efficient particle fuelling and high density scenarios but also for pioneering work on Edge Localised Mode (ELM) pacing and mitigation. Initially designed for launching fuelling pellets from the magnetic low field side, the system was converted already some time ago to inject pellets from the magnetic high field side as much higher fuelling efficiency was found using this configuration. In operation for more than 20 years, the pellet launching system had to undergo a major revision and upgrading, in particular of its control system. Furthermore, the control system installed adjacent to the launcher had to be transferred to a more distant location enforcing a complete galvanic separation from torus potential and a fully remote control solution. Changing from a hybrid system consisting of PLC S5/S7 and some hard wired relay control to a state of the art PLC system allowed the introduction of several new operational options enabling more flexibility in the pellet experiments. This article describes the new system architecture of control hardware and software, the operating procedure, and the extended operational window. First successful applications for ELM pacing and triggering studies are presented as well as utilization for the development of high density scenarios

The enhanced ASDEX Upgrade pellet centrifuge launcher

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plöckl, B.; Lang, P. T. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, EURATOM Association, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2013-10-15

Pellets played an important role in the program of ASDEX Upgrade serving both for investigations on efficient particle fuelling and high density scenarios but also for pioneering work on Edge Localised Mode (ELM) pacing and mitigation. Initially designed for launching fuelling pellets from the magnetic low field side, the system was converted already some time ago to inject pellets from the magnetic high field side as much higher fuelling efficiency was found using this configuration. In operation for more than 20 years, the pellet launching system had to undergo a major revision and upgrading, in particular of its control system. Furthermore, the control system installed adjacent to the launcher had to be transferred to a more distant location enforcing a complete galvanic separation from torus potential and a fully remote control solution. Changing from a hybrid system consisting of PLC S5/S7 and some hard wired relay control to a state of the art PLC system allowed the introduction of several new operational options enabling more flexibility in the pellet experiments. This article describes the new system architecture of control hardware and software, the operating procedure, and the extended operational window. First successful applications for ELM pacing and triggering studies are presented as well as utilization for the development of high density scenarios.

Development of the centrifugal pellet injector for JT-60U

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kizu, Kaname; Hiratsuka, Hajime; Ichige, Hisashi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Naka, Ibaraki (Japan). Naka Fusion Research Establishment] [and others

2001-03-01

For core fueling of JT-60U plasmas, a repetitive pellet injector which centrifugally accelerates D{sub 2} cubic pellets using a straight rod has been developed. This centrifugal pellet injector can eject trains of up to 40 cubic pellets at frequencies of 1-10 Hz and velocities of 0.3-1.0 km/s. The average pellet mass is 3.6x10{sup 20} atoms/pellet below 0.7 m/s. Key techniques for the development were a mesh structured acceleration component for removing gas sublimated from the pellet and a funnel with an appropriate angle connected just behind the acceleration chamber for introducing the pellet to plasma without destruction. Using the mesh structured components, the horizontal angular distribution of pellets ejected became narrow, because irregular pellet motion caused by sublimated gas was reduced. To investigate the performance of the injector, pellet injection experiments from the low magnetic field side (LFS) were conducted using ohmic heating plasmas. Central fueling and enhanced fueling rate have been observed. D{alpha} intensity around the divertor region was reduced in a pellet injection plasma compared to gas puffing, indicating low recycling rate was maintained with the pellet injection. (author)

Development of the centrifugal pellet injector for JT-60U

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kizu, Kaname; Hiratsuka, Hajime; Ichige, Hisashi

2001-03-01

For core fueling of JT-60U plasmas, a repetitive pellet injector which centrifugally accelerates D 2 cubic pellets using a straight rod has been developed. This centrifugal pellet injector can eject trains of up to 40 cubic pellets at frequencies of 1-10 Hz and velocities of 0.3-1.0 km/s. The average pellet mass is 3.6x10 20 atoms/pellet below 0.7 m/s. Key techniques for the development were a mesh structured acceleration component for removing gas sublimated from the pellet and a funnel with an appropriate angle connected just behind the acceleration chamber for introducing the pellet to plasma without destruction. Using the mesh structured components, the horizontal angular distribution of pellets ejected became narrow, because irregular pellet motion caused by sublimated gas was reduced. To investigate the performance of the injector, pellet injection experiments from the low magnetic field side (LFS) were conducted using ohmic heating plasmas. Central fueling and enhanced fueling rate have been observed. Dα intensity around the divertor region was reduced in a pellet injection plasma compared to gas puffing, indicating low recycling rate was maintained with the pellet injection. (author)

Initial deuterium pellet experiments on FTU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snipes, J.A.

1993-01-01

Initial experiments have been performed with the Single Pellet INjector (SPIN) on FTU. SPIN is a two-stage cryogenic deuterium pellet injector capable of injection,a pellets with velocities up to 2.5 km/s. The nominal pellet mass for these experiments was approximately 1 x 10 20 atoms. These initial pellet experiments concentrated on studying pellet penetration under a variety of plasma conditions to compare with code predictions and to examine toroidal particle transport. The principal diagnostics used were two fast (∼1 μsec) photomultiplier tubes at nearly opposite toroidal locations with H α (D α ) interference filters (λ = 656 nm), a microwave cavity for pellet mass and velocity, a vertical array of soft x ray diodes without filters looking down onto the pellet, a DCN interferometer for electron density profiles, and a Michelson ECE system for electron temperature profiles. The time integral of the absolutely calibrated fast H α signal appears to give reasonable agreement with the expected pellet mass. Toroidal transport of deuterium ions from the pellet to nearly the opposite side of the tokamak agrees with calculated thermal deuterium velocities near the plasma edge. Comparison of the experimental results with code calculations using the Neutral Gas Shielding model show good agreement for the post-pellet electron temperature and density profiles and the H α profiles in some cases. Calculated penetration distances agree within 20%

Particle fueling experiments with a series of pellets in LHD

Science.gov (United States)

Baldzuhn, J.; Damm, H.; Dinklage, A.; Sakamoto, R.; Motojima, G.; Yasuhara, R.; Ida, K.; Yamada, H.; LHD Experiment Group; Wendelstein 7-X Team

2018-03-01

Ice pellet injection is performed in the heliotron Large Helical Device (LHD). The pellets are injected in short series, with up to eight individual pellets. Parameter variations are performed for the pellet ice isotopes, the LHD magnetic configurations, the heating scenario, and some others. These experiments are performed in order to find out whether deeper fueling can be achieved with a series of pellets compared to single pellets. An increase of the fueling efficiency is expected since pre-cooling of the plasma by the first pellets within a series could aid deeper penetration of later pellets in the same series. In addition, these experiments show which boundary conditions must be fulfilled to optimize the technique. The high-field side injection of pellets, as proposed for deep fueling in a tokamak, will not be feasible with the same efficiency in a stellarator or heliotron because there the magnetic field gradient is smaller than in a tokamak of comparable size. Hence, too shallow pellet fueling, in particular in a large device or a fusion reactor, will be an issue that can be overcome only by extremely high pellet velocities, or other techniques that will have to be developed in the future. It turned out by our investigations that the fueling efficiency can be enhanced by the injection of a series of pellets to some extent. However, further investigations will be needed in order to optimize this approach for deep particle fueling.

Principles and issues related to SBS-PCM based self-navigation of lasers on injected pellets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kalal Milan

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Current status of recently proposed novel approach to inertial fusion energy technology, where phase conjugating mirrors generated by stimulated Brillouin scattering are employed to take care of automatic self-navigation of every individual laser beam on injected pellets, has been reviewed. This novel technology is of a particular importance to the direct drive schemes of pellets irradiation as assumed, e.g., in HiPER project. If successful also in its full scale realization, such an aiming scheme would greatly reduce the technical challenges of adjusting large and heavy optical elements on each shot in a system with a repetition rate of at least several Hertz. In the gradual step-by-step tuning of this technology, in this paper a close attention has been paid to the unconverted basic harmonic issue with a special Faraday isolator design proposed. However, a practical realization of this component in its simplest form might be somewhat difficult to achieve due to a suitable optical material shortage. Hence, a more elaborate scheme of this isolator which would make its realization much more realistic even for optical materials currently available has been examined and will be presented.

The Feasibility of Pellet Re-Fuelling of a Fusion Reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chang, Tinghong; Jørgensen, L. W.; Nielsen, P.

1980-01-01

The feasibility of re-fuelling a fusion reactor by injecting pellets of frozen hydrogen isotopes is reviewed. First a general look is taken of the dominant energy fluxes received by the pellet, the re-fuelling rate required and the relation between pellet size, injection speed and frequency...

Investigation on the Characteristics of Pellet Ablation in a Toroidal Plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, K. N.; Sakakita, H.; Fujita, H.

2003-06-01

Characteristics of a cloud ablated from an ice pellet has been investigated in detail in the JIPP T-IIU tokamak plasma by utilizing a new scheme of pellet injection system, "the injection-angle controllable system". A long "helical tail" of ablation light has been observed using CCD cameras and a high speed framing photograph in the case of on-axis and off-axis injection with the injection angle smaller than a certain value. The direction of the helical tail is found to be independent to that of the total magnetic field lines of the torus. From the experiments with the combination of two toroildal filed directions and two plasma current directions, it is considered that the tail seems to rotate, in most cases, to the electron diamagnetic direction poloidally, and to the opposite to the plasma current direction toroidally. Consideration on various cross sections including charge exchange, ionization and elastic collisions leads us to the conclusion that the tail-shaped phenomena may come from the situation of charge exchange equilibrium of hydrogen ions and neutrals at extremely high density regime in the cloud. The relation of ablation behavior with plasma potential and rotation has also been studied. Potential measurements of pellet-injected plasmas using heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) method were carried out for the first time. In the case of an injection angle to be anti-parallel to the electron diamagnetic direction in the poloidal plane, the result shows that the direction of potential change is negative, and consequently the potential after the injection should be negative because it has been measured to be negative in usual ohmic plasmas without pellet injection. Thus, the direction of the "tail" structure seems to be consistent to that of the plasma potential measured, if it is considered that tail structure may be caused by the effect of the plasma potential and the rotation.

Investigation on the Characteristics of Pellet Ablation in a Toroidal Plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, K.N.; Sakakita, H.; Fujita, H.

2003-01-01

Characteristics of a cloud ablated from an ice pellet has been investigated in detail in the JIPP T-IIU tokamak plasma by utilizing a new scheme of pellet injection system, 'the injection-angle controllable system'. A long 'helical tail' of ablation light has been observed using CCD cameras and a high speed framing photograph in the case of on-axis and off-axis injection with the injection angle smaller than a certain value. The direction of the helical tail is found to be independent to that of the total magnetic field lines of the torus. From the experiments with the combination of two toroidal filed directions and two plasma current directions, it is considered that the tail seems to rotate, in most cases, to the electron diamagnetic direction poloidally, and to the opposite to the plasma current direction toroidally. Consideration on various cross sections including charge exchange, ionization and elastic collisions leads us to the conclusion that the tail-shaped phenomena may come from the situation of charge exchange equilibrium of hydrogen ions and neutrals at extremely high density regime in the cloud. The relation of ablation behavior with plasma potential and rotation has also been studied. Potential measurements of pellet-injected plasmas using heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) method were carried out for the first time. In the case of an injection angle to be anti-parallel to the electron diamagnetic direction in the poloidal plane, the result shows that the direction of potential change is negative, and consequently the potential after the injection should be negative because it has been measured to be negative in usual ohmic plasmas without pellet injection. Thus, the direction of the 'tail' structure seems to be consistent to that of the plasma potential measured, if it is considered that tail structure may be caused by the effect of the plasma potential and the rotation

Handling of Deuterium Pellets for Plasma Refuelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Peter Bjødstrup; Andersen, Verner

1982-01-01

The use of a guide tube technique to inject pellets in pellet-plasma experiments is described. The effect of the guide tube on the mass and speed of a slowly moving pellet ( nu approximately 150 m s-1) is negligible. To improve the divergence in trajectories of the pellets on leaving the guide tube...

Computerized x-ray radiographic system for fuel pellet measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, D.R.; Karnesky, R.A.; Bromley, C.

1977-01-01

The development and operation of a computerized system for determination of fuel pellet diameters from x-ray radiography is described. Actual fuel pellet diameter measurements made with the system are compared to micrometer measurements on the same pellets, and statistically evaluated. The advantages and limitations of the system are discussed, and recommendations are made for further development

Operation of the repeating pneumatic injector on TFTR and design of an 8-shot deuterium pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, S.K.; Milora, S.L.; Foust, C.R.

1985-01-01

The repeating pneumatic hydrogen pellet injector, which was developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has been installed and operated on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). The injector combines high-speed extruder and pneumatic acceleration technologies to propel frozen hydrogen isotope pellets repetitively at high speeds. The pellets are transported to the plasma in an injection line that also serves to minimize the gas loading on the torus; the injection line incorporates a fast shutter valve and two stages of guide tubes with intermediate vacuum pumping stations. A remote, stand-alone control and data acquisition system is used for injector and vacuum system operation. In early pellet fueling experiments on TFTR, the injector has been used to deliver deuterium pellets at speeds ranging from 1.0 to 1.5 km/s into plasma discharges. First, single large (nominal 4-mm-dia) pellets provided high densities in TFTR (1.8 x 10 14 cm -3 on axis); after conversion to smaller (nominal 2.7-mm-dia) pellets, up to five pellets were injected at 0.25-s intervals into a plasma discharge, giving a line-averaged density of 1 x 10 14 cm -3 . Operating characteristics and performance of the injector in initial tests on TFTR are presented

Automatic control system for uniformly paving iron ore pellets

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bowen; Qian, Xiaolong

2014-05-01

In iron and steelmaking industry, iron ore pellet qualities are crucial to end-product properties, manufacturing costs and waste emissions. Uniform pellet pavements on the grate machine are a fundamental prerequisite to ensure even heat-transfer and pellet induration successively influences performance of the following metallurgical processes. This article presents an automatic control system for uniformly paving green pellets on the grate, via a mechanism mainly constituted of a mechanical linkage, a swinging belt, a conveyance belt and a grate. Mechanism analysis illustrates that uniform pellet pavements demand the frontend of the swinging belt oscillate at a constant angular velocity. Subsequently, kinetic models are formulated to relate oscillatory movements of the swinging belt's frontend to rotations of a crank link driven by a motor. On basis of kinetic analysis of the pellet feeding mechanism, a cubic B-spline model is built for numerically computing discrete frequencies to be modulated during a motor rotation. Subsequently, the pellet feeding control system is presented in terms of compositional hardware and software components, and their functional relationships. Finally, pellet feeding experiments are carried out to demonstrate that the control system is effective, reliable and superior to conventional methods.

Considerations on the DEMO pellet fuelling system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lang, P.T., E-mail: peter.lang@ipp.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Day, Ch. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Fable, E. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Igitkhanov, Y. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Köchl, F. [Association EURATOM-Ö AW/ATI, Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1020 Vienna (Austria); Mooney, R. [Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Culham Science Centre, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Pegourie, B. [CEA, IRFM, 13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Ploeckl, B. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Wenninger, R. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); EFDA, Garching (Germany); Zohm, H. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2015-10-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Considerations are made for a core particle fuelling system covering all DEMO requirements. • Particle deposition beyond the pedestal top is needed to achieve efficient fuelling. • Conventional pellet technology enabling launching from the torus inboard side can be used. • Efforts have been taken for integrating a suitable pellet guiding system into the EU DEMO model. • In addition, further techniques bearing potential for advanced fuelling performance are considered. - Abstract: The Demonstration Fusion Power Reactor DEMO is the step foreseen to bridge the gap between ITER and the first commercial fusion power plant. One key element in the European work plan for DEMO is the elaboration of a conceptual design for a suitable core particle fuelling system. First considerations for such a system are presented in this contribution. Following the well-considered ITER solution, most analysis performed in this study assumes conventional pellet technology will be used for the fuelling system. However, taking advantage of the less compressed time frame for the DEMO project, several other techniques thought to bear potential for advanced fuelling performance are considered as well. In a first, basic analysis all actuation parameters at hand and their implications on the fuelling performance were considered. Tentative transport modeling of a reference scenario strongly indicates only particles deposited inside the plasma pedestal allow for efficient fuelling. Shallow edge fuelling results in an unbearable burden on the fuel cycle. Sufficiently deep particle deposition seems technically achievable, provided pellets are launched from the torus inboard at sufficient speed. All components required for a DEMO pellet system capable for high speed inboard pellet launch are already available or can be developed in due time with reasonable efforts. Furthermore, steps to integrate this solution into the EU DEMO model are taken.

Considerations on the DEMO pellet fuelling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lang, P.T.; Day, Ch.; Fable, E.; Igitkhanov, Y.; Köchl, F.; Mooney, R.; Pegourie, B.; Ploeckl, B.; Wenninger, R.; Zohm, H.

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Considerations are made for a core particle fuelling system covering all DEMO requirements. • Particle deposition beyond the pedestal top is needed to achieve efficient fuelling. • Conventional pellet technology enabling launching from the torus inboard side can be used. • Efforts have been taken for integrating a suitable pellet guiding system into the EU DEMO model. • In addition, further techniques bearing potential for advanced fuelling performance are considered. - Abstract: The Demonstration Fusion Power Reactor DEMO is the step foreseen to bridge the gap between ITER and the first commercial fusion power plant. One key element in the European work plan for DEMO is the elaboration of a conceptual design for a suitable core particle fuelling system. First considerations for such a system are presented in this contribution. Following the well-considered ITER solution, most analysis performed in this study assumes conventional pellet technology will be used for the fuelling system. However, taking advantage of the less compressed time frame for the DEMO project, several other techniques thought to bear potential for advanced fuelling performance are considered as well. In a first, basic analysis all actuation parameters at hand and their implications on the fuelling performance were considered. Tentative transport modeling of a reference scenario strongly indicates only particles deposited inside the plasma pedestal allow for efficient fuelling. Shallow edge fuelling results in an unbearable burden on the fuel cycle. Sufficiently deep particle deposition seems technically achievable, provided pellets are launched from the torus inboard at sufficient speed. All components required for a DEMO pellet system capable for high speed inboard pellet launch are already available or can be developed in due time with reasonable efforts. Furthermore, steps to integrate this solution into the EU DEMO model are taken.

Handling system for nuclear fuel pellet inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nyman, D.H.; McLemore, D.R.; Sturges, R.H.

1978-11-01

HEDL is developing automated fabrication equipment for fast reactor fuel. A major inspection operation in the process is the gaging of fuel pellets. A key element in the system has been the development of a handling system that reliably moves pellets at the rate of three per second without product damage or excessive equipment wear

Pellet injector development and experiments at ORNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baylor, L.R.; Argo, B.E.; Barber, G.C.; Combs, S.K.; Cole, M.J.; Dyer, G.R.; Fehling, D.T.; Fisher, P.W.; Foster, C.A.; Foust, C.R.; Gouge, M.J.; Jernigan, T.C.; Langley, R.A.; Milora, S.L.; Qualls, A.L.; Schechter, D.E.; Sparks, D.O.; Tsai, C.C.; Wilgen, J.B.; Whealton, J.H.

1993-01-01

The development of pellet injectors for plasma fueling of magnetic confinement fusion experiments has been under way at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the past 15 years. Recently, ORNL provided a tritium-compatible four-shot pneumatic injector for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) based on the in situ condensation technique that features three single-stage gas guns and an advanced two-stage light gas gun driver. In another application, ORNL supplied the Tore Supra tokamak with a centrifuge pellet injector in 1989 for pellet fueling experiments that has achieved record numbers of injected pellets into a discharge. Work is progressing on an upgrade to that injector to extend the number of pellets to 400 and improve pellet repeatability. In a new application, the ORNL three barrel repeating pneumatic injector has been returned from JET and is being readied for installation on the DIII-D device for fueling and enhanced plasma performance experiments. In addition to these experimental applications, ORNL is developing advanced injector technologies, including high-velocity pellet injectors, tritium pellet injectors, and long-pulse feed systems. The two-stage light gas gun and electron-beam-driven rocket are the acceleration techniques under investigation for achieving high velocity. A tritium proof-of-principle (TPOP) experiment has demonstrated the feasibility of tritium pellet production and acceleration. A new tritium-compatible, extruder-based, repeating pneumatic injector is being fabricated to replace the pipe gun in the TPOP experiment and will explore issues related to the extrudability of tritium and acceleration of large tritium pellets. The tritium pellet formation experiments and development of long-pulse pellet feed systems are especially relevant to the International Tokamak Engineering Reactor (ITER)

Nuclear fuel pellet inspection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, H.J.; Beatty, J.M.; Kugler, R.W.

1992-01-01

At least one axially extending linear portion of the peripheral surface of the pellet is optically sensed, a set of digital values representative of the pellet surface is generated, and the set is compared to a predetermined standard. Groups of adjacent locations on the surface of the pellet having values greater or less than the predetermined standard are identified, and the pellet is rejected, when a flawed area exceeds a predetermined size. During inspection, the pellet is moved axially through an inspection station by parallel support rolls, spaced by a distance less than the pellet diameter. The rolls are rotated upward and outward from each other, rotating the pellet, and chain dogs are positioned between the spaced rolls for engaging a pellet and moving it along the rolls. The pellet is rejected if its peripheral surface area is too great, and a reference pellet may be used. (author)

Annual CO-emissions of combined pellet and solar heating systems

OpenAIRE

Fiedler, Frank; Persson, Tomas

2007-01-01

Emissions are an important aspect of a pellet heating system. High carbon monoxide emissions are often caused by unnecessary cycling of the burner when the burner is operated below the lowest combustion power. Combining pellet heating systems with a solar heating system can significantly reduce cycling of the pellet heater and avoid the inefficient summer operation of the pellet heater. The aim of this paper was to study CO-emissions of the different types of systems and to compare the yearly...

The JET high frequency pellet injector project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geraud, Alain; Dentan, M.; Whitehead, A.; Butcher, P.; Communal, D.; Faisse, F.; Gedney, J.; Gros, G.; Guillaume, D.; Hackett, L.; Hennion, V.; Homfray, D.; Lucock, R.; McKivitt, J.; Sibbald, M.; Portafaix, C.; Perin, J.P.; Reade, M.; Sands, D.; Saille, A.

2007-01-01

A new deuterium ice pellet injector is in preparation for JET. It is designed to inject both small pellets (variable volume within 1-2 mm 3 ) at high frequency (up to 60 Hz) for ELM mitigation experiments and large pellets (volume within 35-70 mm 3 ) at moderate frequency (up to 15 Hz) for plasma fuelling. It is based on the screw extruder technology developed by PELIN and pneumatic acceleration. An injection line will connect the injector to the flight tubes already in place to convey the pellets toward the plasma either from the low field side or from the high field side of the torus. This injection line enables: (i) the pumping of the propellant gas, (ii) the provision of the vacuum interface with the torus and (iii) the selection of the flight tube to be used via a fast selector. All the interfaces have been designed and a prototype injector is being built, to demonstrate that the required performance is achievable

Small-Scale Pellet Heating Systems from Consumer Perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahapatra, K; Gustavsson, L [Mid Sweden Univ., Oestersund (Sweden). Ecotechnology

2006-07-15

A questionnaire survey of 1,500 detached house owners was carried out in the autumn of 2004 to find out the factors influencing the adoption and diffusion of pellet heating systems in the Swedish residential sector. The results revealed that most of the respondents had no plans to install new heating systems as they were satisfied with their existing ones. Economic aspects and functional reliability were the most important factors in the respondents' choice of heating system while environmental factors were of less importance. Therefore, internalizing external costs, such as environmental costs, might be effective in influencing house owners to adopt environmentally benign heating systems. Installers were the most important source of information on heating systems. Hence, it is important that they could inform the consumers comprehensively and accurately about different heating systems. Respondents perceived the relative advantage of pellet boilers over oil or electricity-based heating systems, but bedrock heat pump system was ranked higher than pellet heating system in every aspect except for investment cost. Pellet heating system has advantage over district heating system with respect to investment cost and annual cost of heating. District heating system was considered as most functionally reliable and automatic.

Small-Scale Pellet Heating Systems from Consumer Perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahapatra, K.; Gustavsson, L.

2006-01-01

A questionnaire survey of 1,500 detached house owners was carried out in the autumn of 2004 to find out the factors influencing the adoption and diffusion of pellet heating systems in the Swedish residential sector. The results revealed that most of the respondents had no plans to install new heating systems as they were satisfied with their existing ones. Economic aspects and functional reliability were the most important factors in the respondents' choice of heating system while environmental factors were of less importance. Therefore, internalizing external costs, such as environmental costs, might be effective in influencing house owners to adopt environmentally benign heating systems. Installers were the most important source of information on heating systems. Hence, it is important that they could inform the consumers comprehensively and accurately about different heating systems. Respondents perceived the relative advantage of pellet boilers over oil or electricity-based heating systems, but bedrock heat pump system was ranked higher than pellet heating system in every aspect except for investment cost. Pellet heating system has advantage over district heating system with respect to investment cost and annual cost of heating. District heating system was considered as most functionally reliable and automatic

Energy wood. Part 2b: Wood pellets and pellet space-heating systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nussbaumer, T.

2002-01-01

The paper gives an overview on pellet utilization including all relevant process steps: Potential and properties of saw dust as raw material, pellet production with drying and pelletizing, standardization of wood pellets, storage and handling of pellets, combustion of wood pellets in stoves and boilers and applications for residential heating. In comparison to other wood fuels, wood pellets show several advantages: Low water content and high heating value, high energy density, and homogeneous properties thus enabling stationary combustion conditions. However, quality control is needed to ensure constant properties of the pellets and to avoid the utilization of contaminated raw materials for the pellet production. Typical data of efficiencies and emissions of pellet stoves and boilers are given and a life cycle analysis (LCA) of wood pellets in comparison to log wood and wood chips is described. The LCA shows that wood pellets are advantageous thanks to relatively low emissions. Hence, the utilization of wood pellet is proposed as a complementary technology to the combustion of wood chips and log wood. Finally, typical fuel cost of wood pellets in Switzerland are given and compared with light fuel oil. (author)

Tritium pellet injector results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, P.W.; Bauer, M.L.; Baylor, L.R.; Deleanu, L.E.; Fehling, D.T.; Milora, S.L.; Whitson, J.C.

1988-01-01

Injection of solid tritium pellets is considered to be the most promising way of fueling fusion reactors. The Tritium Proof-of- Principle (TPOP) experiment has demonstrated the feasibility of forming and accelerating tritium pellets. This injector is based on the pneumatic pipe-gun concept, in which pellets are formed in situ in the barrel and accelerated with high-pressure gas. This injector is ideal for tritium service because there are no moving parts inside the gun and because no excess tritium is required in the pellet production process. Removal of 3 He from tritium to prevent blocking of the cryopumping action by the noncondensible gas has been demonstrated with a cryogenic separator. Pellet velocities of 1280 m/s have been achieved for 4-mm-diam by 4-mm-long cylindrical tritium pellets with hydrogen propellant at 6.96 MPa (1000 psi). 10 refs., 10 figs

Heat losses and thermal performance of commercial combined solar and pellet heating systems

OpenAIRE

Fiedler, Frank; Persson, Tomas; Bales, Chris; Nordlander, Svante

2004-01-01

Various pellet heating systems are marketed in Sweden, some of them in combination with a solar heating system. Several types of pellet heating units are available and can be used for a combined system. This article compares four typical combined solar and pellet heating systems: System 1 and 2 two with a pellet stove, system 3 with a store integrated pellet burner and system 4 with a pellet boiler. The lower efficiency of pellet heaters compared to oil or gas heaters increases the primary en...

Measurement of internal magnetic field pitch using Li pellet injection on TFTR (invited)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terry, J.L.; Marmar, E.S.; Howell, R.B.; Bell, M.; Cavallo, A.; Fredrickson, E.; Ramsey, A.; Schmidt, G.L.; Stratton, B.; Taylor, G.; Mauel, M.E.

1990-01-01

A diagnostic technique which measures the direction of the internal magnetic field pitch angle has been used successfully on TFTR. The technique requires the injection of high-speed Li pellets. The magnetic field direction is measured by observing the polarization direction of the intense visible line emission from Li + (λ∼5485 A, 1s2p 3 P 0,1,2 →1s2s 3 S 0 ) in the pellet ablation cloud. The presence of the large (primarily toroidal) magnetic field causes the line to be split due to the Zeeman effect, and the unshifted π component is polarized with its polarization direction parallel to the local magnetic field. In devices with sufficiently strong fields (B approx-gt 4.5 T), the Zeeman splitting of the line is large enough, relative to the linewidth of each Zeeman component, that enough residual polarization remains. Because the pellet moves about 1 cm before the Li + is ionized (τ ionization approx-lt 10 μs), the time history of the polarization direction (as the pellet penetrates from the outside toward the plasma center) yields the local magnetic field direction. In the TFTR experiment, spatial resolution of the measurement is typically ∼7 cm, limited by the requirement that a large number of photons must be collected in order to make the measurement of the polarization angle. Typically, the pitch of the field is measured with an accuracy of ±0.01 rad, limited by the photon statistics. The measurements of the internal field pitch angle, combined with external magnetic measurements, have been used in a code which finds the solution of the Grad--Shafranov equation, yielding the equilibrium which is the best fit to the measured inputs

The new centrifuge high-speed pellet injector for ASDEX Upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lang, P.T.; Andelfinger, C.; Beck, W.; Buchelt, E.; Buechl, K.; Cierpka, P.; Kollotzek, H.; Lang, R.S.; Prausner, G.; Soeldner, F.X.; Ulrich, M.; Weber, G.

1993-04-01

We report on the new pellet injection system for refuelling the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak with cubic H 2 or D 2 pellets having alternative side lengths of 1.5, 1.75 and 2.0 mm and optional Ne doping. The system delivers series of about one hundred pellets at a maximum repetition rate of more than 40 Hz. The pellets are accelerated by means of a centrifuge with an optimized straight acceleration arm. This configuration minimizes the compulsive force acting on the pellet during the acceleration process. Since this also minimizes stresses inside the pellet, high velocities - a maximum of 1211 m/s being achieved - are possible without destroying the hydrogen cubes. A special pellet feed-in technique based on a static stop cylinder interrupting the acceleration path successfully reduced the horizontal scattering angle to values of less than ± 4 degrees. Thus, a high efficiency - with more than 90% of the pellets arriving within the acceptance angle - was achieved without using a guide tube. The whole system was found to work very reliably and reproducibly during the whole test operation period, covering about 10 5 pellet shots. The new centrifuge, now integrated into the ASDEX Upgrade setup, has proved to be a reliable unit even for long operation periods thus affording the possibility of quasicontinuous particle refuelling throughout a plasma discharge in ASDEX Upgrade. (orig.)

Kinetic depletion model for pellet ablation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuteev, Boris V.

2001-11-01

A kinetic model for depletion effect, which determines pellet ablation when the pellet passes a rational magnetic surface, is formulated. The model predicts a moderate decrease of the ablation rate compared with the earlier considered monoenergy versions [1, 2]. For typical T-10 conditions the ablation rate reduces by a reactor of 2.5 when the 1-mm pellet penetrates through the plasma center. A substantial deceleration of pellets -about 15% per centimeter of low shire rational q region; is predicted. Penetration for Low Field Side and High Field Side injections is considered taking into account modification of the electron distribution function by toroidal magnetic field. It is shown that Shafranov shift and toroidal effects yield the penetration length for HFS injection higher by a factor of 1.5. This fact should be taken into account when plasma-shielding effects on penetration are considered. (author)

Preliminary observation on coordination of pellet injection and ion Bernstein wave on a HT-7 tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Yu; Zhao Yanping; Li Jiangang; Wan Baonian; Luo Jiarong; Gu Xuemao

2002-01-01

A pellet injection (PI) experiment was performed during the application of the ion Bernstein wave on a HT-7 tokamak. A preliminary coordination effect was observed. With a lower wave power, shortly after PI, the coupling of the wave was enhanced, and the particle confinement was improved. With higher power, off-axis heating for 15% at about α/3 in the low field side was observed

Visible continuum measurements on the Alcator C Tokamak: Changes in particle transport during pellet fuelled discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foord, M.E.

1986-12-01

A spatially resolving visible light detector system is used to measure continuum radiation near 5360A on the Alcator C Tokamak. For the typically hot plasmas studied, the continuum emission is found to be dominated by bremsstrahlung radiation near this wavelength region. Accurate determinations of Z/sub eff/ are obtained from continuum measurements using independently determined temperature and density measurements. Density profiles during high density, clean pellet fueled discharges, are also determined and are used to study the changes in particle transport after injection. For discharges with sufficiently large pellet density increases, density profiles are found to become more peaked following the injection. In these cases, the profiles are found to remain peaked for the remainder of the discharge, or until a ''giant'' sawtooth or minor disruption abruptly returns the profiles to a flatter pre-pellet condition. Analysis of density profiles after pellet injection yields information about the radial diffusion and convection velocity of the plasma particles. The peakedness in the density profiles, observed after pellet injection, is attributable mostly to increases in inward convection. It is concluded that neoclassical fluxes are too small to account for these changes. 70 refs., 55 figs

Trapping of pellet cloud radiation in thermonuclear plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sergeev, V.Yu.; Miroshinikov, I.V.; Sudo, Shigeru; Namba, C.; Lisitsa, V.S.

2001-01-01

The experimental and theoretical data on radiation trapping in clouds of pellets injected into thermonuclear plasmas are presented. The theoretical modeling is performed in terms of equivalent Stark spectral line widths under condition of LTE (Sakha-Boltzman) in pellet cloud plasmas. It is shown that a domain of blackbody radiation could exist in hydrogen pellet clouds resulting in ''pellet disappearance'' effect which is absent in a case of impurity pellet clouds. Reasons for this difference are discussed. (author)

Multi-pellet injection on Jet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kupschus, P.; Cheetham, A.; Denne, B.; Gadeberg, M.; Gowers, C.; Gondhalekar, A.; Tubbing, B.; Schissel, D.

1989-01-01

The investigations carried out with the JET multi-pellet injector are presented. The results show that with central deposition, peaked density profiles with central values exceeding 10 20 /m 3 can be reached. These peaked profiles can persist for times of the order of seconds. Auxiliary heating seems to accelerate the slow central density decay; it is also observed that high electron pressure values are generated in a core with a high D-D reaction rate

PELLETS AND PELLETIZATION: EMERGING TRENDS IN THE PHARMA INDUSTRY.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaman, Muhammad; Saeed-Ul-Hassan, Syed; Sarfraz, Rai Muhammad; Batool, Nighat; Qureshi, Muhammad Junaid; Akram, Muhammad Abdullah; Munir, Saiqa; Danish, Zeeshan

2016-11-01

The present time is considered as an era of advancements in drug delivery systems. Different novel approaches are under investigation that range from uniparticulate to multi particulate system, macro to micro and nano particulate systems. Pelletization is one of the novel drug delivery technique that provides an effective way to deliver the drug in modified pattern. It is advantageous in providing site specific delivery of the drug. Drugs with unpleasant taste, poor bioavailability and short biological half-life can be delivered efficiently through pellets. Their reduced size makes them more valuable as compared to the conventional drug deliv- ery system. Different techniques are used to fabricate the pellets such as extrusion and spheronization, hot melt extrusion, powder layering, suspension or solution layering, freeze pelletization and pelletization by direct compression method. Various natural polymers including xanthan gum, guar gum, tragacanth and gum acacia, semisynthetic polymers like cellulose derivatives, synthetic polymers like derivatives of acrylamides, can be used in pellets formulation. Information provided in this review is collected from various national and intemational research articles, review articles and literature available in the books. The purpose of the current review is to discuss pellets, their characterizations, different techniques of pelletization and the polymers with potential of being suitable for pellets formulation.

The JET multi-pellet injector launcher

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kupschus, P.; Bailey, W.; Gadeberg, M.; Hedley, L.; Twyman, P.; Szabo, T.; Evans, D.

1987-01-01

Under a collaborative agreement between the Joint European Torus JET and the United States Department of Energy US DOE, JET and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) jointly built a multi-pellet injector for fuelling and re-fuelling of the JET plasma. A three-barrel repetitive pneumatic pellet Launcher - built by ORNL - is attached to a JET pellet launcher-machine interface (in short: Pellet Interface) which is the subject of this paper. The present Launcher-Interface combination provides deuterium or hydrogen injection at moderate pellet speeds for the next two operational periods on JET. The Pellet Interface, however, takes into account the future requirements of JET. It was designed to allow the attachment of the high speed pellet launchers now under development at JET and complies with the requirements of remote handling and tritium operation. In addition, the use of tritium pellets is being considered

Pellet injection and confinement in the tore supra tokamak; Injection de glacons et confinement dans le tokamak tore supra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maget, P

1998-09-23

Pellet injection in the centre of tokamak plasmas can lead to an improved confinement regime called PEP (Pellet Enhanced Performance). The present work is dedicated to the mechanisms involved in the PEP regimes obtained in the tokamak Tore Supra. A neoclassical approach of transport shows that it is the anomalous transport, due to plasma turbulence, that causes the enhanced confinement. A linear model describing electrostatic instabilities has been developed in order to study the roles of density profile and current profile during the PEP, in the limit of large growth rates. The effect ofradial shear in flows is taken into account by removing the ExB shear flow rate from the linear growth rate, as suggested by non-linear numerical simulations of turbulence. A local transport coefficient is estimated from the knowledge of the linear growth rate and the mode width. We find that the peaked density profile in PEP regime lowers the diffusion coefficient, and that the velocity shear amplifies this effect. The evolution of the current profile is also stabilizing, but this parameter is not known with sufficient accuracy, so that its role in Tore Supra PEP experiments remains uncertain. (author)

Pellet fuelling into radiative improved confinement discharges in TEXTOR-94

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hobirk, J.; Messiaen, A. M.; Finken, K.H.; Ongena, J.; Brix, M.; R. Jaspers,; Koslowski, H. R.; Kramer-Flecken, A.; Mank, G.; Rapp, J.; Telesca, G.; Unterberg, B.

2000-01-01

Normally pellet injection in strongly heated discharges leads at most to a relatively short improvement of the energy and particle confinement times. In contrast to this finding, the radiative improved (RI) mode plasma of TEXTOR-94 is a very well suited target for pellet injection: the interaction

Paraformaldehyde pellet not necessary in vacuum-pumped maple sap system

Science.gov (United States)

H. Clay Smith; Carter B. Gibbs

1970-01-01

In a study of sugar maple sap collection through a vacuum-pumped plastic tubing system, yields were compared between tapholes in which paraformaldehyde pellets were used and tapholes without pellets, Use of the pellets did not increase yield.

Pellet injectors for steady state plasma fuelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinyar, I.; Geraud, A.; Yamada, H.; Lukin, A.; Sakamoto, R.; Skoblikov, S.; Umov, A.; Oda, Y.; Gros, G.; Krasilnikov, I.; Reznichenko, P.; Panchenko, V.

2005-01-01

Successful steady state operation of a fusion reactor should be supported by repetitive pellet injection of solidified hydrogen isotopes in order to produce high performance plasmas. This paper presents pneumatic pellet injectors and its implementation for long discharge on the LHD and TORE SUPRA, and a new centrifuge pellet injector test results. All injectors are fitted with screw extruders well suited for steady state operation

Nuclear fuel pellet collating system and method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rieben, S.L.; Kugler, R.W.; Scherpenberg, J.J.; Wiersema, D.T.

1990-01-01

This patent describes a method of collating nuclear fuel pellets. It comprises: supporting a plurality of pellet supply trays and a plurality of pellet storage trays at a tray positioning station. Each of the supply trays containing in at least one row thereon a plurality of nuclear fuel pellets of an enrichment different from the enrichment pellets on at least some other of the supply trays; transferring one pellet supply tray from the tray positioning station and disposing the same at an input station of a pellet collating line; transferring one pellet storage tray from the tray positioning station and disposing the same at an output station of the pellet collating line; sweeping pellets in the at least one row thereof from the one pellet supply tray onto a work station of the pellet collating line located between the input and output stations thereof; measuring a desired length of pellets in the at least one row on the work station and separating the measured desired length of pellets from the remaining pellets, if any, in the row thereof; sweeping the remaining pellets, if any, in the row from the work station back onto the one pellet supply tray; transferring the one pellet supply tray and remaining pellets, if any, back to the tray positioning station; sweeping the measured desired length of pellets from the work station onto the one pellet storage tray; and transferring the one pellet storage tray and measured desired length of pellets back to the tray positioning station

Eight-shot pellet injector and fueling experiments at the HL-1M tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao Zhenggui; Li Bo; Li Li

2001-01-01

An Eight-shot Pellet Injection (EPI) system has been proposed and developed in collaboration between STU (St. Petersburg State Technical University) of Russia and SWIP. In the EPI, the I n-situ c ondensation technique was used to produce the pellets in eight gun barrels respectively. The nominal pellet size (diameter of 1.0 mm and of 1.4 mm or 1.2 mm) is limited by the gun barrel inner diameter. The pellet length is adjusted by changing the g radient temperature o n the gun barrels and the amounts of filling fuel gas. Pellets are fired at speed range of 200 - 1200 m/s by He propellant with pressure of 2 - 6 MPa and then transferred to HL-1M vessel through an injection line that consists of two set of differential vacuum pumped chambers and guide tube combined with fast valves. In addition, this unit is equipped with diagnostics for pellet velocity and shape measure. The EPI has installed on HL-1M since 1996 for the multi-shot pellet fueling experiments. The typical characteristics including the peaked density profile and improved confinement, the deep penetration and suppression of soft X-ray sawteeth, the variance of rotation and flow of plasma in edge region as well as the photographing of pellet ablation clouds are presented

Pellet-plasma interactions in tokamaks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chang, C.T.

1991-01-01

confinement time, offset by the accumulation of impurities at the plasma core is brought into focus. A possible remedy is suggested to diminish the effect of the impurities. Plausible arguments are presented to explain the apparent controversial observations on the propagation of a fast cooling front ahead......The ablation of a refuelling pellet of solid hydrogen isotopes is governed by the plasma state, especially the density and energy distribution of the electrons. On the other hand, the cryogenic pellet gives rise to perturbations of the plasma temperature and density. Based on extensive experimental...... data, the interaction between the pellet and the plasma is reviewed. Among the subjects discussed are the MHD activity, evolution of temperature and density profiles, and the behaviour of impurities following the injection of a pellet (or pellets). The beneficial effect of density peaking on the energy...

On the Drag Effect of a Refuelling Pellet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chang, Tinghong; Michelsen, Poul

1981-01-01

A refueling pellet is subjected mainly to two kinds of drags: (1) inertial drag caused by the motion of the pellet relative to the surrounding plasma, and (2) ablation drag caused by an uneven ablation rate of the front and the rear surface of the pellet in an inhomogeneous plasma. Computational ...... results showed that for reasonable combinations of pellet size and injection speed, the drag effect is hardly detectable for plasma conditions prevailing in current large tokamaks....

Review of hydrogen pellet injection technology for plasma fueling applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milora, S.L.

1989-01-01

In the past several years, steady progress has been made worldwide in the development of high-speed hydrogen pellet injectors for fueling magnetically confined plasmas. Several fueling systems based on the conventional pneumatic and centrifuge acceleration concepts have been put into practice on a wide variety of toroidal plasma confinement devices. Long-pulse fueling has been demonstrated in the parameter range 0.8--1.3 km/s, for pellets up to 6 mm in diameter, and at delivery rates up to 40 Hz. Conventional systems have demonstrated the technology to speeds approaching 2 km/s, and several more exotic accelerator concepts are under development to meet the more demanding requirements of the next generation of reactor-grade plasmas. These include a gas gun that can operate in tritium, the two-stage light gas gun, electrothermal guns, electromagnetic rail guns, and an electron-beam-driven thruster. Although these devices are in various stages of development, velocities of 3.8 km/s have already been achieved with two-stage light gas guns, and the prospects for attaining 5 km/s in the near future appear good

Wood pellet use in Sweden. A systems approach to the residential sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinterbaeck, Johan

2000-01-01

This empirically based thesis deals with a biofuel market in a systems context with focus on Sweden. Fuel pellets is a new consumer market for wood products. Initially used mainly by large-scale heating plants, wood pellets expanded into the Swedish residential heating market in the mid 1990s. The overall aim of this work is to provide a deeper understanding of the system for small-scale use of densified wood fuels. The objective was to provide a mapping and logistic analysis of fuel and delivery chains primarily for wood pellets. The description includes both technical as well as economic and organisational aspects. The thesis in particular investigates (i) experience from practical densification operations in the past, (ii) wood pellet retailers in Sweden, (iii) wood pellet consumers in Austria, Sweden and the United States, (iv) imports of wood pellets, and (v) forecasting of pellet consumption and inventory management for wood pellet distributors. Previous international studies revealed that the availability of cheap raw materials for fuel production and the price and availability of the most important competing fuels: coal, oil and natural gas were important factors that have guided production and use of densified wood and bark fuels. A major network of wood pellet distributors was mapped. It was concluded from a survey to these retailers that the Swedish residential market was now firmly in place and that the price of wood pellets was competitive with prices of traditional national fuels. A majority of pellet users in Austria, Sweden and the United States were pleased with pellet heating. One way to improve pellet distribution systems would be to optimise inventory management. An internal model for optimising inventory management, Pell-Sim, was constructed. For Sweden, wood pellets in 1997 represented the second most traded biofuel assortment, with 4.35 PJ or 18% of the total biofuel imports. Contrary to trade with other biofuel assortments, wood pellet trade

Application of railgun principle to high-velocity hydrogen pellet injection for magnetic fusion reactor refueling: Technical progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyekyoon.

1987-12-01

This paper discusses the use of a railgun accelerator to inject hydrogen pellets into a magnetic fusion reactor for refueling purposes. Specific studies in this paper include: 1.5 mm-diameter two-stage fuseless plasma-arc-driven electromagnetic railgun, construction and testing of a 3.2 mm-diameter two-stage railgun and a theoretical analysis of the behavior of a railgun plasma-arc armature inside a railgun

Solid deuterium centrifuge pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, C.A.

1982-01-01

Pellet injectors are needed to fuel long pulse tokamak plasmas and other magnetic confinement devices. For this purpose, an apparatus has been developed that forms 1.3-mm-diam pellets of frozen deuterium at a rate of 40 pellets per second and accelerates them to a speed of 1 km/s. Pellets are formed by extruding a billet of solidified deuterium through a 1.3-mm-diam nozzle at a speed of 5 cm/s. The extruding deuterium is chopped with a razor knife, forming 1.3-mm right circular cylinders of solid deuterium. The pellets are accelerated by synchronously injecting them into a high speed rotating arbor containing a guide track, which carries them from a point near the center of rotation to the periphery. The pellets leave the wheel after 150 0 of rotation at double the tip speed. The centrifuge is formed in the shape of a centrifugal catenary and is constructed of high strength KEVLAR/epoxy composite. This arbon has been spin-tested to a tip speed of 1 km/s

Solid deuterium centrifuge pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, C.A.

1983-01-01

Pellet injectors are needed to fuel long pulse tokamak plasmas and other magnetic confinement devices. For this purpose, an apparatus has been developed that forms 1.3-mm-diam pellets of frozen deuterium at a rate of 40 pellets per second and accelerates them to a speed of 1 km/s. Pellets are formed by extruding a billet of solidified deuterium through a 1.3-mm-diam nozzle at a speed of 5 cm/s. The extruding deuterium is chopped with a razor knife, forming 1.3-mm right circular cylinders of solid deuterium. The pellets are accelerated by synchronously injecting them into a high speed rotating arbor containing a guide track, which carries them from a point near the center of rotation to the periphery. The pellets leave the wheel after 150 0 of rotation at double the tip speed. The centrifuge is formed in the shape of a centrifugal catenary and is constructed of high strength Kevlar/epoxy composite. This arbor has been spin-tested to a tip speed of 1 km/s

Operation of the lithium pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khlopenkov, K.V.; Sudo, S.; Sergeev, V.Yu.

1996-05-01

A lithium pellet injection requires an accurate handling with lithium and special technique of loading the pellets. Thus, the technology for this has been developed based on the following conditions: 1) Because of chemical activity of lithium it is necessary to operate in a glove-box with the noble gas atmosphere (He, Ar, etc.). 2) A special procedure of replacing the glove-box atmosphere allows to achieve high purity of the noble gas. 3) When making the pellets it is better to keep the clean lithium in the liquid hexane so as to maintain lithium purity. 4) The pressure of the accelerating gas for Li pellets should be not less than 30 atm. (author)

Combined solar and pellet heating systems : Study of energy use and CO-emissions

OpenAIRE

Fiedler, Frank

2006-01-01

In this study 4 solar and pellet heating systems have been studied with the help of annual dynamic simulations. Two of the systems comprised a pellet stove and two systems were solar combisystems; one with a store integrated pellet burner, the other with a separate pellet boiler. The aim was to evaluate their thermal performance and their CO-emissions. The systems have been modelled based on lab measurements of the single system components. The used models allow a detailed study of the dynami...

Applications and interactions of solid impurity pellets with reactor relevant plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Baiquan; Peng Lilin; Huang Jinhua; Yan Jiancheng

2003-01-01

Based on the kinetic two-dimensional lentil-shape ablation theory of hydrogenic pellet developed by Kuteev, the new extended algorithm for erosion speed and ablation rate calculations of the impurity pellets in reactor relevant plasma has been derived. The preliminary exploration for the feasibility of applying impurity pellet injection to the α particle diagnostics in the future ITER device has been performed. The comparisons between the numerical integral calculation results and analysis show that the lithium pellet injection possesses much more compatibilities. It might be feasible to apply this technique to both α particle diagnostics and safety factor q profile measurement in the future ITER device. (authors)

Parallel expansion of the ablation cloud during pellet injection in Tore Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pegourie, B.; Bruneau, J.L.; Picchiottino, J.M.

1991-01-01

The ablated matter propagation along the field lines during pellet ablation is observed with a five chords interferometer toroidally located at -π/3 of the pellet injector. The time resolution is 16μs and the sensitivity better than 3 10 17 m -2 . The beginning of the fast acquisition is triggered by the pellet itself and its maximum duration is 20ms. About 500μs after the pellet enters the discharge, the experimental signals exhibit a steep increase. Excepted in a few cases for which a strong oscillation at a typical frequency of 0.5kHz was detected during several ms, a new quasi-steady state is reached after about lms. The importance of the measured perturbation and the details of the sequence described above depends, for each chord, on both the Q profile and pellet penetration

Testosterone Injection

Science.gov (United States)

... typical male characteristics. Testosterone injection works by supplying synthetic testosterone to replace the testosterone that is normally ... as a pellet to be injected under the skin.Testosterone injection may control your symptoms but will ...

Mitigation of divertor heat flux by high-frequency ELM pacing with non-fuel pellet injection in DIII-D

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Bortolon

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Experiments have been conducted on DIII-D investigating high repetition rate injection of non-fuel pellets as a tool for pacing Edge Localized Modes (ELMs and mitigating their transient divertor heat loads. Effective ELM pacing was obtained with injection of Li granules in different H-mode scenarios, at frequencies 3–5 times larger than the natural ELM frequency, with subsequent reduction of strike-point heat flux (Bortolon et al., Nucl. Fus., 56, 056008, 2016. However, in scenarios with high pedestal density (∼6 ×1019m−3, the magnitude of granule triggered ELMs shows a broad distribution, in terms of stored energy loss and peak heat flux, challenging the effectiveness of ELM mitigation. Furthermore, transient heat-flux deposition correlated with granule injections was observed far from the strike-points. Field line tracing suggest this phenomenon to be consistent with particle loss into the mid-plane far scrape-off layer, at toroidal location of the granule injection.

Tritium pellet injector for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouge, M.J.; Baylor, L.R.; Combs, S.K.; Fisher, P.W.; Foust, C.R.; Milora, S.L.

1992-01-01

The tritium pellet injector (TPI) for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) will provide a tritium pellet fueling capability with pellet speeds in the 1- to 3-km/s range for the TFTR deuterium-tritium (D-T) plasma phase. An existing deuterium pellet injector (DPI) was modified at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to provide a four-shot, tritium-compatible, pipe-gun configuration with three upgraded single-stage pneumatic guns and a two-stage light gas gun driver. The TPI was designed for frozen pellets ranging in size from 3 to 4 mm in diameter in arbitrarily programmable firing sequences at tritium pellet speeds up to approximately 1.5 km/s for the three single-stage drivers and 2.5 to 3 km/s for the two-stage driver. Injector operation is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC). The new pipe-gun injector assembly was installed in the modified DPI guard vacuum box, and modifications were also made to the internals of the DPI vacuum injection line, including a new pellet diagnostics package. Assembly of these modified parts with existing DPI components was then completed and the TPI was tested at ORNL with deuterium pellets. Results of the testing program at ORNL are described. The TPI has been installed and operated on TFTR in support of the CY-92 deuterium plasma run period. In 1993, the tritium pellet injector will be retrofitted with a D-T fuel manifold and tritium gloveboxes and integrated into TFTR tritium processing systems to provide full tritium pellet capability

ORNL neutral gas shielding model for pellet-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milora, S.L; Foster, C.A.

1977-05-01

A revised neutral molecule ablation model is derived to describe the evaporation of a solid hydrogen pellet in a tokamak plasma. The approach taken is based on the theory of Parks, Turnbull, and Foster who postulate that a cloud of molecular hydrogen surrounding the pellet shields the surface from incoming energetic electrons and, in so doing, regulates the evaporation rate. This treatment differs from an earlier model in that the hydrodynamic behavior of the molecular cloud is treated in a self-consistent manner. Numerical solutions of the fluid dynamic equations, which include the effects of strong electron heating locally in the gas, reveal that the flow of material away from the pellet is initially retarded by the heating and then rapidly accelerated and rarefied. This behavior is more pronounced for higher temperature plasmas and the net effect is that pellet lifetimes are prolonged slightly by including the heating effects. A comparison is made with the results of the recent pellet injection experiments on ORMAK and a simple injection depth scaling law is derived

Electrothermal plasma gun as a pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kincaid, R.W.; Bourham, M.A.

1994-01-01

The NCSU electrothermal plasma gun SIRENS has been used to accelerate plastic (Lexan polycarbonate) pellets, to determine the feasibility of the use of electrothermal guns as pellet injectors. The use of an electrothermal gun to inject frozen hydrogenic pellets requires a mechanism to provide protective shells (sabots) for shielding the pellet from ablation during acceleration into and through the barrel of the gun. The gun has been modified to accommodate acceleration of the plastic pellets using special acceleration barrels equipped with diagnostics for velocity and position of the pellet, and targets to absorb the pellet's energy on impact. The length of the acceleration path could be varied between 15 and 45 cm. The discharge energy of the electrothermal gun ranged from 2 to 6 kJ. The pellet velocities have been measured via a set of break wires. Pellet masses were varied between 0.5 and 1.0 grams. Preliminary results on 0.5 and 1.0 g pellets show that the exit velocity reaches 0.9 km/s at 6 kJ input energy to the source. Higher velocities of 1.5 and 2.7 km/s have been achieved using 0.5 and 1.0 gm pellets in 30 cm long barrel, without cleaning the barrel between the shots

Ablation of Hydrogen Pellets in Hydrogen and Helium Plasmas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, L W; Sillesen, Alfred Hegaard; Øster, Flemming

1975-01-01

Measurements on the interaction between solid hydrogen pellets and rotating plasmas are reported. The investigations were carried out because of the possibility of refuelling fusion reactors by the injection of pellets. The ablation rate found is higher than expected on the basis of a theory...

Wood pellet seminar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aarniala, M.; Puhakka, A.

2001-01-01

The objective of the wood pellet seminar, arranged by OPET Finland and North Karelia Polytechnic, was to deliver information on wood pellets, pellet burners and boilers, heating systems and building, as well as on the activities of wood energy advisors. The first day of the seminar consisted of presentations of equipment and products, and of advisory desks for builders. The second day of the seminar consisted of presentations held by wood pellet experts. Pellet markets, the economy and production, the development of the pellet markets and their problems (in Austria), the economy of heating of real estates by different fuel alternatives, the production, delivery and marketing of wood pellets, the utilization of wood pellet in different utilization sites, the use of wood pellets in detached houses, pellet burners and fireplaces, and conversion of communal real estate houses to use wood pellets were discussed in the presentations. The presentations held in the third day discussed the utilization of wood pellets in power plants, the regional promotion of the production and the use of pellets. The seminar consisted also of visits to pellet manufacturing plant and two pellet burning heating plants

Design of deuterium and tritium pellet injector systems for Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wysor, R.B.; Baylor, L.R.; Bryan, W.E.

1985-01-01

Three pellet injector designs developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are planned for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) to reach the goal of a tritium pellet injector by 1988. These are the Repeating Pneumatic Injector (RPI), the Deuterium Pellet Injector (DPI) and the Tritium Pellet Injector (TPI). Each of the pellet injector designs have similar performance characteristics in that they deliver up to 4-mm-dia pellets at velocities up to 1500 m/s with a dsign goal to 2000 m/s. Similar techniques are utilized to freeze and extrude the pellet material. The injector systems incorporate three gun concepts which differ in the number of gun barrels and the method of forming and chambering the pellets. The RPI, a single barrel repeating design, has been operational on TFTR since April 1985. Fabrication and assembly are essentially complete for DPI, and TPI is presently on hold after completing about 80% of the design. The TFTR pellet injector program is described, and each of the injector systems is described briefly. Design details are discussed in other papers at this symposium

Radiation analysis of the CIT (Compact Ignition Tokamak) pellet injector system and its impact on personnel access

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Selcow, E.C.; Stevens, P.N.; Gomes, I.C.; Gomes, L.M.

1987-01-01

Conceptual design of the Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) is near completion. This short-pulse ignition experiment is planned to follow the operations of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. The high neutron wall loadings, /approximately/4-5 MW/m/sup 2/, associated with the operation of this device require that neutronics-related issues be considered in the overall system design. Radiation shielding is required for the protection of device components and personnel. A close-in igloo shield has been designed around the periphery of the tokamak structure, and the entire experiment is housed in a circular test cell facility with a radius of /approximately/12 m. The most critical radiation concern in the CIT design process relates to the numerous penetrations in the device. This paper discusses the impact of a major penetration on the design and operations of the CIT pellet injection system. The pellet injector is a major component, which has a line-of-sight penetration through the igloo and test cell wall. All current options for maintenance of the injector require personnel access. A nuclear analysis has been performed to determine the feasibility of hands-on access. Results indicate that personnel access to the pellet injector glovebox is possible. 10 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

Recent developments of a two-stage light gas gun for pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reggiori, A.

1984-01-01

A report is given on a two-stage pneumatic gun operated with ambient air as first stage driver which has been built and tested. Cylindrical polyethylene pellets of 1 mm diameter and 1 mm length have been launched at velocities up to 1800 m/s, with divergence angles of the pellet trajectory less than 1 0 . It is possible to optimize the pressure pulse for pellets of different masses, simply changing the mass of the piston and/or the initial pressures in the second stage. (author)

Capabilities of nitrogen admixed cryogenic deuterium pellets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharov, Igor; Sergeev, Vladimir [SPU, Saint-Petersburg (Russian Federation); Lang, Peter; Ploeckl, Bernhard; Cavedon, Marco [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Garching (Germany); Kocsis, Gabor; Szepesi, Tamas [Wigner RCP RMI, Budapest (Hungary); Collaboration: ASDEX Upgrade Team

2015-05-01

Operation at high core density with high energy confinement - as foreseen in a future fusion reactor like DEMO - is being investigated at ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. The efficiency of pellet fuelling from the high-field side usually increases with increasing injection speed. Due to the fragile nature of the deuterium ice, however, the increment of pellet mass losses and subsequent pellet fragmentations take place when the speed is increased. Studies show, that admixing of a small amount of nitrogen (N{sub 2}) into D{sub 2} gas can be favorable for the mechanical stability of pellets. This might be helpful for deeper pellet penetration. Besides, seeding by N{sub 2} can enhance plasma performance due to both increasing the energy confinement time and reducing the divertor heat load in the envisaged ELMy H-mode plasma scenario. Fuelling efficiency of N{sub 2}-admixed solid D{sub 2} pellets and their nitrogen seeding capabilities were investigated. It was found that both the overall plasma density increase and the measured averaged pellet penetration depth were smaller in case of the admixed (1% mol. in the gas resulting in about 0.8% in the ice) pellet fuelling. Possibility of the N{sub 2}-seeding by admixed pellets was confirmed by CXRS measurements of N{sup 7+} content in plasma.

Modelling of the source of particles associated with the injection of a pellet in a tokamak; Modelisation de la source de matiere associee a l'injection d'un glacon dans un Tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waller, V

2003-03-01

The most suitable fuel supplying method of present tokamaks is the injection of cryogenic hydrogen pellets. The effectiveness of the system depends on both the poloidal location of the pellet launching point and ablation profile. Since the knowledge of the source of matter is a key parameter for building scenarios and analysing experiments, it is important to have at one's disposal a reliable modelling i) of the ablation process accounting for the fast ion and electron populations resulting from additional heating or current drive and ii) of the matter redistribution inside the discharge. This is the purpose of this thesis, which can be split in three main parts. First and foremost, the physical processes responsible for the extra-ablation due to the supra-thermal electrons and ions are analysed. It is shown that the large Larmor radius of the hot ions yields an increase of the section of the flux tube inside which the ion trajectory intercepts the ablation cloud (of cylindrical shape, along the magnetic field). Moreover, the particle entry into the cloud no longer remains essentially limited to the ends of the cylinder, what decreases the path the ions have to cover before reaching the pellet. These two geometrical effects result in an enhancement of the heat flux at the pellet surface, and thus in an extra-ablation in NBI or ICRH experiments. The second part of the work is devoted to the modelling of the homogenization of the ablated matter in the discharge. On each magnetic surface, the pellet deposits a spatially limited globule of cold and dense material where a charge separation takes place due to the electron and ion drifts in the toroidal magnetic field. Then a vertical electric field builds up, that is cause of the drift of the high density region towards the Low Field Side of the tokamak. This motion lasts as long as the pellet is in a situation of open-circuit and is the cause of the outward (respectively inward) displacement of the density increase

Development of the pellet grinding and inspection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaguchi, Toshihiro; Kawasaki, Takao; Inui, Toshihiko; Yamada, Hiroyuki.

1996-01-01

The pellet grinding and inspection system is the facility of producing the MOX fuel for FBRs, and it was delivered in March, 1996 to the No. 3 Development Office of the plutonium fuel shop in Tokai of Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation. This facility realized the high speed processing using the compact facility by combining the grinding of pellets, the inspection of outer density and appearance, the rationalization of the facility and the high performance automation equipment. The production processes of MOX comprise the processes of powder, sinter, finish and inspection, fabrication and assembling. The requirement for developing these facilities is shown. The features of this pellet grinding and inspection system are the compact facility by the combination of functions, high speed processing, the reduction of holdup in processes and the improvement of maintenance. These features are explained. The main components are simple sorting equipment, grinder, grinding dust recovering equipment, outside diameter and density sorting equipment and appearance inspection equipment. The constitution and the main functions of the control facility are described. The operational process is explained. (K.I.)

Study on the pelletizing of sulfate residue with magnetite concentrate in grate-kiln system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shufeng Y.

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The experiment on the feasibility of pelletizing with magnetite concentrate and the wasted sulfate residue was carried out, to research the performance of pellet in grate-kiln system and simulate the grate-kiln pelletizing process in the micro-pellet roasting simulation system in laboratory, and the process experiments on preheating and roasting sections were conducted. The results show that in order to obtain pellet with good performance and the magnetite concentrate should be over 20 in mass percent, the suitable pelletizing time is about 10 min and moisture is around 12.5%. Also, according to the process parameters of drying and preheating sections obtained from experiment, it will be successful to use magnetite concentrate and the wasted sulfate residue for pelletizing, which exploits a new way for the use of sulfate residue.

Prototype of a high speed pellet launcher for JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonnenberg, K.; Kupschus, P.; Helm, J.; Flory, D.; Zacchia, F.

1989-01-01

JET is planning to build a high speed prototype pellet injector cap0able of delivering single D 2 -ice pellets, one per plasma pulse, with a velocity of up to 5 kms -1 . The prototype will be based on a 2-stage gun system which is presently being developed at JET using a test stand. One gun of the teststand will be transformed into the prototype used at the torus. Earlier tests have shown that D 2 -ice pellets can only sustain peak accelerations of 5x10 6 ms -2 without breaking and that they suffer from an erosion effect in the barrel limiting the pellet velocity to about 2.7 kms -1 . Results are presented proving that these problems can be overcome by accelerating the ice in a protective sabot (cartridge). With this method velocities of up to 3.8 kms -1 have been obtained. The sabot technique, however, requires a separation of the sabot from the pellet before this is injected into the plasma. Three possible separation methods are described and experimental results of one of them are presented. Also improvements of the gun are discussed which allow to operate the gun by remote control. (author). 5 refs.; 5 figs

Neutron and hard x-ray measurements during pellet deposition in TFTR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heidbrink, W.W.; Milora, S.L.; Schmidt, G.L.; Schneider, W.; Ramsey, A.

1986-06-01

Measurements of neutrons and hard x rays are made with a pair of plastic scintillators during injection of deuterium pellets into deuterium TFTR plasmas. Three cases are investigated. During ohmic heating in plasmas with few runaway electrons, the neutron emission does not increase when a pellet is injected, indicating that strong acceleration of the pellet ions does not occur. In ohmic plasmas with low but detectable levels of runaway electrons, an x-ray burst is observed on a detector near the pellet injector as the pellet ablates, while a detector displaced 126/sup 0/ toroidally from the injector does not measure a synchronous burst. Reduced pellet penetration correlates with the presence of x-ray emission, suggesting that the origin of the burst is bremsstrahlung from runaway electrons that strike the solid pellet. In deuterium beam-heated discharges, an increase in the d-d neutron emission is observed when the pellet ablates. In this case, the increase is due to fusion reactions between beam ions and the high density neutral and plasma cloud produced by ablation of the pellet; this localized density perturbation equilibrates in about 700 ..mu..sec. Analysis of the data indicates that the density propagates without forming a sharp shock front with a rapid initial propagation velocity (greater than or equal to 2 x 10/sup 7/ cm/sec) that subsequently decreases to around 3 x 10/sup 6/ cm/sec. Modelling suggests that the electron heat flux into the pellet cloud is much less than the classical Spitzer value.

Pellets for fusion reactor refueling. Annual progress report, 1 January 1975--31 December 1975

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turnbull, R.J.

1976-01-01

The feasibility of refueling fusion reactors using pellets of deuterium-tritium is discussed. A pellet injector has been constructed and experiments have been done injecting solid pellets into the ORMAK machine. Theoretical explanations of the results from these experiments have been successful. Other experiments underway include techniques for charging the pellets in order to accelerate and control them

Results from recent hydrogen pellet acceleration studies with a 2-m railgun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K.; Zhang, D.J.; King, T.; Haywood, R.; Manns, W.; Venneri, F.

1989-12-01

A new 3.2-mm-diameter, two-stage, fuseless, plasma-arc-driven electromagnetic railgun has been designed, constructed, and successfully operated to achieve a record velocity of 2.67 km/s( b ) for 3.2 mmD x 4 mmL solid hydrogen pellet. The first stage of this hydrogen pellet injector is a combination of a hydrogen pellet generator and a gas fun. The second stage is a 2-m-long railgun which serves as a booster accelerator. The gas fun accelerates a frozen hydrogen pellet to a medium velocity and injects it into the railgun through a perforated coupling piece, which also serves a pressure-relieving mechanism. An electrical breakdown of the propellant gas, which has followed the pellet from the gas fun into the railgun, forms a conducting plasma-arc armature immediately behind the pellet allowing for fuseless operation of the railgun. Study of the pressure profile and the behavior of the plasma-arc armature inside the railgun bore led to elimination of spurious arcing, which prevents operation of the railgun at high voltages (and, therefore, at high currents). A timing circuit that can automatically measure the pellet input velocity and allows for accurate control of arc initiation behind the pellet helps prevent pellet disintegration and mistriggering of the arc initiation circuit. Results from the recent cryogenic operation of the two-stage pellet acceleration system are reported. 11 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

Snake-like phenomena in Tore Supra following pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pecquet, A.L.; Cristofani, P.; Mattioli, M.; Garbet, X.; Laurent, L.; Geraud, A.; Gil, C.; Joffrin, E.; Sabot, R.

1996-01-01

Snakes are observed in Tore-Supra, after injection of high velocity solid hydrogen or deuterium pellets ablated inside the q=1 surface. They are detected, immediately after the ablation, as oscillations on the line integrated densities of the central interferometer channels. The corresponding oscillations on the soft X-ray signals detach from the noise about 70 ms later. Snakes survive sawtooth crashes, but are nevertheless affected by them. Variations, during the about 500 ms long lifetime, of the snake radius τ s , of the rotation frequency and of the rotation direction are discussed, stressing the effects of the sawtooth crashes. In many snakes τ s /τ q =1 is of the order of 0.5. Since the snake has a m=1, n=1 helicity, this points out the existence of a flat or inverted safety factor profile, confirmed by calculation of the current profile using Spitzer's resistivity. Combined simulations of the snake oscillations on both interferometer and soft X-ray signals have indicated that, starting about 80 ms after the snake formation, the impurity (carbon) density inside the snake is much larger than outside it. Since a change of regime seems to appear about 80 ms after the snake formation on the soft X-ray, it seems plausible that impurity (carbon) accumulation takes place at this time. A stability criterion taking into account both impurity and bootstrap effects is presented, the result agrees with the model proposed by Wesson. (authors)

Snake perturbations during pellet injection and LHCD in the HL-1M tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yi; Qiu Xiaoming; Dong Yunbo; Zhong Yunzhe; Fu Bingzhong; Jiafu Dong Yong Liu

2005-01-01

Excitation of snake perturbations has been observed in the core region of pellet-fuelled HL-1M plasmas when the pellets cross surface with q value 1. Through measurements of plasma q profile by means of multi-exposures with CCD camera during pellet ablation, and investigation on pellet ablation process, possible mechanisms for the formation of snake oscillation are discussed. In addition, a large, long-lived snake-like oscillation is frequently observed in lower hybrid current driven discharge in which the sawtooth has been stabilized at early times. There is evidence that such a perturbation is due to impurity accumulation during sawtooth-stabilization, and the good performance with peaking profiles after LHCD is limited by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities including sawtooth and snake activities in HL-1M plasma. (author)

Development of machine vision system for PHWR fuel pellet inspection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamalesh Kumar, B.; Reddy, K.S.; Lakshminarayana, A.; Sastry, V.S.; Ramana Rao, A.V. [Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (India); Joshi, M.; Deshpande, P.; Navathe, C.P.; Jayaraj, R.N. [Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore, Madhya Pradesh (India)

2008-07-01

Nuclear Fuel Complex, a constituent of Department of Atomic Energy; India is responsible for manufacturing nuclear fuel in India . Over a million Uranium-di-oxide pellets fabricated per annum need visual inspection . In order to overcome the limitations of human based visual inspection, NFC has undertaken the development of machine vision system. The development involved designing various subsystems viz. mechanical and control subsystem for handling and rotation of fuel pellets, lighting subsystem for illumination, image acquisition system, and image processing system and integration. This paper brings out details of various subsystems and results obtained from the trials conducted. (author)

Development of drying and pelletizing system for concentrated waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horiuchi, Susumu; Saito, Toru; Hirano, Mikio; Kikuchi, Makoto; Takamura, Yoshiyuki.

1980-01-01

Volume reduction is strongly required for the radioactive liquid waste generated in nuclear power plants because its storing space has increased with the operating years of the plants, though it has temporarily been stored in drum cans within the plant sites after concentrated by evaporation. The drying and pelletizing system developed by Hitachi, Ltd. in cooperation with Tokyo Electric Power Co. aims at the final disposal by solidifying stored waste after drying, pulverizing, and pelletizing concentrated liquid waste, and storing it in tanks to reduce its radioactivity for the predetermined period. The outstanding features of the system are to be capable of realizing drastic volume reduction and of storing waste as the stable solid in the form flexibly adaptable to any disposing method. The system, to which the new concepts of pulverizing by drying and pelletizing concentrated liquid waste were applied, has been subjected to various fundamental tests and the demonstration tests in a pilot plant during the research and development for 7-years, consequently it was confirmed that the system can be used practically, and the data for designing the equipment for practical use were collected. The items to be considered in designing the equipment for practical use are also mentioned. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

Improved plasma confinement characteristics and central magnetohydrodynamic activity in pellet fuelled HL-1M experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yi; Guo Gancheng; Zhong Yunze; Xiao Zhenggui

1998-11-01

In HL-1M experiment, multiple pellets were injected into Ohmic discharge, good results for plasma confinement have been achieved. The energy confinement is enhanced by up to 30% over that of usual gas fuelled discharges after a series of pellet injections. The improvement is characterized by a pressure profile that peaks strongly around the central region. It was found that the peakedness depends strongly on penetration length of the pellets, and the characteristics of MHD activity changes with peakedness of pressure profile produced by pellet injection. On the other hand, the central MHD activity plays a key role in limiting the available peaking degree. The improved discharges characterized by a highly peaked pressure profile inside q =1 surface degrade suddenly by a large sawtooth collapse. For deep penetration case, the pressure gradient in the central area becomes steep, the central magnetohydrodynamics activities are strongly affected by pellet injection. The large sawtooth crash tends to have more ideal-like characteristics in magnetic structure, which is usually observed in discharges of higher density and pressure values. The most conspicuous feature is that just at the early stage of the crash, the m = 1 continuous oscillation merges into a very localized pressure perturbation

Methane pellet moderator development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, C.A.; Schechter, D.E.; Carpenter, J.M.

2004-01-01

A methane pellet moderator assembly consisting of a pelletizer, a helium cooled sub-cooling tunnel, a liquid helium cooled cryogenic pellet storage hopper and a 1.5L moderator cell has been constructed for the purpose demonstrating a system for use in high-power spallation sources. (orig.)

A three-barrel repeating pneumatic pellet injector for plasma fueling of the Joint European Torus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, S.K.; Milora, S.L.; Baylor, L.R.; Foust, C.R.; Gethers, F.E.; Sparks, D.O.

1987-01-01

Pellet fueling, the injection of frozen hydrogen isotope pellets at high velocity, has been used to improve plasma performance in various tokamak experiments. In one recent experiment, the repeating pneumatic hydrogen pellet injector was used on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). This machine gun-like device, which was developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with an objective of steady-state fueling applications, was characterized by a fixed pellet size and a maximum repetition rate of 4 to 6 Hz for several seconds. It was used to deliver deuterium pellets at speeds ranging from 1.0 to 1.5 km/s into TFTR plasma discharges. In the first experiments, injection of single, large (nominal 4-mm-diam) pellets provided high plasma densities in TFTR (1.8 x 10 14 cm -3 on axis). After a conversion to smaller (nominal 2.7-mm-diam) pellets, the pellet injector was operated in the repeating mode to gradually increase the plasma density, injecting up to five pellets on a single machine pulse. This resulted in central plasma densities approaching 4 x 10 14 cm -3 and n tau values of 1.4 x 10 14 cm -3 s. For plasma fueling applications on the Joint European Torus (JET), a pellet injector fashioned after the prototype repeating pneumatic design has been developed. The versatile injector features three repeating guns in a common vacuum enclosure; the guns provide pellets that are 2.7, 4.0, and 6.0 mm in diameter and can operate independently at repetition rates of 5, 2.5, and 1 Hz, respectively. The injector has been installed on JET. A description of the equipment is presented, emphasizing the differences from the original repeating device. Performance characteristics of the three pneumatic guns are also included

Nuclear fuel pellet loading machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kee, R.W.; Denero, J.V.

1975-01-01

An apparatus for loading nuclear fuel pellets on trays for transfer in a system is described. A conveyor supplies pellets from a source to a loading station. When the pellets reach a predetermined position at the loading station, a manual or automatically operated arm pushes the pellets into slots on a tray and this process is repeated until pellet sensing switches detect that the tray is full. Thereupon, the tray is lowered onto a belt or other type conveyor and transferred to other apparatus in the system, such as a furnace for sintering, and in some cases, reduction of UO 2 . 2 to UO 2 . The pellets are retained on the tray and subsequently loaded directly into fuel rods to be used in the reactor core. (auth)

Laser driven pellet refuelling for JET (and reactor) uses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spalding, I.J.

1978-11-01

Published estimates of pellet sizes and velocities required to refuel JET and post-JET experiments are summarized. Possible advantages and difficulties of accelerating solid, unconstrained hydrogenic (and also jacketed) pellets to these velocities using laser techniques are then discussed. An essential problem to be solved is adequate axial guidance of the pellet during its acceleration, since laser pulse durations of many sound-transit times (in the solid D 2 ) are necessary to avoid shock-heating the pellet. It is shown that Culham's multikilojoule CO 2 TROJAN laser facility is well suited to testing many of the concepts proposed. In particular it is shown that successful verification, and subsequent optimization, of such (novel) techniques would permit single shot tests of contemporary pellet ablation theories by the injection of approximately 1 mm diameter D 2 pellets at velocities 6 cm s -1 into the JET plasma. Means for scaling these techniques to repetition rates of order 10 Hz, and to the 1 cm pellet diameters possibly required in a working Tokamak reactor, are also discussed. (author)

Development of a system for automatic detection of pellet failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavagnino, C.E.

1996-01-01

Nowadays, the failure controls in UO 2 pellets for Atucha and Embalse reactors are performed visually. In this work it is presented the first stage of the development of a system that allows an automatic approach to the task. For this purpose, the problem has been subdivided in three jobs: choosing the illumination environment, finding the algorithm that detects failures with user-defined tolerance and engineering the mechanic system that supports the desired manipulations of the pellets. In this paper, the former two are developed. a) Finding the illumination conditions that allow subtracting the failure from the normal element surface, knowing, in first place, the cylindrical characteristics of it and, as a consequence, the differences in the light reflection direction and, in second place, the texture differences in relation to the rectification type of the pellet. b) Writing a fast and simple algorithm that allows the identification of the failure following the production specifications. Examples of the developed algorithm are shown. (author). 4 refs

Target-plasma production by laser irradiation of a pellet in the Baseball II-T experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Damm, C.C.; Foote, J.H.; Futch, A.H.; Goodman, R.K.; Hornady, R.S.; Osher, J.E.; Porter, G.D.

1977-01-01

One way to generate a plasma target that can be used in conjunction with an injected neutral beam to initiate a high-energy plasma in a steady-state, magnetic-mirror field is by the laser irradiation of a solid pellet located within the confinement region. In the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Baseball II-T experiment, a CO 2 laser was used to provide a two-sided irradiation of an ammonia pellet; the maximum laser intensity on the pellet was approximately 4 x 10 12 W/cm 2 . The 150-μm-dia pellets were guided to the laser focal spot in the Baseball II-T magnetic field using steering voltages controlled by a microcomputer-based system. Diagnostics showed complete ionization of the pellet, average ion energies in the keV range, synchronized triggering of the laser and the neutral beam, and rapid expansion of the plasma to a diameter that was a good match to the diameter of the neutral beam. Predictions obtained from the LASNEX code compared well with measured results. Although the laser-pellet approach was proven usable as a target-plasma startup system, it would be much more complicated and expensive than the method in which streaming plasma is used to trap the neutal beams

Remote nuclear green pellet processing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cellier, Francis.

1980-01-01

An automated system for manufacturing nuclear fuel pellets for use in nuclear fuel elements of nuclear power reactors is described. The system comprises process components arranged vertically but not directly under each other within a single enclosure. The vertical-lateral arrangement provides for gravity flow of the product from one component to the next and for removal of each component without interference with the other components. The single enclosure eliminates time consuming transfer between separate enclosures of each component while providing three-sided access to the component through glove ports. (auth)

A light-gas gun for acceleration of pellets of solid D2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nordskov, A.; Skovgaard, H.; Soerensen, H.; Weisberg, K.V.

1980-10-01

A gun has been designed and built to be used for injecting solid D 2 pellets into a small tokamak for pellet-plasma interaction studies. The pellets are formed and accelerated at temperatures close to those of liquid helium. They are propelled with pressurised H 2 -gas; the pressure arises when a quantity of solid H 2 placed in the gun barrel behind the pellet is pulse heated. Pellet velocities up to 240 m/s have been obtained. The directional accuracy is better than 0.2deg and the repetition rate is one firing every five minutes. The pellet volume is 0.6 mm 3 (2 x 10 19 molecules) while the quantity of propeller gas used is around 12 x 10 19 molecules. (author)

A mechanistic investigation on the utilization of lactose as a protective agent for multi-unit pellet systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Wun Chyi; Chan, Lai Wah; Heng, Paul Wan Sia

2016-03-01

The effect of lactose particle size on the extent of pellet coat damage was investigated. The extent of pellet coat damage increased linearly with lactose median particle size. It was observed that coated pellets compressed with coarser lactose grades had larger and deeper surface indentations. The surfaces of the pellets compressed with coarser lactose grades were also found to be significantly rougher. Micronized lactose was capable of protecting pellet coats from damage brought about by the presence of coarser lactose particles. The findings suggested a protective effect that micronized lactose conferred to pellet coats was not only through dimensional delimitations but also by higher interparticulate friction and longer particle rearrangement phase. As a result, the pellet volume fraction in the system was reduced. The extent of pellet coat damage was found to escalate when the pellet volume fraction in such system increased beyond a critical value of 0.39.

Snake perturbations during pellet injection and LHCD in the HL-1M tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yi; Qiu Xiaoming; Dong Yunbo; Guo Gangcheng; Xiao Zhengui; Zhong Yunzhe; Zheng Yinjia; Fu Bingzhong; Dong Jiafu; Liu Yong; Wang Enyao

2004-01-01

Excitation of snake perturbations has been observed in the core region of pellet-fuelled HL-1M plasmas when the pellets cross the surface with a q value of 1. It is observed that the snake oscillations have an m = 1, n = 1 helicity with quite a long lifetime. A detailed comparison has been made between the locations of the q = 1 surface and the snake oscillation. Through measurements of the plasma q-profile by means of multi-exposures with a CCD camera during pellet ablation, and investigation of the pellet ablation process, possible mechanisms for the formation of the snake oscillation are discussed. In addition, a large, long-lived snake-like oscillation is frequently observed in lower-hybrid current driven (LHCD) discharge in which the sawtooth has been stabilized early in the discharge. There is evidence that such a perturbation is due to impurity accumulation during sawtooth-stabilization, and good performance with peaking profiles after LHCD is limited by magnetohydrodynamic instabilities including sawtooth and snake activities in HL-1M plasmas

Pellet transfer apparatus and method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DiGrande, J.T.; Huggins, T.B. Sr.; Lambert, D.V.; Roberts, E.

1991-01-01

This patent describes a pellet inspection system having a station for inspecting a predetermined parameter of a pellet. It comprises means for aligning and guiding pellets in a first row to be advanced along a linear path past the pellet inspecting station and in a second row previously advanced along the linear path past the pellet inspecting station; and a transfer mechanism operable for engaging at least one of the pellets in each of the first and second rows and moving from an initial position through a forward stroke to advance the first and second rows of pellets along the liner path such that the inspecting station can inspect the preselected parameter of the pellets in the first row as they are advanced successively , the transfer mechanism being operable for disengaging the pellets and moving through a return stroke relative to the stationary advanced first and second rows of pellets back to the initial position

Pellets for fusion reactor refueling. Annual progress report, January 1, 1976--December 31, 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turnbull, R.J.; Kim, K.

1977-01-01

The purpose of this research is to test the feasibility of refueling fusion reactors using solid pellets composed of fuel elements. A solid hydrogen pellet generator has been constructed and experiments have been done to inject the pellets into the ORMAK Tokamak. A theory has been developed to describe the pellet ablation in the plasma, and an excellent agreement has been found between the theory and the experiment. Techniques for charging the pellets have been developed in order to accelerate and control them. Other works currently under way include the development of techniques for accelerating the pellets for refueling purpose. Evaluation of electrostatic acceleration has also been performed

Considerations of several real effects in pneumatic pellet injection processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ming-Lun Xue.

1987-10-01

Several real effects that take place in a pneumatic pellet injector are examined. These are the heat transfer between a high-temperature propellent gas and the metal wall of the injector, and the frictional loss between the propellent and wall. (author)

The enhanced pellet centrifuge launcher at ASDEX Upgrade: Advanced operation and application as technology test facility for ITER and DEMO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ploeckl, B., E-mail: bernhard.ploeckl@ipp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, EURATOM Association, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Day, Chr. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Lamalle, Ph. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, CS 90046, 13067 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Lang, P.T.; Rohde, V.; Viezzer, E. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, EURATOM Association, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2015-10-15

The pellet centrifuge at ASDEX Upgrade has served for more than 20 years as a powerful tool for plasma control. Its recently enhanced control system provides more thorough control over parameters and a detailed view of all measured values. A study has recently been initiated on the conceptual design of an optimized DEMO core particle fuelling system. For this approach, first technical tests aimed on an optimized pellet transfer with respect to the preparation of the solid fuel and the transfer systems have been performed. An investigation of the temperature dependence of transfer efficiency (mass loss due to erosion and broken pellets) has revealed a weak dependence. For ITER, in which it is intended to operate a heating scheme with ICRF minority heating of He-3, test injections are performed using D{sub 2}-pellets as carriers for He-4. Admixing of N{sub 2} was investigated as well.

Pellet fired appliances. Market survey. 7. rev. ed.; Pelletheizungen. Marktuebersicht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-01-15

The market survey under consideration reports on pellet central heating systems and pellet fired appliances. The main chapters of this market survey are concerned to: (1) Information on wood pellets and pellet fired appliances; (2) Information about the interpretation of the market survey; (3) Survey of all compared pellet fired appliances with respect to the nominal power; (4) Price lists of pellet fired appliances and pellet central heating systems; (5) Type sheets of the compared pellet fired appliances and pellet central heating systems. Finally, this brochure contains the addresses of the produces and distribution partners of pellet fired appliances and pellet central heating systems.

The control system for the multiple-pellet injector on the Joint European Torus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baylor, L.R.; Jernigan, T.C.; Stewart, K.A.

1989-01-01

A stand-alone control and data acquisition system for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) multiple-pellet injector installed on the Joint European Torus (JET) has been designed and installed with the injector. This system, which is based on a MicroVAX II computer and a programmable logic controller (PLC), is an upgrade of previous systems designed for ORNL pellet injectors installed on other fusion experiments. The primary control system upgrades are in the user interface, in the automation of sequential injector operation, and in the analysis of the transient data acquired for each pellet fired. The system is integrated into the JET CODAS environment through CAMAC communications modules with customized communications software. Routine operation of the injector is automated and requires no operator intervention. Details of the hardware and software design and the operation of the system are presented in this paper. 4 refs., 3 figs

Radiation analysis of the CIT [Compact Ignition Tokamak] pellet injector system and its impact on personnel access

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selcow, E.C.; Stevens, P.N.; Gomes, I.C.; Gomes, L.M.

1988-08-01

The conceptual design of the Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) is nearing completion. The CIT is a short-pulse ignition experiment, which is planned to follow the operations of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The high neutron wall loadings, 4--5 MW/m 2 , associated with the operation of this device require that neutronics-related issues be considered in the overall system design. Radiation shielding is required for the protection of device components as well as personnel. A close-in igloo shield has been designed around the periphery of the tokamak structure, and the entire experiment is housed in a circular test cell facility that has a radius of 12 m. The most critical radiation concerns in the CIT design process relate to the numerous penetrations in the device. This report discusses the impact of a major penetration on the design and operation of the pellet injection system in the CIT. The pellet injector is a major component, and it has a line-of-sight penetration through the igloo and test cell wall. All current options for maintenance of the injector require hands-on-access. A nuclear analysis has been performed to establish the feasibility of hands-on-access. A coupled Monte Carlo/discrete-ordinates methodology was used to perform the analysis. This problem is characterized by deep penetration and streaming with very large length-to-diameter ratios. Results from this study indicate that personnel access to the pellet injector glovebox is possible. 14 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

Design and implementation of a control and data acquisition system for pellet injectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baylor, L.R.; Burris, R.D.; Greenwood, D.E.; Stewart, K.A.

1985-01-01

A stand-alone control and data acquisition system for pellet injectors has been designed and implemented to support pellet injector development at Oak Ridge Laboratory (ORNL) and to enable ORNL pellet injectors to be installed on various fusion experimental devices. The stand-alone system permits LOCAL operation of the injector from a nearby panel and REMOTE operation from the experiment control room. Major components of the system are (1) an Allen-Bradley PLC 2/30 programmable controller, (2) a VAX minicomputer, and (3) a CAMAC serial highway interface. The programmable logic controller (PLC) is used to perform all control functions of the injector. In LOCAL, the operator interface is provided by an intelligent panel system that has a keypad and pushbutton module programmed from the PLC. In REMOTE, the operator interfaces via a VAX-based color graphics display and uses a trackball and keyboard to issue commands. Communications between the remote and local controls and to the fusion experiment supervisory system are via the CAMAC highway. The VAX archives transient data from pellet shots and trend data acquired from the PLC. Details of the hardware and software design and the operation of the system are presented in this paper. 3 refs., 1 fig

Observation and analysis of pellet material del B drift on MAST

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garzotti, L. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Baylor, Larry R [ORNL; Kochi, F. [Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria; Pegourie, B. [CEA Cadarache, St. Paul lex Durance, France; Valovic, M [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Axon, K. B. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Dowling, J. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Guri, C. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Maddison, G. P. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Nehme, H. [CEA Cadarache, St. Paul lex Durance, France; O' Gorman, T. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Patel, A. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Price, M. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Scannell, R. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England; Walsh, M. [EURATOM, Culham Sci Ctr, Abingdon, Oxon England

2010-01-01

Pellet material deposited in a tokamak plasma experiences a drift towards the low field side of the torus induced by the magnetic field gradient. Plasma fuelling in ITER relies on the beneficial effect of this drift to increase the pellet deposition depth and fuelling efficiency. It is therefore important to analyse this phenomenon in present machines to improve the understanding of the del B induced drift and the accuracy of the predictions for ITER. This paper presents a detailed analysis of pellet material drift in MAST pellet injection experiments based on the unique diagnostic capabilities available on this machine and compares the observations with predictions of state-of-the-art ablation and deposition codes.

Development of fast opening magnetic valve for JT-60 pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiratsuka, Hajime; Kawasaki, Kouzo; Takatsu, Hideyuki; Miyo, Yasuhiko; Yoshioka, Yuji; Ohta, Kazuya; Shimizu, Masatsugu; Onozuka, Masanori; Uchikawa, Takashi; Iwamoto, Syuichi; Hashiri, Noboru

1989-01-01

A pneumatic four-pellet injector (JT-60 pellet injector) has been constructed for JT-60 in May, 1988. A fast opening magnetically driven propellant gas injection valve has been developed for JT-60 pellet injector. This valve can accelerate four cylindrical pellets, two 3.8 mm diameter by 3.8 mm and two 2.7 mm diameter by 2.7 mm, to greater than 1.6 km/s with propellent gas of up to 50 bar. It is now successfully in use in JT-60, contributing to plasma studies. In this paper the outline of a newly developed fast opening magnetic valve and the results of performance tests are presented. (author). 6 figs.; 1 tab

Pellet injector development at ORNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milora, S.L.; Argo, B.E.; Baylor, L.R.; Cole, M.J.; Combs, S.K.; Dyer, G.R.; Fehling, D.T.; Fisher, P.W.; Foster, C.A.; Foust, C.R.; Gouge, M.J.; Jernigan, T.C.; Langley, R.A.; Qualls, A.L.; Schechter, D.E.; Sparks, D.O.; Tsai, C.C.; Whealton, J.H.; Wilgen, J.B.; Schmidt, G.L.

1992-01-01

Plasma fueling systems for magnetic confinement experiments are under development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). ORNL has recently provided a four-shot tritium pellet injector with up to 4-mm-diam capability for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). This injector, which is based on the in situ condensation technique for pellet formation, features three single-stage gas guns that have been qualified in deuterium at up to 1.7 km/s and a two-stage light gas gun driver that has been operated at 2.8-km/s pellet speeds for deep penetration in the high-temperature TFTR supershot regime. Performance improvements to the centrifugal pellet injector for the Tore Supra tokamak are being made by modifying the storage-type pellet feed system, which has been redesigned to improve the reliability of delivery of pellets and to extend operation to longer pulse durations (up to 400 pellets). Two-stage light gas guns and electron-beam (e-beam) rocket accelerators for speeds in the range from 2 to 10 km/s are also under development. A repeating, two-stage light gas gun that has been developed can accelerate low-density plastic pellets at a 1-Hz repetition rate to speeds of 3 km/s. In a collaboration with ENEA-Frascati, a test facility has been prepared to study repetitive operation of a two-stage gas gun driver equipped with an extrusion-type deuterium pellet source. Extensive testing of the e-beam accelerator has demonstrated a parametric dependence of propellant burn velocity and pellet speed, in accordance with a model derived from the neutral gas shielding theory for pellet ablation in a magnetized plasma

Experimental results on pellet injection and MHD from the RTP tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oomens, A.A.M.; Kloe, J. de; Salzedas, F.J.B.

2001-01-01

The ablation of hydrogen pellets has been studied in the Rijnhuizen Tokamak Project RTP with a diagnostic with high spatial and temporal resolution. It has been observed that (part of the) ablation cloud drifts away from the pellet in opposite direction. These drifts occur in semi-periodical bursts. A summary of a detailed analysis of this drift of the cloud and its implications for the fueling profile is presented. Stabilization of m/n=2/1 tearing modes preceding density limit disruptions, has been studied with modulated and continuous ECRH. The results indicate that EC heating of the islands under these conditions is very inefficient. The time dependence of the growth rate of the precursor mode is first algebraic, but becomes exponential in a later phase. (author)

Deep repository - engineered barrier systems. Half scale tests to examine water uptake by bentonite pellets in a block-pellet backfill system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, David; Lundin, Cecilia; Oertendahl, Ellinor; Hedin, Mikael; Ramqvist, Gunnar

2008-12-01

In order to examine the behaviour of water entering a section of tunnel that had recently been backfilled using a combination of bentonite pellets and compacted, smectitic clay blocks, a series of large-scale tests have been completed. These tests, done at a scale of approximately 0.5 that of an emplacement tunnel were completed in a mock-up constructed in the Buffer Laboratory at SKB's Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory. A total of 12 tests, undertaken under well controlled conditions were completed, examining the effects of inflow rate, inflow location and time on assemblies of blocks and pellets. Water was supplied to the assembly at rates ranging from 0.1 to 2.5 l/min and the time for water exit, the exit location, potential for erosion of backfill, the rate of water uptake and resistance of the assembly to water influx were all monitored for periods of 3 to 7 days. The testing time was selected to simulate a reasonable duration for unanticipated backfilling interruption. Longer durations were not necessary and risked both the stability of the system and the loss of the early stage conditions through progression of swelling and homogenization. Testing determined that initial water movement through backfill is largely controlled by the pellets. Water influx of up to 30 l/h at a single location was diverted by the pellets forming essentially horizontal flow channels (pipes) along the chamber wall - pellet interface. These piping features directed the majority of the incoming water around the backfill and towards the unconfined downstream face of the assembly. The time required for the water to exit the assembly was dependant on a combination of inflow rate and distance that it needed to travel. Water typically exited the face of the backfill at well-defined location(s) and once established, these features remained for the duration of the test. The exiting water typically carried only limited eroded material but could cause some disruption of the downstream face of the

Deep repository - engineered barrier systems. Half scale tests to examine water uptake by bentonite pellets in a block-pellet backfill system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dixon, David (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) (Canada)); Lundin, Cecilia (Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co., Stockholm (Sweden)); Oertendahl, Ellinor (NCC (Sweden)); Hedin, Mikael (Aangpannefoereningen, Stockholm (Sweden)); Ramqvist, Gunnar (Eltekno AB (Sweden))

2008-12-15

In order to examine the behaviour of water entering a section of tunnel that had recently been backfilled using a combination of bentonite pellets and compacted, smectitic clay blocks, a series of large-scale tests have been completed. These tests, done at a scale of approximately 0.5 that of an emplacement tunnel were completed in a mock-up constructed in the Buffer Laboratory at SKB's Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory. A total of 12 tests, undertaken under well controlled conditions were completed, examining the effects of inflow rate, inflow location and time on assemblies of blocks and pellets. Water was supplied to the assembly at rates ranging from 0.1 to 2.5 l/min and the time for water exit, the exit location, potential for erosion of backfill, the rate of water uptake and resistance of the assembly to water influx were all monitored for periods of 3 to 7 days. The testing time was selected to simulate a reasonable duration for unanticipated backfilling interruption. Longer durations were not necessary and risked both the stability of the system and the loss of the early stage conditions through progression of swelling and homogenization. Testing determined that initial water movement through backfill is largely controlled by the pellets. Water influx of up to 30 l/h at a single location was diverted by the pellets forming essentially horizontal flow channels (pipes) along the chamber wall - pellet interface. These piping features directed the majority of the incoming water around the backfill and towards the unconfined downstream face of the assembly. The time required for the water to exit the assembly was dependant on a combination of inflow rate and distance that it needed to travel. Water typically exited the face of the backfill at well-defined location(s) and once established, these features remained for the duration of the test. The exiting water typically carried only limited eroded material but could cause some disruption of the downstream face of

Recent advances in the theory and simulation of pellet ablation and fast fuel relocation in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, P.B.; Baylor, L.R.; Ishizaki, R.; Jardin, S.C.; Samtaney, R.

2005-01-01

This paper presents new theory and simulation of pellet ablation, and the rapid cross-field redistribution of the ionized pellet mass following pellet injection in tokamaks. The first 2-D time-dependent simulations describing the expansion of pellet ablation flow against the magnetic field is presented here using the Eulerian code CAP. The early-time expansion is characterized by the formation of an ellipsoidal diamagnetic cavity surrounding the pellet, which diverts heat flux around the pellet, thereby reducing the ablation rate. Near-pellet cloud properties from CAP provide initial conditions for the subsequent ExB advection of the ionized clouds caused by polarization in the inhomogeneous toroidal magnetic field. The first complete set of time-dependent equations describing mass redistribution has been developed and solved for numerically using the PRL code. New effects identified, including curvature drive by near sonic field-aligned flows, rotational transform of the magnetic field lines and magnetic shear are considered from the viewpoint of the parallel vorticity equation. Close agreement between theory and experimental fuel deposition profiles are obtained for both inner and outer wall pellet injection on the DIII-D tokamak, providing improved predictive capability for ITER. A new 3-D MHD simulation code AMR was started, which provides the required fine-scale mesh size needed for accurate modeling of pellet clouds having sharp perpendicular-to-B gradients. (author)

Power matching for pellet fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, R.L.; Arnold, R.C.

1976-01-01

The number of beams required for optimum power transfer from a given power source to the surface of a pellet is derived. The result is valid for linear optical systems, hence, for pellet fusion by laser or high energy ion beams. The optimum number of beams turns out to be inconceivably large for any practical system. Practical pellet fusion by lasers or high energy heavy ion beams must thus compromise physical principles in favor of reduced cost and optical complexity

Experimental investigation of solid hydrogen pellet ablation in high-temperature plasmas using holographic interferometry and other diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, C.E. Jr.

1981-03-01

The technology currently most favored for the refueling of fusion reactors is the high-velocity injection of solid hydrogen pellets. Design details are presented for a holographic interferometer/shadowgraph used to study the microscopic characteristics of a solid hydrogen pellet ablating in an approx. 1-keV plasma. Experimental data are presented for two sets of experiments in which the interferometer/shadowgraph was used to study approx. 1-mm-diam solid hydrogen pellets injected into the Impurity Study Experiment (ISX-B) tokamak at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) at velocities of 1000 m/s. In addition to the use of the holographic interferometer, the pellet ablation process is diagnosed by studying the emission of Balmer-alpha photons and by using the available tokamak diagnostics

Liquid wall boiler and moderator (BAM) for heavy ion-pellet fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, J.R.; Lazareth, O.; Fillo, J.

1977-11-01

Thick liquid wall blankets appear to be of great promise for heavy ion pellet fusion reactors. They avoid the severe problems of intense radiation and blast damage that would be encountered with solid blanket structures. The liquid wall material can be chosen so that its vapor pressure at the working temperature of the power cycle is well below the value at which it might interfere with the propagation of the heavy ion beam. The liquid wall can be arranged so that it does not contact any surrounding solid structure when the pellet explosion occurs, including the ends. The ends can be magnetically closed just before the pellet explosion, or a time phased flow can be used, which will leave a clear central zone into which the pellet is injected. Parametric analysis comparing three candidate liquid wall materials were carried out. The three materials were lithium, flibe, and lead (with a low concentration of disolved lithium). Lead appeared to be the best choice for the liquid wall, although any of the three should allow a practical reactor system. The parametric analyses examined the effects of pellet yield (0 to 10 GJ), pellet mass (3 g to 3 kg), liquid wall thickness (10 cm to 80 cm), vapor condensation time (0 to 10 milliseconds), degree of neutron moderation in the pellet (none to 100%), liquid wall chamber size (radius of 1.5 meters to 4 meters), Pb/Li 6 ratio (100 to 5,000), and thickness of graphite moderating zone behind the liquid wall

Central MHD activities and role of the q=1 rational surface for pellet fuelled JT-60 plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamada, Yutaka; Ozeki, Takahisa; Azumi, Masafumi; Yoshino, Ryuji; Nagami, Masayuki; Konoshima, Shigeru

1990-08-01

Improved energy confinement for the pellet fuelled plasmas on JT-60 is mainly due to the peaked density and pressure profiles inside the q=1 rational surface, where the confinement characteristics appear to be better than those in the outer (q>1) region. In the well-center-fuelled pellet injection discharges, the sawtooth activity can be suppressed completely during 0.4∼1 sec or the frequency of sawtooth is reduced by up to one order of magnitude during 0.5∼1.5 sec after the pellet injection. For high high-current low-q (Ip = 2.5∼3.1 MA; q(a) < 3) discharges, reduction in the sawtooth frequency has a strong relationship with enhanced confinement and peakedness of the electron density profile. The contribution of the sawtooth activity to the global energy confinement increases systematically with decreasing q(a). At the sawtooth emerging after the pellet injection into high-Ip limiter discharges, only small amount of the central kinetic energy is released and the sawtooth does not follow the fully reconnecting style. The release of the central kinetic energy and the existence of precursor and successor m = 1 oscillations are discussed. The sawtooth crash tends to have more ideal-like characteristics for higher beta values and lower safety factors. The rotation velocity of the central plasma column after the pellet injection is also discussed with the frequencies of the m = 1 oscillations. Just after the pellet injection, the plasma column starts to rotate in the ion-diamagnetic direction or the co-direction to the plasma current. At each sawtooth, the rotation frequency changes suddenly to the ion-diamagnetic direction or the co-direction. (author) 47 refs. 44 figs

A description of the ITER's gas injection systems and current R and D activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, W.; Li, B.; Maruyama, S.; Jiang, T.; Yang, Y.; Xia, Z.W.; Zhang, Y.X.; Lu, J.

2012-01-01

The gas injection system (GIS) is an indispensable part of ITER fueling system. It deliveries the necessary gas species from tritium plant to vacuum vessel, pellet injection system or neutral beam for plasma operation and fusion power shutdown. In this paper, the current design status of GIS, including the previous design changes, is briefly described. As the GIS design justification and support, the experimental study on GIS response time is illustrated. The factors delayed the GIS response time are identified, and two kinds of control mode are proved to be effective for improving the GIS response time. The exploration on magnetic shield design shows the discrepancy of shielding performance occurs in the case of the paralleling external magnetic field to the sample cylinder. These R and D works prove the design feasibility in some ways, and support possible solutions for design challenges as alternative design options.

Ablation of a Deuterium Pellet in a Fusion Plasma Viewed as a Stopping Power Problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chang, C. T.

1983-01-01

At present, the most exploited technology to refuel a future fusion reactor is the high speed injection of macroscopic size pellet of solid hydrogen isotopes. The basic idea is that the ablation of a pellet in a fusion reactor is mainly caused by thermal electrons (~ 10 keV) /1/. Due to the low...... sublimation energy of hydrogen isotopes, shortly after the direct impact of the electrons, a dense cloud forms around the pellet. This cloud of ablated material then serves as a stopping medium for the incoming electrons, thus prolongs the pellet life-time. As a result, the deep penetration of the pellet...

Numerical investigations of the WASA pellet target operation and proposal of a new technique for the PANDA pellet target

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varentsov, Victor L.

2011-01-01

The conventional nozzle vibration technique of the hydrogen micro-droplet generation that is supposed to be used for internal pellet target production for the future PANDA experiment at the international FAIR facility in Darmstadtfor is described. The operation of this technique has been investigated by means of detailed computer simulations. Results of calculations for the geometry and operation conditions of the WASA pellet generator are presented and discussed. We have found that for every given pellet size, there is a set of operation parameters where the efficiency of the WASA hydrogen pellet target operation is considerably increased. Moreover, the results of presented computer simulations clearly show that the future PANDA pellet target setup can be realized with the use of much smaller (and cheaper) vacuum pumps than those used at present in the WASA hydrogen pellet target. To qualitatively improve the PANDA hydrogen pellet target performance we have proposed the use of a novel flow focusing method of Ganan-Calvo and Barreto (1997,1999) combined with the use of conventional vacuum injection capillary. Possibilities of this approach for the PANDA pellet target production have been also explored by means of computer simulations. The results of these simulations show that the use of this new approach looks very promising and in particular, there is no need here to use of expensive ultra-pure hydrogen to prevent nozzle clogging or freezing up due to impurities and it will allow simple, fast, smooth and a wide range of change of pellet sizes in accordance with requirements of different experiments at the PANDA detector. In this article we also propose and describe the idea of a new technique to break up a liquid microjet into microdroplets using a process of liquid jet evaporation under pulsed laser beam irradiation. This technique should be experimentally checked before it may be used in the design of the future PANDA pellet target setup.

Numerical investigations of the WASA pellet target operation and proposal of a new technique for the PANDA pellet target

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Varentsov, Victor L., E-mail: v.varentsov@gsi.de [Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, B. Cheremushkinskaya 25, 117218 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2011-08-01

The conventional nozzle vibration technique of the hydrogen micro-droplet generation that is supposed to be used for internal pellet target production for the future PANDA experiment at the international FAIR facility in Darmstadtfor is described. The operation of this technique has been investigated by means of detailed computer simulations. Results of calculations for the geometry and operation conditions of the WASA pellet generator are presented and discussed. We have found that for every given pellet size, there is a set of operation parameters where the efficiency of the WASA hydrogen pellet target operation is considerably increased. Moreover, the results of presented computer simulations clearly show that the future PANDA pellet target setup can be realized with the use of much smaller (and cheaper) vacuum pumps than those used at present in the WASA hydrogen pellet target. To qualitatively improve the PANDA hydrogen pellet target performance we have proposed the use of a novel flow focusing method of Ganan-Calvo and Barreto (1997,1999) combined with the use of conventional vacuum injection capillary. Possibilities of this approach for the PANDA pellet target production have been also explored by means of computer simulations. The results of these simulations show that the use of this new approach looks very promising and in particular, there is no need here to use of expensive ultra-pure hydrogen to prevent nozzle clogging or freezing up due to impurities and it will allow simple, fast, smooth and a wide range of change of pellet sizes in accordance with requirements of different experiments at the PANDA detector. In this article we also propose and describe the idea of a new technique to break up a liquid microjet into microdroplets using a process of liquid jet evaporation under pulsed laser beam irradiation. This technique should be experimentally checked before it may be used in the design of the future PANDA pellet target setup.

Development of quantitative atomic modeling for tungsten transport study Using LHD plasma with tungsten pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, I.; Sakaue, H.A.; Suzuki, C.; Kato, D.; Goto, M.; Tamura, N.; Sudo, S.; Morita, S.

2014-10-01

Quantitative tungsten study with reliable atomic modeling is important for successful achievement of ITER and fusion reactors. We have developed tungsten atomic modeling for understanding the tungsten behavior in fusion plasmas. The modeling is applied to the analysis of tungsten spectra observed from currentless plasmas of the Large Helical Device (LHD) with tungsten pellet injection. We found that extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lines of W 24+ to W 33+ ions are very sensitive to electron temperature (Te) and useful to examine the tungsten behavior in edge plasmas. Based on the first quantitative analysis of measured spatial profile of W 44+ ion, the tungsten concentration is determined to be n(W 44+ )/n e = 1.4x10 -4 and the total radiation loss is estimated as ∼4 MW, of which the value is roughly half the total NBI power. (author)

Raw materials for pellets; Rohstoffe fuer Pellets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neumann, H.

2008-01-15

In order to keep the pellet prices stable, producers look for new raw materials. Sawdust as a former basis also competes with the manufacturers of chip boards and paper. Three classes of quality are discussed by the pellet manufacturers: (a) the DINplus pellet as a premium segment for which high-quality sawdust are used; (b) a wood pellet from natural wood with varying quality for the utilization in larger plants with filters; (c) the inexpensive industrial wood pellet which deviates from the DINplus commodity regarding to the ingredients and form and could be fired in larger power stations.

Technology and distribution of pellets. Experience about the European network on wood pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rapp, S.W.

1999-01-01

Wood pellets might become the most important alternative to fossil fuels in the near future. As a bio-fuel it has the following characteristics: heat value, min 4.7 kWh/kg; ash fraction less than 1.0 vol. %; humidity less than 10 vol. %; diameter (rod shaped) min 6 mm and volumetric weight about 650 kg/m 3 . About 2.1 t pellets substitute 1000 l fuel oil. Sweden and Austria have more than 15 year experience in using wood pellets, followed by Germany. They are an environmentally friendly alternative for private houses, for district heating plants and especially suitable for densely built-up and inhabited areas. Having high energy density they can be transported to the areas with high energy requirements. Among their advantages are: low humidity, easy transport and storage, can be produced by renewable raw materials and provide new local jobs, fit for renewable energy systems with closed cycle. Disadvantages include: relatively more expensive for private houses compared to oil and gas and necessity of two times larger storage space than oil. Wood pellets are produced by all kind of paper waste and wood wastes from industry. They are especially suitable for small boiler plants and the oil burner can be replaced by a pellet burner in the same boiler. The leading producer of wood pellets is Sweden, of pellet stoves - USA. Pellet stoves, pellet burners and pellet boilers both for private houses and for heating plants are manufactured also in Sweden, Denmark,Finland, Germany, Austria and Ireland

Nuclear fuel pellet loading apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerkey, K.S.

1979-01-01

An automatic apparatus for loading a predetermined amount of nuclear fuel pellets into a nuclear fuel element to be used in a nuclear reactor is described. The apparatus consists of a vibratory bed capable of supporting corrugated trays containing rows of nuclear fuel pellets and arranged in alignment with the open ends of several nuclear fuel elements. A sweep mechanism is arranged above the trays and serves to sweep the rows of fuel pellets onto the vibratory bed and into the fuel element. A length detecting system, in conjunction with a pellet stopping mechanism, is also provided to assure that a predetermined amount of nuclear fuel pellets are loaded into each fuel element

Compressive Strength Properties of Natural Gas Hydrate Pellet by Continuous Extrusion from a Twin-Roll System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun-Hoo Lee

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the compressive strength of natural gas hydrate (NGH pellet strip extruded from die holes of a twin-roll press for continuous pelletizing (TPCP. The lab-scale TPCP was newly developed, where NGH powder was continuously fed and extruded into strip-type pellet between twin rolls. The system was specifically designed for future expansion towards mass production of solid form NGH. It is shown that the compressive strength of NGH pellet strip heavily depends on parameters in the extrusion process, such as feeding pressure, pressure ratio, and rotational speed. The mechanism of TPCP, along with the compressive strength and density of pellets, is discussed in terms of its feasibility for producing NGH pellets in the future.

Fueling of magnetically confined plasmas by single- and two-stage repeating pneumatic pellet injectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouge, M.J.; Combs, S.K.; Foust, C.R.; Milora, S.L.

1990-01-01

Advanced plasma fueling systems for magnetic fusion confinement experiments are under development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The general approach is that of producing and accelerating frozen hydrogenic pellets to speeds in the kilometer-per-second range using single shot and repetitive pneumatic (light-gas gun) pellet injectors. The millimeter-to-centimeter size pellets enter the plasma and continuously ablate because of the plasma electron heat flux, depositing fuel atoms along the pellet trajectory. This fueling method allows direct fueling in the interior of the hot plasma and is more efficient than the alternative method of injecting room temperature fuel gas at the wall of the plasma vacuum chamber. Single-stage pneumatic injectors based on the light-gas gun concept have provided hydrogenic fuel pellets in the speed range of 1--2 km/s in single-shot injector designs. Repetition rates up to 5 Hz have been demonstrated in repetitive injector designs. Future fusion reactor-scale devices may need higher pellet velocities because of the larger plasma size and higher plasma temperatures. Repetitive two-stage pneumatic injectors are under development at ORNL to provide long-pulse plasma fueling in the 3--5 km/s speed range. Recently, a repeating, two-stage light-gas gun achieved repetitive operation at 1 Hz with speeds in the range of 2--3 km/s

Pellets - A fuel with a future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

This special brochure presents a series of articles on the topic of wood pellets as a fuel of the future. Dr. Walter Steinmann, director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) introduces the topic, stressing that the Swiss Confederation and the Cantons are supporting efforts to increase the sustainable use of wood fuels. Further articles take a closer look at pellets and their form. Pellets-fired heating units are introduced as a viable alternative to traditional oil-fired units. Tips are presented on the various ways of storing pellets. Quality-assurance aspects are examined and manufacturers and distributors of wood pellets are listed. A further article takes a closer look at a large Swiss manufacturer of pellets and describes the production process used as well as the logistics necessary for the transportation of raw materials and finished products. The brochure also presents a selection of pellet ovens and heating systems from various manufacturers. A further article illustrates the use of pellets as a means of heating apartment blocks built to the MINERGIE low-energy-consumption standard. In the example quoted, the classic combination of solar energy for the pre-heating of hot water and pellets for the central heating and hot water supply is used. The use of a buried spherical tank to store pellets - and thus the saving of space inside the building - is described in a further article that takes a look at the refurbishment of the heating system in a single-family home. Finally, various contributions presented at the Pellets Forum held in Berne in November 2003 are summarised in a short article

Determination Of Simulated Pellet To Pellet Gap Using Neutron Radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusnowo, A.

1996-01-01

The defect on the irradiated fuel element could be detected using neutron radiography. The defect could occurred in pellet to pellet gap, cladding, or even cladding to pellet gap. An investigations has been performed to detect pellet to pellet gap defect that might occur in an irradiated fuel element. An Al foil of 0,1; 0,2; 0,3; und 0,4 mm was inserted between pellets to simulate various pellet to pellet gap. The neutron radiography used had power of 700 kW. The result showed that this simulation represented well enough problems that irradiated fuel element may experience

Furnace for the continuous sintering of pellets of ceramic nuclear fuel material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heyraud, J.

1977-01-01

The furnace comprises a hearth for the longitudinal displacement of pellet containers, means for injecting gas at both ends of the furnace, for sucking gas between preheating and sintering zones and for condensing the binder, means for displacing the containers from an introduction lock-chamber to an extraction lock-chamber, a conveyor belt which passes through a glove box and provides a leak-tight connection between the lock-chambers. A station for loading containers with pellet sub-containers prior to sintering and a station for unloading the pellet sub-containers after sintering are juxtaposed within the glove box. 3 claims, 1 drawing figure

Wood pellets offer a competitive energy option in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The market for wood pellets in Sweden grew rapidly during the 1990s and production now stands at around 550,000 tonnes/year. More efficient combustion technology, pellet transportation, pellet storage and pellet delivery have also been developed. The pellets, which are produced by some 25 plants, are used in family houses, large-scale district heating plants, and combined heat and power (CHP) plants. Most of the pellets are made from biomass resources such as forest residues and sawdust and shavings from wood mills. Pellet production, the energy content of saw mill by-products, the current market and its potential for future expansion, the way in which the pellets are used in different combustion systems, the theoretical market potential for wood pellet heating installations in small houses and the Swedish P-certificate system for the certification of pellet stoves and burners are described

Measurement of shadowgraph of flying solid-hydrogen pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, Kouichi; Kasai, Satoshi; Suzuki, Sadaaki; Oda, Yasushi.

1992-11-01

The measurement system of shadowgraphs of flying pellets for the high-speed multi-pellet injector is described. Shadowgraphs of pellets ejected repeatedly with 1-5 Hz could be taken with about 100 % probability by using the system, which is composed of a intense pulse-lamp with a video-camera and a timing control system. (author)

Tritium pellet injector design for tokamak fusion test reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, P.W.; Baylor, L.R.; Bryan, W.E.

1985-01-01

A tritium pellet injector (TPI) system has been designed for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) Q approx. 1 phase of operation. The injector gun utilizes a radial design with eight independent barrels and a common extruder to minimize tritium inventory. The injection line contains guide tubes with intermediate vacuum pumping stations and fast valves to minimize propellant leakage to the torus. The vacuum system is designed for tritium compatibility. The entire injector system is contained in a glove box for secondary containment protection against tritium release. Failure modes and effects have been analyzed, and structural analysis has been performed for most intense predicted earthquake conditions. Details of the design and operation of this system are presented in this paper

Pellet dimension checker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marmo, A.R.

1980-01-01

A pellet dimension checker was developed for use in making nuclear-fuel pellets. This checker eliminates operator handling of the pellet but permits remote-monitoring of the operation, and is thus suitable for mass production of green fuel pellets particularly in reprocessing plants handling irradiated uranium or plutonium. It comprises a rotatable arm for transferring a pellet from a conveyor to several dimensional measuring stations and back to the conveyor if the dimensions of the pellet are within predetermined limits. If the pellet is not within the limits, the arm removes the pellet from the process stream. (DN)

Some open questions concerning the neutral-shielding model of a fuelling pellet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, C.T.

1986-02-01

To obtain a better understanding of the implications and assumptions of the idealized neutral shielding model of Parks and Turnbull, the model is reformulated in a self consistent way. Due to the uncertainty of the actual ablation process occuring at the pellet surface, alternative boundary conditions are proposed. Their effect on the pellet ablation rate and the state of the ablated flow are examined by numerical analyses. The results show that the ablation rate is not sensitively affected but the ablatant state is markedly influenced by the boundary condition at the pellet surface. In particular, an increase of the energy flux received at the pellet surface by a factor of four hardly affect the ablation rate but changes the temperature and the density of the ablatant at the pellet surface by three orders of magnitude. Based on these obtained results, it is concluded that the idealized ablation model is adequate when pellet injection is used to fuel a plasma but requires modification when it is used to probe plasma properties and discharge conditions. (orig.)

Advanced turbine/CO2 pellet accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, C.A.; Fisher, P.W.

1994-01-01

An advanced turbine/CO 2 pellet accelerator is being evaluated as a depaint technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The program, sponsored by Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, has developed a robot-compatible apparatus that efficiently accelerates pellets of dry ice with a high-speed rotating wheel. In comparison to the more conventional compressed air sandblast pellet accelerators, the turbine system can achieve higher pellet speeds, has precise speed control, and is more than ten times as efficient. A preliminary study of the apparatus as a depaint technology has been undertaken. Depaint rates of military epoxy/urethane paint systems on 2024 and 7075 aluminum panels as a function of pellet speed and throughput have been measured. In addition, methods of enhancing the strip rate by combining infra-red heat lamps with pellet blasting have also been studied. The design and operation of the apparatus will be discussed along with data obtained from the depaint studies. Applications include removal of epoxy-based points from aircraft and the cleaning of surfaces contaminated with toxic, hazardous, or radioactive substances. The lack of a secondary contaminated waste stream is of great benefit

Fusion neutron generation by high-repetitive target injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitagawa, Yoneyoshi

2015-01-01

Pellet injection and repetitive laser illumination are key technologies for realizing inertial fusion energy. The Graduate School for the Creation of New Photonics Industries, Hamamatsu Photonics K. K. and Toyota Motor Corporation demonstrate the pellet injection, counter laser beams' engagement and neutron generation. Deuterated polystyrene (CD) bead pellets, after free-falling for a distance of 18 cm at 1 Hz, are successfully engaged by two counter laser beams from a diode-pumped, ultra-intense laser HAMA. The laser energy, pulse duration, wavelength and the intensity are 0.63 J per beam, 104 fs, 811 nm and 4.7 x 10 18 W/cm 2 , respectively. The irradiated pellets produce D (D, n) 3 He-reacted neutrons with a maximum yield of 9.5 x 10 4 /4π sr/shot. A straight channel with 10 μm-diameter is found through the beads. The pellet size is 1 mm. The results indicate potentially useful technologies for the next step in realizing inertial fusion energy. The results are reviewed as well as some oversea activities. (author)

The sensitivity theory for inertial confinement pellet fusion system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Shaohui; Zhang, Yuquan.

1986-01-01

A sensitivity theory for inertial confinement pellet fusion system is developed based on a physical model similar to that embodied in the laser fusion code MEDUSA. The theory presented here can be an efficient tool for estimating the effects of many alternations in the data field. Our result is different from Greenspan's work in 1980. (author)

Results obtained using the pellet charge exchange diagnostic on TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McChesney, J.M.; Fisher, R.K.; Parks, P.B.; Duong, H.H.; Mansfield, D.K.; Medley, S.S.; Roquemore, A.L.; Petrov, M.P.

1994-05-01

Experiments are underway on TFTR to measure the confined alpha particle distribution functions using small low-Z pellets injected into the plasma. Upon entering the plasma, the pellet ablates, forming a plasma ablation cloud, elongated in the magnetic field direction, that travels alongside the pellet. A small fraction of the fusion produced 3.5 MeV alpha particles incident on the cloud are converted to helium neutrals. By measuring the resultant helium neutrals escaping from the plasma by means of a mass and energy resolving charge exchange analyzer, the energy distribution of the alpha particles incident on the cloud can be inferred. Preliminary experiments to observe neutrals from the 100-1000 keV He tail produced during ICRF minority heating experiments were successful. However, no significant alpha particle signals have been observed during D-T operation on TFTR. The authors attribute this lack of signal to stochastic toroidal field ripple loss in the outer regions of the plasma. They are studying ways to improve the pellet penetration so that the pellet penetrates into the central regions of the plasma where ripple induced losses are small and the alpha population is high

Inspecting fuel pellets for nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilks, R.S.; Sternheim, E.; Breakey, G.A.; Sturges, R.H.; Taleff, A.; Castner, R.P.

1982-01-01

An improved method of controlling the inspection, sorting and classifying of nuclear reactor fuel pellets, including a mechanical handling system and a computer controlled data processing system, is described. Having investigated the diameter, length, surface flaws and weights of the pellets, they are sorted accordingly and the relevant data are stored. (U.K.)

Pellet production from agricultural raw materials - A systems study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Daniel; Bernesson, Sven; Hansson, Per-Anders [Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7032, SE-75007 Uppsala (Sweden)

2011-01-15

The demand for biofuel pellets has increased considerably in recent years, causing shortage of the traditional raw materials sawdust and wood shavings. In this study, the costs and energy requirements for the production of pellets from agricultural raw materials were analysed. The materials studied were Salix, reed canary grass, hemp, straw, screenings, rape-seed meal, rape cake and distiller's waste. Four production scales were analysed, having an annual output of 80,000, 8000, 800 and 80 tonnes of pellets per year. It was concluded that the raw materials of greatest interest were Salix and reed canary grass. They had competitive raw material costs and acceptable fuel properties and could be mixed with sawdust in existing large-scale pelleting factories. Straw had low production costs but can cause serious ash-related problems and should, as also is the case for screenings, be avoided in small-scale burners. Hemp had high raw material costs and is of less commercial interest, while distiller's waste, rape-seed meal and rape cake had higher alternative values when used as protein feed. The scale of production had a crucial influence on production costs. The machinery was used much more efficiently in large-scale plants, resulting in clear cost savings. Small-scale pelleting, both static and mobile, required cheap raw materials, low labour costs and long utilisation times to be profitable. In most cases, briquetting would be more commercially viable. The energy use in manufacturing pellets from air-dried crops was generally no higher than when moist sawdust was used as the raw material. (author)

Tritium proof-of-principle pellet injector results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, P.W.; Fehling, D.T.; Gouge, M.J.; Milora, S.L.

1989-01-01

The tritium proof-of-principle (TPOP) experiment was built by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to demonstrate the feasibility of forming solid tritium pellets and accelerating them to high velocities for fueling future fusion reactors. TPOP used a pneumatic pipe-gun with a 4-mm-i.d. by 1-m-long barrel. Nearly 1500 pellets were fired by the gun during the course of the experiment; about a third of these were tritium or mixtures of deuterium and tritium. The system also contained a cryogenic 3 He separator that reduced the 3 He level to <0.005%. Pure tritium pellets were accelerated to 1400 m/s. Experiments evaluated the effect of cryostat temperature and fill pressure on pellet size, the production of pellets from mixtures of tritium and deuterium, and the effect of aging on pellet integrity. The tritium phase of these experiments was performed at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. About 100 kCi of tritium was processed through the apparatus without incident. 8 refs., 7 figs

The pellet handbook: the production and thermal utilisation of pellets

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Obernberger, Ingwald; Thek, Gerold

2010-01-01

...: - International overview of standards for pellets - Evaluation of raw materials and raw material potentials - Quality and properties of pellets - Technical evaluation of the pellet production process...

Development and characterisation of injection moulded, all-polypropylene composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Kmetty

2013-02-01

Full Text Available In this work, all-polypropylene composites (all-PP composites were manufactured by injection moulding. Prior to injection moulding, pre-impregnated pellets were prepared by a three-step process (filament winding, compression moulding and pelletizing. A highly oriented polypropylene multifilament was used as the reinforcement material, and a random polypropylene copolymer (with ethylene was used as the matrix material. Plaque specimens were injection moulded from the pellets with either a film gate or a fan gate. The compression moulded sheets and injection moulding plaques were characterised by shrinkage tests, static tensile tests, dynamic mechanical analysis and falling weight impact tests; the fibre distribution and fibre/matrix adhesion were analysed with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that with increasing fibre content, both the yield stress and the perforation energy significantly increased. Of the two types of gates used, the fan gate caused the mechanical properties of the plaque specimens to become more homogeneous (i.e., the differences in behaviour parallel and perpendicular to the flow direction became negligible.

From a single pellet press to a bench scale pellet mill - Pelletizing six different biomass feedstocks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Puig Arnavat, Maria; Shang, Lei; Sárossy, Zsuzsa

2016-01-01

The increasing demand for biomass pellets requires the investigation of alternative raw materials for pelletizetion. In the present paper, the pelletization process of fescue, alfalfa, sorghum, triticale, miscanthus and willow is studied to determine if results obtained in a single pellet press (...

Pellet injector research at ORNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, S.K.; Foster, C.A.; Milora, S.L.

1988-01-01

Advanced plasma fueling systems for magnetic confinement devices are under development a the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The general approach is that of producing and accelerating frozen hydrogen isotope pellets at speeds in the range 1-2 km/s and higher. Recently, ORNL provided pneumataic-based pellet fueling systems for two of the world's largest tokamak experiments, the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) and the Joint European Torus (JET). A new versatile centrifuge type injector is being readied at ORNL for use on the Tore Supra tokamak. Also, a new simplified eight-shot injector design has been developed for use on the Princeton Beta Experiment (PBX) and the Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF). In addition to these confinement physics related activities, ORNL is pursuing advanced technologies to achieve pellet velocities significantly in excess of 2 km/s and is carrying out a Tritium Proof-of-Principle (TPOP) experiment in which the fabrication and acceleration of tritium pellets have already been demonstrated. This paper describes these ongoing activities. 25 refs., 9 figs

Improvement of the spectroscopic investigation of pellet ablation clouds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koubiti, M.; Ferri, S.; Godbert-Mouret, L.; Marandet, Y.; Rosato, J.; Stamm, R.; Goto, M.; Morita, S.

2012-11-01

The method allowing the characterization of the so-called ablation cloud of a pellet from its spectroscopic emission lines (intensities and shapes) is described. It is illustrated using measurements concerning carbon and aluminum pellets injected in the Large Helical Devices (LHD). The electron densities in pellet ablation clouds are sufficiently high that the energy levels of the main emitting species are at Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE). This justifies the electron temperature determination from the measured intensities using Boltzmann plots. In the case of carbon pellet, the C II 723 nm line was previously fitted with a convolution of a Lorentzian and a Gaussian profiles to determine the electron density. It is proposed here to use more elaborate theoretical profiles accounting for the Stark-Zeeman contributions in order to obtain more accurate plasma parameters especially for the high-resolution spectra in which both Zeeman and Stark features are visible. We present some preliminary comparisons with such spectra which were measured recently in LHD and discuss the possible improvement of the considered investigation technique once all the contributions to the line profile are effectively included. (author)

Implementation of an iron ore green pellet on-line size analyser at the QCMC pelletizing plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouajila, A.; Boivin, J.-A.; Ouellet, G.; Beaudin, S.

1999-01-01

This paper describes work into the design, implementation and performance evaluation of a 3D-image analysis system at the QCMC pelletizing plant. First, the measurement system is reviewed. Second, the ability of the system to achieve reliable, on-line results on a moving conveyor belt is presented and discussed. The problem of segregation caused by disk classification is particularly addressed, as it hinders full size distribution estimation from the top layer. Finally, pelletizing disk controllability is investigated. (author)

Opportunities for Pellet Trade - Towards a Single European Pellet Market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pigaht, Maurice; Janssen, Rainer; Rutz, Dominik; Boehm, Thorsten; Vasen, Norbert; Vegas, Laura; Karapanagiotis, Nicolas

2006-01-01

The potential for Pellets trade in Europe was researched and assessed. Such trade is of key importance for the development of a European pellet market of sufficient supply, demand, price and quality standards. Three target markets were taken as case studies for the trade assessment: Greece, Spain and Italy. All three markets stand to profit greatly from international trade. For these markets, pellet imports could supply the basis for the development of a domestic boiler market. At the same time, pellet exports would allow the planning of larger pellet production plants. Whilst these additional costs amount to some 10-20% of the Pellets price, they are financially acceptable, especially for new markets and 'peaks' in the demand/supply of established markets

3400 m/s deuterium pellet injector for Tore Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perin, J.P.; Geraud, A.

1995-01-01

This paper reports on the Tore Supra high velocity pellet injector which was built in Grenoble and after qualification tests installed on Tore Supra Tokomak where it is used for plasma and ablation studies. By using a two stage light gas gun (TSG) and two cells (φ = 3 mm or 4 mm), unsupported pellets pellets (1 to 3.5 10 21 atoms) made directly in the gun by > [1] have been launched into Tore Supra plasma at speeds between 2400m/s and 3400m/s with a reliability of 80%. These higher pellets velocities (> 2500 m/s) [2] are obtained by the optimization of a TSG and the search for the cryogenic conditions of freezing deuterium with good mechanical properties. In particular, the impurities concentration in deuterium during the condensation process has been studied. Several tens pellets have been injected into ohmically and ICR heated plasma and during LH current drive experiments with a good reliability in the range of 3000m/s. These experiments allowed us to extend significantly the ablation data base. Central penetrations can be reached even for high temperatures plasma (3-5 keV) and very peaked density profiles have been obtained in ohmically and ICR heated plasmas A transient improved confinement regime is then observed, which presents some features similar to the PEP regime obtained on JET. (orig.)

Neutron absorber pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radford, K.C.

1983-01-01

An annular burnable poison pellet of aluminium oxide - boron carbide (Al 2 O 3 - B 4 C) adapted for positioning in the annular space of concentrically disposed zircaloy tubes. Each tubular pellet is fabricated from Al 2 O 3 powders of moderate sintering activity which serves as a matrix for B 4 C medium size particle distribution. Special pellet moisture controls are incorporated in the pellet for moisture stability and the pellet is sintered in the temperature range of 1630 deg to 1650 deg C. This method of fabrication produces a pellet about 2 inch long with a wall thickness of from 0.020 inch to 0.040 inch. Fabricating each pellet to about 70% theoretical density gives an optimum compromise between fabricability, microstructure, strength and moisture absorption. (author)

Carbon pellet cloud striations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, P.B.

1989-01-01

Fine scale striations, with alternating rows of bright and dark zones, have been observed in the ablation clouds of carbon pellets injected into the TEXT tokamak. The striations extend along the magnetic field for about 1 cm with quite regular cross-field variations characterized by a wavelength of a few mm. Their potential as a diagnostic tool for measuring q-profiles in tokamaks provides motivation for investigating the origin of the striations. The authors propose that the striations are not due to a sequence of high and low ablation rates because of the finite thermal magnetic islands localized at rational surfaces, q = m/n, would be responsible for reducing the electron flux to the pellet region; the length of the closed field line which forms the local magnetic axis of the island is too long to prevent a depletion of plasma electrons in a flux tube intercepting the pellet for the duration 2 rp / vp . Instead, they propose that striations are the manifestation of the saturated state of growing fluctuations inside the cloud. The instability is generated by E x B rotation of the ablation cloud. The outward centrifugal force points down the ablation density gradient inducing the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The instability is not present for wave numbers along the field lines, which may explain why the striations are long and uniform in that direction. The E field develops inside the ablation cloud as a result of cold electron return currents which are induced to cancel the incoming hot plasma electron current streaming along the field lines

Development of innovative fuelling systems for fusion energy science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouge, M.J.; Baylor, L.R.; Combs, S.K.; Fisher, P.W.

1996-01-01

The development of innovative fueling systems in support of magnetic fusion energy, particularly the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), is described. The ITER fuelling system will use a combination of deuterium-tritium (D-T) gas puffing and pellet injection to achieve and maintain ignited plasmas. This combination will provide a flexible fuelling source with D-T pellets penetrating beyond the separatrix to sustain the ignited fusion plasma and with deuterium-rich gas fuelling the edge region to meet divertor requirements in a process called isotopic fuelling. More advanced systems with potential for deeper penetration, such as multistage pellet guns and compact toroid injection, are also described

Pellets - the advance of refined bioenergy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahlstroem, J.E.

1997-01-01

This conference paper discusses the role of pellets in the use of bioenergy in Sweden. Pellets (P) have many advantages: (1) P are dry and can be stored, (2) P create local jobs, (3) P burn without seriously polluting the environment, (4) P are made from domestic and renewable resources, (5) P have high energy density, (6) P fit well in an energy system adapted to nature, (6) P are an economical alternative, both on a small scale and on a large scale. Pellets are more laborious to use than oil or electricity and require about three times as much storage space as oil. The Swedish pellets manufacturers per 1997 are listed. Locally pellets are most conveniently transported as bulk cargo and delivered to a silo by means of pressurized air. Long-distance transport use train or ship. At present, pellets are most often used in large or medium-sized heat plants, but equipment exists for use from private houses and up to the size of MW. Pellets may become the most important alternative to the fossil fuels which along with electricity today are dominating the small scale market. 1 fig., 1 table

Parameters of the luminous region surrounding deuterium pellets in the PLT tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McNeill, D.H.; Greene, G.J.; Schuresko, D.D.

1985-08-01

The luminous region of the plasma cloud surrounding deuterium pellets injected into a tokamak is studied spectroscopically. At the time of peak luminosity the average electron density is 2.4 x 10 17 cm -3 to within 30% and the temperature is at most 2.0 eV. The intensity ratio of the Balmer alpha and beta light from the pellets, the total number of emitted photons, and the apparent size of the radiating region are consistent with local thermodynamic equilibrium at this temperature and density

A fast framing camera system for observation of acceleration and ablation of cryogenic hydrogen pellet in ASDEX Upgrade plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kocsis, G.; Kalvin, S.; Veres, G.; Cierpka, P.; Lang, P.T.; Neuhauser, J.; Wittman, C.; ASDEX Upgrade Team

2004-01-01

An observation system using fast digital cameras was developed to measure a cryogenic hydrogen pellet's cloud structure, trajectory, and velocity changes during its ablation in ASDEX Upgrade plasmas. In this article the system, the applied numerical methods, and the results are presented. The three-dimensional pellet trajectory and velocity components were reconstructed from images of observations from two different directions. Pellet acceleration both in the radial and toroidal directions was detected. The pellet cloud distribution was measured with high spatio-temporal resolution. The cloud surrounding the pellet was found to be elongated along the magnetic field lines. Its typical size is 5-7 cm along the field lines and 2 cm in the perpendicular directions. A cloud extension in the poloidal direction was also observed which may be related to the drift of the detached part of the cloud

Fish pelleting

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PUBLICATIONS1

fish meal pelletizing machine utilized 4kg of ingredients to produce 3.77kg pellets at an effi- ciency of .... Design and fabrication of fish meal pellet processing machine ... 53 ... horsepower for effective torque application on .... two edges were tacked with a spot weld to hold ... then welded on to the shaft making sure that the.

Pellet injector research and development at ORNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, S.K.; Barber, G.C.; Baylor, L.R.

1994-01-01

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been developing pellet injectors for plasma fueling experiments on magnetic confinement devices for more than 15 years. Recent major applications of the ORNL development program include (1) a tritium-compatible four-shot pneumatic injector for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, (2) a centrifuge pellet injector for the Tore Supra tokamak, and most recently (3) a three-barrel repeating pneumatic injector for the DIII-D tokamak. In addition to applications, ORNL is developing advanced technologies, including high-speed pellet injectors, tritium injectors, and long-pulse pellet feed systems. The high-speed research involves a collaboration between ORNL and ENEA-Frascati in the development of a repeating two-stage light gas gun based on an extrusion-type pellet feed system. Construction of a new tritium-compatible, extruder-based repeating pneumatic injector (8-mm-diam) is complete and will replace the pipe gun in the original tritium proof-of-principle experiment. The development of a steady-state feed system in which three standard extruders operate in tandem is under way. These research and development activities are relevant to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and are briefly described in this paper

The US pellet market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elliot, S.

2007-01-01

Bear Mountain is the largest producer of pellets, firelogs, animal beddings, and barbecue pellets in Western United States. The company's branded products are sold directly to more than 400 retail dealers. This presentation included a series of graphs depicting Bear Mountain's USA pellet sales in tons from 2002 to 2007; truckloads to various distribution areas; pellet stoves and insert units shipped from 1998 to 2006; and hearth appliance shipments from 1998 to 2006. It was noted that in the United States, 98 per cent of the pellets sold come in 40 pound bags and are delivered to retailers by truck. Space is needed for inventory purposes, as each customer may use 2 to 4 tons. The pellets are used in small ash capacity room heaters. The pellet producers buy sawdust from area mills. It was noted that the soft housing market combined with competition for pulp and paper has pinched the supply of pellets. Pellets were in short supply in the west coast during the winter of 2006-2007 and in eastern United States during the winters of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, indicating that summer production of pellets is required in order to meet winter demand. The key demand factors for pellets include stove sales; pellet pricing; pricing of other fuels; and, weather. The key supply factors for pellets include availability of sawdust; logistics; competition; and cost. The greatest challenge facing pellet producers is the high cost of freight. It was concluded that 2008 will be another year of uncertainty for pellet producers, due to the abundant supply of pellets in the east and midwest, and stabilized alternative fuel pricing. tabs., figs

Conditions for new biofuel raw materials. Systems for small scale briquetting and pelletizing; Foerutsaettningar foer nya biobraensleraavaror. System foer smaaskalig brikettering och pelletering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paulrud, Susanne; Holmgren, Kristina (The Swedish Environmental Research Institute Ltd., Stockholm (Sweden)); Rosenqvist, Haakan; Boerjesson, Paal (Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund Inst. of Technology, Lund (Sweden))

2009-01-15

The increasing demand for biomass has driven exploitation of the most easily available and cheapest biomass resources such as sawmill waste and logging residues. More knowledge is needed about exploitation and production of potential new biomass resources, currently not used for energy production (or only to a very small extent), in order to meet the future demands from various biomass users. The project aimed to examine the conditions for use of 'new' biomass materials for heat production from technical, economic and other perspectives (price trends, attitudes etc.). More specifically, the study looked at which biomass raw materials have the best characteristics for processing into briquettes and pellets in small-scale production plants (1 000 - 10 000 tonnes fuel produced per year) situated close to the source of the raw material. The study includes a comprehensive analysis of the appropriateness of the different raw materials and a case study including cost estimates for the entire production chain for production of briquettes from reed canary grass on a chosen farm (Laattra gaard). The raw materials judged to have potential to supplement the current biomass range for heat production are willow (and to a certain extent other fast-growing hardwoods), straw and reed canary grass. In the future, other perennial grasses may be of interest. Other forestry products that may help to meet in creasing demand include logging residues, stumps and wood from thinning and precommercial thinning. The study shows that the prerequisites for processing these raw materials into briquettes and pellets in small-scale production plants are relatively good from several aspects (technology, economics, market) but are limited by the types of end user that can use that form of biomass. The study concluded that straw has a low production cost and good prerequisites as a raw material for production of fuel briquettes, fuel pellets and horse bedding pellets. However, use is

A computerised automatic pellet inspection unit for FBTR fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramakumar, M.S.; Mahule, K.N.; Ghosh, J.K.; Venkatesh, D.

1984-01-01

Physical inspection and certification of nuclear reactor fuel element components is an activity demanding utmost imagination and skill in devising accurate measuring systems. There is also need for remote handling, automation, rapid processing and inspection data print out when dealing with reactor fuel material. This report deals with an automatic computerised fuel pellet inspection system that has been developed in Radiometallurgy Division, B.A.R.C. to carry out dimensional and weight measurements on fuel pellets for the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam near Madras. The system consists of several subsystems each developed especially for a specific purpose and as such items are not available off the shelf from manufacturers in India. If a general approach is adopted towards the report, there are many innovations and ideas that can be used in the automatic inspection of a variety of products in industry. As the system is fairly involved the report does not attempt to deal with detailed description of the equipment. The function of the system is to accept a certain quantity of fuel pellets in a bowl feeder, separate the pellets rejected owing to their exceeding dimensional and weight limits and form columns of accepted pellets. Dimensional and weight limits can be set as required and all inspection data are presented in a printed format. The system processes pellets at the rate of 15 per minute. The entire system can be run by operators with no special skills. The unit is currently in use for the inspection of mixed carbide fuel pellets for FBTR. (author)

Modeling Dynamic Fracture of Cryogenic Pellets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parks, Paul [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)

2016-06-30

This work is part of an investigation with the long-range objective of predicting the size distribution function and velocity dispersion of shattered pellet fragments after a large cryogenic pellet impacts a solid surface at high velocity. The study is vitally important for the shattered pellet injection (SPI) technique, one of the leading technologies being implemented at ORNL for the mitigation of disruption damage on current tokamaks and ITER. The report contains three parts that are somewhat interwoven. In Part I we formulated a self-similar model for the expansion dynamics and velocity dispersion of the debris cloud following pellet impact against a thick (rigid) target plate. Also presented in Part I is an analytical fracture model that predicts the nominal or mean size of the fragments in the debris cloud and agrees well with known SPI data. The aim of Part II is to gain an understanding of the pellet fracturing process when a pellet is shattered inside a miter tube with a sharp bend. Because miter tubes have a thin stainless steel (SS) wall a permanent deformation (dishing) of the wall is produced at the site of the impact. A review of the literature indicates that most projectile impact on thin plates are those for which the target is deformed and the projectile is perfectly rigid. Such impacts result in “projectile embedding” where the projectile speed is reduced to zero during the interaction so that all the kinetic energy (KE) of the projectile goes into the energy stored in plastic deformation. Much of the literature deals with perforation of the target. The problem here is quite different; the softer pellet easily undergoes complete material failure causing only a small transfer of KE to stored energy of wall deformation. For the real miter tube, we derived a strain energy function for the wall deflection using a non-linear (plastic) stress-strain relation for 304 SS. Using a dishing profile identical to the linear Kirchkoff-Love profile (for lack

Diagnostics and camera strobe timers for hydrogen pellet injectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, M.L.; Fisher, P.W.; Qualls, A.L.

1993-01-01

Hydrogen pellet injectors have been used to fuel fusion experimental devices for the last decade. As part of developments to improve pellet production and velocity, various diagnostic devices were implemented, ranging from witness plates to microwave mass meters to high speed photography. This paper will discuss details of the various implementations of light sources, cameras, synchronizing electronics and other diagnostic systems developed at Oak Ridge for the Tritium Proof-of-Principle (TPOP) experiment at the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Tritium System Test Assembly (TSTA), a system built for the Oak Ridge Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF), and the Tritium Pellet Injector (TPI) built for the Princeton Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). Although a number of diagnostic systems were implemented on each pellet injector, the emphasis here will be on the development of a synchronization system for high-speed photography using pulsed light sources, standard video cameras, and video recorders. This system enabled near real-time visualization of the pellet shape, size and flight trajectory over a wide range of pellet speeds and at one or two positions along the flight path. Additionally, the system provides synchronization pulses to the data system for pseudo points along the flight path, such as the estimated plasma edge. This was accomplished using an electronic system that took the time measured between sets of light gates, and generated proportionally delayed triggers for light source strobes and pseudo points. Systems were built with two camera stations, one located after the end of the barrel, and a second camera located closer to the main reactor vessel wall. Two or three light gates were used to sense pellet velocity and various spacings were implemented on the three experiments. Both analog and digital schemes were examined for implementing the delay system. A digital technique was chosen

Centrifuge pellet injector for JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andelfinger, C.; Buchelt, E.; Jacobi, D.; Lackner, E.; Schilling, H.B.; Ulrich, M.; Weber, G.

1983-08-01

An engineering design of a centrifuge pellet injector for JET is reported as part of the Phase I contract number JE 2/9016. A rather detailed design is presented for the mechanical and electronic features. Stress calculations, dynamic behaviour and life estimates are considered. The interfaces to the JET vacuum system and CODAS are discussed. Proposals for the pellet diagnostics (velocity, mass and shape) are presented. (orig.)

Hot-melt extrusion of sugar-starch-pellets.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, Chi-Wah; Rein, Hubert

2015-09-30

Sugar-starch-pellets (syn. sugar spheres) are usually manufactured through fluidized bed granulation or wet extrusion techniques. This paper introduces hot-melt extrusion (HME) as an alternative method to manufacture sugar-starch-pellets. A twin-screw extruder coupled with a Leistritz Micro Pelletizer (LMP) cutting machine was utilized for the extrusion of different types (normal-, waxy-, and high-amlyose) of corn starch, blended with varying amounts of sucrose. Pellets were characterized for their physicochemical properties including crystallinity, particle size distribution, tensile strength, and swelling expansion. Furthermore, the influence of sugar content and humidity on the product was investigated. Both sucrose and water lowered the Tg of the starch system allowing a convenient extrusion process. Mechanical strength and swelling behavior could be associated with varying amylose and amylopectin. X-ray powder diffractometric (XRPD) peaks of increasing sucrose contents appeared above 30%. This signified the oversaturation of the extruded starch matrix system with sucrose. Otherwise, had the dissolved sucrose been embedded into the molten starch matrix, no crystalline peak could have been recognized. The replacement of starch with sucrose reduced the starch pellets' swelling effect, which resulted in less sectional expansion (SEI) and changed the surface appearance. Further, a nearly equal tensile strength could be detected for sugar spheres with more than 40% sucrose. This observation stands in good relation with the analyzed values of the commercial pellets. Both techniques (fluidized bed and HME) allowed a high yield of spherical pellets (less friability) for further layering processes. Thermal influence on the sugar-starch system is still an obstacle to be controlled. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design and implementation of a control system for a deuterium pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burris, R.D.; Baylor, L.R.; Greenwood, D.E.; Stewart, K.A.

1986-03-01

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is currently developing a Deuterium Pellet Injector for installation on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). This paper describes the design and development of a stand-alone data acquisition and control system for that device. Major elements of the hardware are an Allen-Bradley PLC 2/30 programmable logic controller, a MicroVAX-II computer using the VMS operating system, CAMAC data acquisition and communication equipment, and special-purpose controllers for temperature and for the sequencing of pellet firing valves. The PLC performs all actual control actions and acquires data pertinent to those actions. The MicroVAX receives the data acquired by the PLC, displays it for the operator, prompts for and processes requests for action from the operator, and informs the PLC of those requests. The primary purpose of this paper is to describe the software operating in the MicroVAX, including the system architecture, major tasks, and ancillary and background tasks

Axially alignable nuclear fuel pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johansson, E.B.; Klahn, D.H.; Marlowe, M.O.

1978-01-01

An axially alignable nuclear fuel pellet of the type stacked in end-to-end relationship within a tubular cladding is described. Fuel cladding failures can occur at pellet interface locations due to mechanical interaction between misaligned fuel pellets and the cladding. Mechanical interaction between the cladding and the fuel pellets loads the cladding and causes increased cladding stresses. Nuclear fuel pellets are provided with an end structure that increases plastic deformation of the pellets at the interface between pellets so that lower alignment forces are required to straighten axially misaligned pellets. Plastic deformation of the pellet ends results in less interactions beween the cladding and the fuel pellets and significantly lowers cladding stresses. The geometry of pellets constructed according to the invention also reduces alignment forces required to straighten fuel pellets that are tilted within the cladding. Plastic deformation of the pellets at the pellet interfaces is increased by providing pellets with at least one end face having a centrally-disposed raised area of convex shape so that the mean temperature and shear stress of the contact area is higher than that of prior art pellets

SQL injection detection system

OpenAIRE

Vargonas, Vytautas

2017-01-01

SQL injection detection system Programmers do not always ensure security of developed systems. That is why it is important to look for solutions outside being reliant on developers. In this work SQL injection detection system is proposed. The system analyzes HTTP request parameters and detects intrusions. It is based on unsupervised machine learning. Trained by regular request data system detects outlier user parameters. Since training is not reliant on previous knowledge of SQL injections, t...

Solutions for future pellet burning technologies - Pellet systems with active control with combined CO/O2 sensors - Pellet system with energy measuring and monitoring; Loesningar foer framtidens pelletsteknik - Pelletssystem med aktiv styrning med CO/O2-sensorer - Pelletssystem med energimaetning och fjaerroevervakning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paulrud, Susanne; Ryde, Daniel; Roennbaeck, Marie

2011-07-01

To meet the consumer demands and the upcoming environmental regulations for the future Swedish heating system, development and improvement of the existing methods for combustion of fuel pellets are urged. In this study, two potential concepts - to be considered as important for the continued state-of-the-art improvement - for monitoring of the combustion process, have been demonstrated and evaluated. Within the project, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden has, in co-operation with SenSiC, tested a new type of combined CO/O2 sensor. The sensor has been adapted to real combustion environment in a Jan Fire furnace, to which its control capacity has been verified. Moreover, a system for measuring the use of energy, EnergySaver, has, in co-operation with Effecta, been tested in a field study at the premises of a fuel pellet consumer. The SenSiC combined CO/O2 sensor has during the study progressively been developed and the resulting conclusion states that the product version FEI300-2 now is ready for further tests and market introduction. The trials show that the sensor reacts to an increase in emission levels, where after it manages to control the combustion process back to optimal level. The field study of the Effecta Energy Saver system shows that it, to a large part, is ready for commercial introduction. According to the fuel pellet consumer, the Effecta system increases the interest/awareness of energy saving.

Fuel pellet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, K.

1980-01-01

Fuel pellet for insertion into a cladding tube in order to form a fuel element or a fuel rod. The fuel pellet has got a belt-like projection around its essentially cylindrical lateral circumferential surface. The upper and lower edges in vertical direction of this belt-like projection are wave-shaped. The projection is made of the same material as the bulk pellet. Both are made in one piece. (orig.) [de

46 CFR 148.04-21 - Coconut meal pellets (also known as copra pellets).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Coconut meal pellets (also known as copra pellets). 148.04-21 Section 148.04-21 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) DANGEROUS... § 148.04-21 Coconut meal pellets (also known as copra pellets). (a) Coconut meal pellets; (1) Must...

Conceptual design of a commercial tokamak hybrid reactor fueling system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matney, K.D.; Donnert, H.J.; Yang, T.F.

1979-12-01

A conceptual design of a fuel injection system for CTHR (Commercial Tokamak Hybrid Reactor) is discussed. Initially, relative merits of the cold-fueling concept are compared with those of the hot-fueling concept; that is, fueling where the electron is below 1 eV is compared with fueling where the electron temperature exceeds 100 eV. It is concluded that cold fueling seems to be somewhat more free of drawbacks than hot fueling. Possible implementation of the cold-fueling concept is exploited via frozen-pellet injection. Several methods of achieving frozen-pellet injection are discussed and the light-gas-gun approach is chosen from these possibilities. A modified version of the ORNL Neutral Gas Shielding Model is used to simulate the pellet injection process. From this simulation, the penetration-depth dependent velocity requirement is determined. Finally, with the velocity requirement known, a gas-pressure requirement for the proposed conceptual design is established. The cryogenic fuel-injection and fuel-handling systems are discussed. A possible way to implement the conceptual device is examined along with the attendant effects on the total system.

Conceptual design of a commercial tokamak hybrid reactor fueling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matney, K.D.; Donnert, H.J.; Yang, T.F.

1979-12-01

A conceptual design of a fuel injection system for CTHR (Commercial Tokamak Hybrid Reactor) is discussed. Initially, relative merits of the cold-fueling concept are compared with those of the hot-fueling concept; that is, fueling where the electron is below 1 eV is compared with fueling where the electron temperature exceeds 100 eV. It is concluded that cold fueling seems to be somewhat more free of drawbacks than hot fueling. Possible implementation of the cold-fueling concept is exploited via frozen-pellet injection. Several methods of achieving frozen-pellet injection are discussed and the light-gas-gun approach is chosen from these possibilities. A modified version of the ORNL Neutral Gas Shielding Model is used to simulate the pellet injection process. From this simulation, the penetration-depth dependent velocity requirement is determined. Finally, with the velocity requirement known, a gas-pressure requirement for the proposed conceptual design is established. The cryogenic fuel-injection and fuel-handling systems are discussed. A possible way to implement the conceptual device is examined along with the attendant effects on the total system

Conceptual design of a commercial tokamak hybrid reactor fueling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matney, K.D.; Donnert, H.J.; Yang, T.F.

1979-12-01

A conceptual design of a fuel injection system for CTHR (Commercial Tokamak Hybrid Reactor) is discussed. Initially, relative merits of the cold-fueling concept are compared with those of the hot-fueling concept; that is, fueling where the electron temperature is below 1 eV is compared with fueling where the electron temperature exceeds 100 eV. It is concluded that cold fueling seems to be somewhat more free of drawbacks than hot fueling. Possible implementation of the cold-fueling concept is exploited via frozen-pellet injection. Several methods of achieving frozen-pellet injection are discussed and the light-gas-gun approach is chosen from these possibilities. A modified version of the ORNL Neutral Gas Shielding Model is used to simulate the pellet injection process. From this simulation, the penetration-depth dependent velocity requirement is determined. Finally, with the velocity requirement known, a gas-pressure requirement for the proposed conceptual design is established. The cryogenic fuel-injection and fuel-handling systems are discussed. A possible way to implement the conceptual device is examined along with the attendant effects on the total system

Production and Innovative Applications of Cryogenic Solid Pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baylor, L.R.; Combs, S.K.; Fisher, P.W.; Foster, C.A.; Foust, C.R.; Gouge, M.J.; Milora, S.L.

1999-01-01

For over two decades Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been developing cryogenic pellet injectors for fueling hot, magnetic fusion plasmas. Cryogenic solid pellets of all three hydrogen isotopes have been produced in a size range of 1- to 10-mm diameter and accelerated to speeds from <100 to ∼3000 m/s. The pellets have been formed discretely by cryocondensation in gun barrels and also by extrusion of cryogenic solids at mass flow rates up to ∼0.26 g/s and production rates up to ten pellets per second. The pellets traverse the hot plasma in a fraction of a millisecond and continuously ablate, providing fresh hydrogenic fuel to the interior of the plasma. From this initial application, uses of this technology have expanded to include (1) cryogenic xenon drops or solids for use as a debris-less target in a laser plasma source of X-rays for advanced lithography systems, (2) solid argon and carbon dioxide pellets for surface cleaning or decontamination, and (3) methane pellets in a liquid hydrogen bath for use as an innovative moderator of cold neutrons. Methods of production and acceleration/transport of these cryogenic solids will be described, and examples will be given of their use in prototype systems

Acid slag injection into the blast furnace tuyere zone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tervola, K.; Haerkki, J.

1996-12-31

The possibility of acid slag injection and its effect on the slag formation and on the melting behaviour of the charge materials are studied in the present work. The work is partly based on the literature evaluating the slag formation, slag properties and the basic slag injection. The possibility of acid slag injection is first examined by studying changes in the composition of the primary slag if the share of the acid slag component (Kostamus pellet/RR) of the charge material is lowered. Phase diagrams and viscosity charts are used to evaluate the viscosity, and solidus/liquids temperature in the slag phase. The share of the slag phase of the pellet is evaluated by calculating the amount of the acid slag injection. The injection rate of some injectants is also examined. The primary slag formed of the sinter and the coke ash is in liquid form and its viscosity is close to the viscosity of the blast furnace slag. It is possible that the liquid slag phase can be formed in the blast furnace without the presence of the acid pellet because the melting point and the viscosity of the slag is lowered by alkalies, sulfur and the dissolved ironoxide of the slag. If high SiO{sub 2} content materials alone are used for injection there is a risk that the slag phase of the tuyere zone becomes too viscous. Olivine and some iron containing components such as fayalite are possible injection material. More information is needed to evaluate the effect of acid slag injection on the operation of the blast furnace. (orig.) (14 refs.)

Acid slag injection into the blast furnace tuyere zone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haerkki, J.; Tervola, K. [Oulu Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Process Engineering

1996-12-31

The possibility of acid slag injection and its effect on the slag formation and on the melting behaviour of the charge materials are studied in the present work. The work is partly based on the literature evaluating the slag formation, slag properties and the basic slag injection. The possibility of acid slag injection is first examined by studying changes in the composition of the primary slag if the share of the acid slag component (Kostamus pellet/RR) of the charge material is lowered. Phase diagrams and viscosity charts are used to evaluate the viscosity, and solidus/liquidus temperature in the slag phase. The share of the slag phase of the pellet is evaluated by calculating the amount of the acid slag injection. The injection rate of some injectants is also examined. The primary slag formed of the sinter and the coke ash is in liquid form and its viscosity is close to the viscosity of the blast furnace slag. It is possible that the liquid slag phase can be formed in the blast furnace without the presence of the acid pellet because the melting point and the viscosity of the slag is lowered by alkalies, sulfur and the dissolved ironoxide of the slag. If high SiO{sub 2} content materials alone are used for injection there is a risk that the slag phase of the tuyere zone becomes too viscous. Olivine and some iron containing components such as fayalite are possible injection material. More information is needed to evaluate the effect of acid slag injection on the operation of the blast furnace. (orig.) SULA 2 Research Programme; 2 refs.

Acid slag injection into the blast furnace tuyere zone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haerkki, J; Tervola, K [Oulu Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Process Engineering

1997-12-31

The possibility of acid slag injection and its effect on the slag formation and on the melting behaviour of the charge materials are studied in the present work. The work is partly based on the literature evaluating the slag formation, slag properties and the basic slag injection. The possibility of acid slag injection is first examined by studying changes in the composition of the primary slag if the share of the acid slag component (Kostamus pellet/RR) of the charge material is lowered. Phase diagrams and viscosity charts are used to evaluate the viscosity, and solidus/liquidus temperature in the slag phase. The share of the slag phase of the pellet is evaluated by calculating the amount of the acid slag injection. The injection rate of some injectants is also examined. The primary slag formed of the sinter and the coke ash is in liquid form and its viscosity is close to the viscosity of the blast furnace slag. It is possible that the liquid slag phase can be formed in the blast furnace without the presence of the acid pellet because the melting point and the viscosity of the slag is lowered by alkalies, sulfur and the dissolved ironoxide of the slag. If high SiO{sub 2} content materials alone are used for injection there is a risk that the slag phase of the tuyere zone becomes too viscous. Olivine and some iron containing components such as fayalite are possible injection material. More information is needed to evaluate the effect of acid slag injection on the operation of the blast furnace. (orig.) SULA 2 Research Programme; 2 refs.

Tritium proof-of-principle pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, P.W.

1991-07-01

The tritium proof-of-principle (TPOP) experiment was designed and built by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to demonstrate the formation and acceleration of the world's first tritium pellets for fueling of future fusion reactors. The experiment was first used to produce hydrogen and deuterium pellets at ORNL. It was then moved to the Tritium Systems Test Assembly at Los Alamos National Laboratory for the production of tritium pellets. The injector used in situ condensation to produce cylindrical pellets in a 1-m-long, 4-mm-ID barrel. A cryogenic 3 He separator, which was an integral part of the gun assembly, was capable of lowering 3 He levels in the feed gas to <0.005%. The experiment was housed to a glovebox for tritium containment. Nearly 1500 pellets were produced during the course of the experiment, and about a third of these were pure tritium or mixtures of deuterium and tritium. Over 100 kCi of tritium was processed through the experiment without incident. Tritium pellet velocities of 1400 m/s were achieved with high-pressure hydrogen propellant. The design, operation, and results of this experiment are summarized. 34 refs., 44 figs., 3 tabs

Pellet fueling development at ORNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, S.K.; Milora, S.L.; Foster, C.A.; Schuresko, D.D.; Foust, C.R.; Simmons, D.W.; Beard, D.S.

1986-09-01

Advanced plasma fueling systems for magnetic confinement devices are being developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The general approach is that of producing and accelerating frozen hydrogenic pellets at speeds in the range of 1-2 km/s and higher. Two specific concepts are under development: (1) high-speed pneumatic acceleration; and (2) mechanical (centrifugal) acceleration. Both approaches are being pursued to meet the projected pellet size and delivery rates for major near-term plasma confinement devices, such as the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), Tore Supra, the Joint European Torus (JET), JT-60, and Doublet III-D (DIII-D), as well as future applications. In addition to these confinement physics related activities, ORNL is pursuing advanced technologies to achieve pellet velocities significantly in excess of the 2-km/s range already attained with pneumatic injectors and has embarked on a development program designed to explore the feasibility of fabricating and accelerating tritium pellets. This paper describes these ongoing activities

Development and design of railgun system to pellet injector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oda, Y.; Onozuka, M.; Tsujjmura, S.; Kuribayashi, S.; Shimizu, K.C.; Tamura, H.; Sawaoka, A.

1992-01-01

In this paper, the railgun systems for the application of pellet injector are investigated and developed in the experimental stage. One of the main features of our railgun systems is to employ a pulse laser beam to induce the initial plasma armature between rails to be accelerated. This unique feature provides the reduction of the supplied voltage to the breakdown between the rails and to reduce the erosion of the rails. This paper presents the current results of a the authors' experimental and theoretical research progress, and introduces the design study for electromagnetic railgun based on our research progress

An advanced cold moderator using solid methane pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, C.A.; Carpenter, J.M.

2001-01-01

This paper reports developments of the pellet formation and transport technologies required for producing a liquid helium or hydrogen cooled methane pellet moderator. The Phase I US DOE SBIR project, already completed, demonstrated the production of 3 mm transparent pellets of frozen methane and ammonia and transport of the pellets into a 40 cc observation cell cooled with liquid helium. The methane pellets, formed at 72 K, stuck together during the loading of the cell. Ammonia pellets did not stick and fell readily under vibration into a packed bed with a 60% fill fraction. A 60% fill fraction should produce a very significant increase in long-wavelength neutron production and advantages in shorter pulse widths as compared to a liquid hydrogen moderator. The work also demonstrated a method of rapidly changing the pellets in the moderator cell. The Phase II project, just now underway, will develop a full-scale pellet source and transport system with a 1.5 L 'moderator' cell. The Phase II effort will also produce an apparatus to sub-cool the methane pellets to below 20 K, which should prevent the methane pellets from sticking together. In addition to results of the phase I experiments, the presentation includes a short video of the pellets, and a description of plans for the Phase II project. (author)

Gas Gun Model and Comparison to Experimental Performance of Pipe Guns Operating with Light Propellant Gases and Large Cryogenic Pellets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reed, J. R. [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK); Carmichael, J. R. [Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL); Gebhart, T. E. [University of Florida, Gainesville; Combs, Stephen Kirk [ORNL; Baylor, Larry R. [ORNL; Rasmussen, David A. [ORNL; Meitner, Steven J. [ORNL; Lyttle, Mark S. [ORNL

2017-10-01

Injection of multiple large (~10 to 30 mm diameter) shattered pellets into ITER plasmas is presently part of the scheme planned to mitigate the deleterious effects of disruptions on the vessel components. To help in the design and optimize performance of the pellet injectors for this application, a model referred to as “the gas gun simulator” has been developed and benchmarked against experimental data. The computer code simulator is a Java program that models the gas-dynamics characteristics of a single-stage gas gun. Following a stepwise approach, the code utilizes a variety of input parameters to incrementally simulate and analyze the dynamics of the gun as the projectile is launched down the barrel. Using input data, the model can calculate gun performance based on physical characteristics, such as propellant-gas and fast-valve properties, barrel geometry, and pellet mass. Although the model is fundamentally generic, the present version is configured to accommodate cryogenic pellets composed of H2, D2, Ne, Ar, and mixtures of them and light propellant gases (H2, D2, and He). The pellets are solidified in situ in pipe guns that consist of stainless steel tubes and fast-acting valves that provide the propellant gas for pellet acceleration (to speeds ~200 to 700 m/s). The pellet speed is the key parameter in determining the response time of a shattered pellet system to a plasma disruption event. The calculated speeds from the code simulations of experiments were typically in excellent agreement with the measured values. With the gas gun simulator validated for many test shots and over a wide range of physical and operating parameters, it is a valuable tool for optimization of the injector design, including the fast valve design (orifice size and volume) for any operating pressure (~40 bar expected for the ITER application) and barrel length for any pellet size (mass, diameter, and length). Key design parameters and proposed values for the pellet injectors for

Fabrication of nuclear fuel by powder injection moulding: Study of the binders systems and the de-binding of feedstock containing actinide powder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bricout, J.

2012-01-01

Powder Injection Moulding (PIM) is identified as an innovative process for the nuclear fuel fabrication. Technological breakthrough compared to the current process of powder metallurgy, the impact of actinide powder's specificities on the different steps of PIM is performed. Alumina powders simulating actinide powder have been implemented with a reference binders system. Thermal and rheological studies show the injectability and the de-binding of feedstocks with adequate solid loading (≥50 %vol), thanks to the de-agglomeration during the mixing step, which allow to obtain net shape fuel pellet. Specific surface area of powders, acting as a key role in behaviour's feedstocks, has been integrated in analysis models of viscosity prediction according to the shear rate. Also conducted studies on uranium oxide powder show that the selected binders systems, which have a compatible rheological behaviour with PIM process, impact the de-agglomeration of powder and final microstructure of the fuel pellet, consistent with the results obtained on alumina powders. Independent behaviour of binders and uranium oxide powder, showing no adverse chemical reaction against the PIM process, show a residual mass of carbon of about 150 ppm after sintering. Binders system using polystyrene, resistant to radiolysis phenomena and loadable more than 50 %(vol) of actinide powder, shows the promising potential of PIM process for the fuel fabrication. (author) [fr

Divertor load footprint of ELMs in pellet triggering and pacing experiments at JET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frigione, D., E-mail: domenico.frigione@frascati.enea.it [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Garzotti, L. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Lennholm, M. [EFDA CSU, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Alper, B. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Artaserse, G. [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Bennett, P. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Giovannozzi, E. [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Eich, T. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching (Germany); Kocsis, G. [WIGNER RCP RMI, POB 49, 1525 Budapest (Hungary); Lang, P.T. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching (Germany); Maddaluno, G. [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Mooney, R. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Rack, M. [Institut für Energieforschung – Plasmaphysik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Sips, G. [EFDA CSU, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Tvalashvili, G. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Viola, B. [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Wilkes, D. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom)

2015-08-15

An investigation of pellet pacing and triggering of Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) was carried out in the frame of ELM mitigation studies aimed at reducing their damaging effects on the plasma-facing components (PFCs). The divertor power load footprint of triggered ELMs was compared with gas puffing controlled ELMs. Small pellets, corresponding to a few per cent of the target plasma particle inventory, were used to minimize the fueling effect and the total particle throughput. There is no evidence that pellets can reduce the divertor power load with respect to gas fueling when operating at the same ELM frequency. The line average density and the energy confinement time remained constant when the gas was progressively substituted by pellets. The launch from the Vertical High Field Side (VHFS) confirmed to be more efficient in ELM triggering than from the Low Field Side (LFS) while the power load footprint remained the same both in time evolution and in spatial distribution when changing the injection geometry.

ORNL pellet acceleration program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, C.A.; Milora, S.L.

1978-01-01

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) pellet fueling program is centered around developing equipment to accelerate large pellets of solidified hydrogen to high speeds. This equipment will be used to experimentally determine pellet-plasma interaction physics on contemporary tokamaks. The pellet experiments performed on the Oak Ridge Tokamak (ORMAK) indicated that much larger, faster pellets would be advantageous. In order to produce and accelerate pellets of the order of 1 to 6 mm in diameter, two apparatuses have been designed and are being constructed. The first will make H 2 pellets by extruding a filament of hydrogen and mechanically chopping it into pellets. The pellets formed will be mechanically accelerated with a high speed arbor to a speed of 950 m/sec. This technique may be extended to speeds up to 5000 m/sec, which makes it a prime candidate for a reactor fueling device. In the second technique, a hydrogen pellet will be formed, loaded into a miniature rifle, and accelerated by means of high pressure hydrogen gas. This technique should be capable of speeds of the order of 1000 m/sec. While this technique does not offer the high performance of the mechanical accelerator, its relative simplicity makes it attractive for near-term experiments

The Jet multipellet launcher and fueling of Jet plasmas by multipellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kupschus, P.; Cheetham, A.; Denne, B.; Gadeberg, M.; Gowers, C.; Gondhalekar, A.; Tubbing, B.; Schmidt, G.L.; Colestock, P.; Hammett, G.; Zarnstorff, M.

1989-01-01

A multipellet long-pulse plasma fueling system, in operation on JET, is described. Plasma fueling experiments are performed with the 2.7 and 4.0 mm guns operating in the multipellet mode. The penetration of the pellets, which agrees with neutral and plasma shielding models, is shown. Details of particle deposition in ohmic plasmas and the plasma density evolution from far-infrared data, in response to pellet injection, are illustrated. A variety of plasma density profile shapes is produced with peak to average values ranging up to 2.5 and peak plasma density up to 1.2 X 10 20 /m 3

Small scale pelletizing equipment for agriculture; Smaaskalig pelleteringsanlaeggning foer lantbruket

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paulrud, Susanne (The Swedish Environmental Research Inst. Ltd., Stockholm (Sweden)); Wallin, Mikael (Sweden Powers Chippers AB, Boraas (Sweden))

2009-06-15

Refining agricultural raw materials is one way for farmers to increase the value of their products. For example, briquettes or pellets made from straw, reed canary grass or hemp can sell for a higher price than in loose or baled forms. The aim of this project was to develop and build a plant for small-scale production of pellets on the farm. Working together with the farmer, the plant would then be tested and adapted for small-scale production of pellets from straw, reed canary grass and hemp. The project also aimed to investigate and summarise suitable systems and solutions for breaking up bales in preparation for use in the pellets module. A pelleting system has been developed and built as a container module (measuring 6 x 2.80 x 2.50 m) by Sweden Power Chippers (SPC). The container system includes a fuel store with push floor, a grinder, an SPC pellet press (pp150, capacity 150 kg/hour for woodbased material), a conveyor belt and a cooling system. The practical operation of the plant was tested on two Swedish farms: Laattra gaard in Vingaaker and Ek gaard in Vara. The bales were broken up in preparation for pelleting using a straw mill of model Tomahawk 505M. The project has demonstrated that the SPC plant has the capacity to be used for agricultural pelleting of fuels from straw, canary reed grass and hemp. Some modification and continued adjustment of the feed system for the fuel remains to be done in order to optimise and ensure the reliability of the pelleting process. A certain amount of modifications to the plant is required to enable cost-effective transportation between different locations. Tests showed that each batch of fuel was unique, even from the same raw material, and that optimisation of the dies is necessary for each specific case. Training is required to run the plant. The farmers have been able to run the plant themselves, for example, starting up the plant, changing the sieve on the grinder, changing dies etc. In order for such small

Experimental study of the evaporation and expansion of a solid pellet in a plasma heated by an electron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akent'ev, R.Yu.; Arzhannikov, A.V.; Astrelin, V.T.; Burdakov, A.V.; Ivanov, I.A.; Kojdan, V.S.; Mekler, K.I.; Polosatkin, S.V.; Postupaev, V.V.; Rovenskikh, A.F.; Sinitskij, S.L.

2004-01-01

The results of experiments on the solid pellets injection into the plasma, heated by an electron beam at the GOL-3 facility, are presented. The polyethylene pellets with the mass of 0.1-1 mg and lithium deuteride pellets with the mass of 0.02-0.5 mg were used. The dense plasma bunch, scattering at first spherically, is formed during several microseconds after the beginning of the electron beam injection into the plasma. Thereafter the bunch periphery is heated and becomes magnetized. Further there takes place the expansion of the dense plasma along the magnetic field on the order of 300 km/s. Comparison of the observed values with the calculations by the hydrodynamic model indicates, that for explaining such a rate of the bunch expansion the density of the total energy, falling on the pellet, should be ∼1 kJ/cm 2 . This value exceeds the corresponding value for the main plasma, i.e. there is observed the energy concentration across the magnetic field into the dense bunch of the evaporated macroparticle [ru

Application of railgun principle to high-velocity hydrogen pellet injection for magnetic fusion reactor refueling. Technical progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K.K.

1986-01-01

Using a tungsten-needle arc initiator in conjunction with Paschen curves characteristics hydrogen pellets have been accelerated with a two-stage electromagnetic railgun system. This scheme produced velocities on the order of 1.6 km/s. The effects on performance of the bore size have been studied. Questions of pretriggering, misfiring, plasma-arc stalling, railgun geometry, and railgun currents have been addressed. 1 tab

Influences on particle shape in underwater pelletizing processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kast, O., E-mail: oliver.kast@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: matthias.musialek@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: kalman.geiger@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: christian.bonten@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de; Musialek, M., E-mail: oliver.kast@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: matthias.musialek@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: kalman.geiger@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: christian.bonten@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de; Geiger, K., E-mail: oliver.kast@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: matthias.musialek@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: kalman.geiger@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: christian.bonten@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de; Bonten, C., E-mail: oliver.kast@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: matthias.musialek@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: kalman.geiger@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de, E-mail: christian.bonten@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de [Institut für Kunststofftechnik, University of Stuttgart (Germany)

2014-05-15

Underwater pelletizing has gained high importance within the last years among the different pelletizing technologies, due to its advantages in terms of throughput, automation, pellet quality and applicability to a large variety of thermoplastics. The resulting shape and quality of pellets, however, differ widely, depending on material characteristics and effects not fully understood yet. In an experimental set-up, pellets of different volumes and shapes were produced and the medium pellet mass, the pellet surface and the bulk density were analyzed in order to identify the influence of material properties and process parameters. Additionally, the shaping kinetics at the die opening were watched with a specially developed camera system. It was found that rheological material properties correlate with process parameters and resulting particle form in a complex way. Higher cutting speeds were shown to have a deforming influence on the pellets, leading to less spherical s and lower bulk densities. More viscous materials, however, showed a better resistance against this. Generally, the viscous properties of polypropylene proofed to be dominant over the elastic ones in regard to their influence on pellet shape. It was also shown that the shapes filmed at the die opening and the actual form of the pellets after a cooling track do not always correlate, indicating a significant influence of thermodynamic properties during the cooling.

Design of in situ dispersible and calcium cross-linked alginate pellets as intestinal-specific drug carrier by melt pelletization technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Nurulaini, Harjoh; Wong, Tin Wui

2011-06-01

Conventional alginate pellets underwent rapid drug dissolution and loss of multiparticulate characteristics such as aggregation in acidic medium, thereby promoting oral dose dumping. This study aimed to design sustained-release dispersible alginate pellets through rapid in situ matrix dispersion and cross-linking by calcium salts during dissolution. Pellets made of alginate and calcium salts were prepared using a solvent-free melt pelletization technique that prevented reaction between processing materials during agglomeration and allowed such a reaction to occur only in dissolution phase. Drug release was remarkably retarded in acidic medium when pellets were formulated with water-soluble calcium acetate instead of acid-soluble calcium carbonate. Different from calcium salt-free and calcium carbonate-loaded matrices that aggregated or underwent gradual erosion, rapid in situ solvation of calcium acetate in pellets during dissolution resulted in burst of gas bubbles, fast pellet breakup, and dispersion. The dispersed fragments, though exhibiting a larger specific surface area for drug dissolution than intact matrix, were rapidly cross-linked by Ca(2+) from calcium acetate and had drug release retarded till a change in medium pH from 1.2 to 6.8. Being dispersible and pH-dependent in drug dissolution, these pellets are useful as multiparticulate intestinal-specific drug carrier without exhibiting dose dumping tendency of a "single-unit-like" system via pellet aggregation. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Fecal pellet output does not always correlate with colonic transit in response to restraint stress and corticotropin-releasing factor in rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakade, Yukiomi; Mantyh, C.; Pappas, T.N.; Takahashi, Toku

2007-01-01

Fecal pellet output has been assessed as a colonic motor activity because of its simplicity. However, it remains unclear whether an acceleration of colonic transit correlates well with an increase in fecal pellet output. We examined the causal relationship between colonic transit and fecal pellet output stimulated by the central application of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and restraint stress. Immediately after intracisternal injection of CRF, 51 Cr was injected via a catheter positioned in the proximal colon. Ninety minutes after 51 Cr injection, the total number of excreted feces was counted, and then the rats were killed. The radioactivity of each colonic segment was evaluated, and the geometric center (GC) of the distribution of 51 Cr was calculated. For the restraint stress study, after administration of 51 Cr into the proximal colon, rats were submitted to wrapping restraint stress for 90 min. Then they were killed, and GC was calculated. Both restraint stress and CRF significantly accelerated colonic transit. There was a positive correlation observed between fecal pellet output and GC of colonic transit in response to restraint stress, but not CRF, when the number of excreted feces was more than three. In contrast, there was no significant correlation observed between the two in stress and CRF when the number of excreted feces was less than two. The acceleration of colonic transit in response to restraint stress and central administration of CRF does not always correlate with an increase in fecal pellet output. (author)

Evaluation of the coat quality of sustained release pellets by individual pellet dissolution methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Min; Liew, Celine Valeria; Heng, Paul Wan Sia

2015-01-15

This study explored the application of 400-DS dissolution apparatus 7 for individual pellet dissolution methodology by a design of experiment approach and compared its capability with that of the USP dissolution apparatus 1 and 2 for differentiating the coat quality of sustained release pellets. Drug loaded pellets were prepared by extrusion-spheronization from powder blends comprising 50%, w/w metformin, 25%, w/w microcrystalline cellulose and 25%, w/w lactose, and then coated with ethyl cellulose to produce sustained release pellets with 8% and 10%, w/w coat weight gains. Various pellet properties were investigated, including cumulative drug release behaviours of ensemble and individual pellets. When USP dissolution apparatus 1 and 2 were used for drug release study of the sustained release pellets prepared, floating and clumping of pellets were observed and confounded the release profiles of the ensemble pellets. Hence, the release profiles obtained did not characterize the actual drug release from individual pellet and the applicability of USP dissolution apparatus 1 and 2 to evaluate the coat quality of sustained release pellets was limited. The cumulative release profile of individual pellet using the 400-DS dissolution apparatus 7 was found to be more precise at distinguishing differences in the applied coat quality. The dip speed and dip interval of the reciprocating holder were critical operational parameters of 400-DS dissolution apparatus 7 that affected the drug release rate of a sustained release pellet during the individual dissolution study. The individual dissolution methodology using the 400-DS dissolution apparatus 7 is a promising technique to evaluate the individual pellet coat quality without the influence of confounding factors such as pellet floating and clumping observed during drug release test with dissolution apparatus 1 and 2, as well as to facilitate the elucidation of the actual drug release mechanism conferred by the applied sustained

Pellet wood gasification boiler / Combination boiler. Market review. 7. ed.; Scheitholzvergaser-/Kombikessel. Marktuebersicht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uth, Joern

2010-08-15

In the market review under consideration on pellet wood gasification boilers and combination boilers, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany) report on planning and installation of wood-fired heating systems, recommendations regarding to the technical assessment of boiler systems, buffers/combination boilers, prices of pellet wood gasification boilers, data sheets of the compared pellet wood gasification boilers, pellet wood combination boilers, prices of pellet wood combination boilers, data sheets of the compared pellet wood gasification boilers, list of providers.

Market review. Pellet wood gasification boiler / combination boiler. 8. ed.; Marktuebersicht. Scheitholzvergaser-/Kombikessel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uth, Joern

2012-01-15

In the market review under consideration on pellet wood gasification boilers and combination boilers, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany) reports on planning and installation of wood-fired heating systems, recommendations regarding to the technical assessment of boiler systems, buffers/combination boilers, prices of pellet wood gasification boilers, data sheets of the compared pellet wood gasification boilers, pellet wood combination boilers, prices of pellet wood combination boilers, data sheets of the compared pellet wood gasification boilers, list of providers.

Apparatus for checking the dimensions of nuclear fuel pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marmo, A.R.

1978-01-01

The description is given of an apparatus for checking the dimensions of pellets comprising a housing, a feeding device near this housing to move a pellet towards the latter and away from it, and a platform with a hole, this platform being fitted to the housing near the feeding system in order to hold the pellet [fr

Pelletizing and combustion of wood from thinning; Pelletering och foerbraenning av gallringsvirke

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oerberg, Haakan; Thyrel, Mikael; Kalen, Gunnar; Larsson, Sylvia

2007-12-14

This work has been done in order to find new raw material sources for an expanding pellet industry, combined with finding a use for a forest product that has no market today. The raw material has been forest from early thinning in two typical stands in Vaesterbotten. The purpose has been to evaluate this material as a raw material for producing pellets. Two typical stands have been chosen. One stand with only pine trees and one mixed stand dominated by birch. The soil of these stands was poor. Half of the trees were delimbed by harvest and half of the trees were not delimbed. This formed four different assortments that were handled in the study. After harvesting the assortments were transported to an asphalt area to be stored. Half of the material was stored during one summer and half of the material was stored during one year and one summer. The different assortments were upgraded to pellets and test combusted in the research plant BTC at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, in Umeaa. The upgrading process contains of the following steps: 1.Chipping by a mobile chipper. 2.Low temperature drying (85 deg C). 3. Coarse shredding ({phi}15 mm). 4. Fine shredding ({phi}4-6 mm) and 5. Pelletizing (Die: {phi}8). Samples for fuel analysis were taken during the chipping. Analyses shows that the net calorific value for delimbed assortments are about 0,3 MJ/kg DM higher than for limbed assortments. Pellets made of the assortments Mixed limbed and Pine limbed has shown a net calorific value comparable to stem wood pellets. Pellets made of Birch delimbed show a net calorific value 0,4 MJ/kg DM lower than stem wood pellets. Analyses show that ash contents of the assortment Mixed delimbed was 1 %-unit higher compared to stem wood pellets. The assortment Pine delimbed and Birch delimbed has showed an ash contents comparable with stem wood pellets. The ash melting characteristics can reduce the value of a raw material. Low ash melting temperature for a fuel might cause

Manufacture of wood-pellets doubles. Biowatti Oy started a wood pellet plant in Turenki

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rantanen, M.

1999-01-01

Wood pellets have many advantages compared to other fuels. It is longest processed biofuel with favorable energy content. It is simple to use, transport and store. Heating with wood pellets is cheaper than with light fuel oil, and approximately as cheap as utilization of heavy fuel oil, about 110 FIM/MWh. The taxable price of wood pellets is about 550 FIM/t. Stokers and American iron stoves are equally suitable for combustion of wood pellets. Chip fueled stokers are preferred in Finland, but they are also suitable for the combustion of wood pellets. Wood pellets is an environmentally friendly product, because it does not increase the CO 2 load in the atmosphere, and its sulfur and soot emissions are relatively small. The wood pelletizing plant of Biowatti Oy in Turenki was started in an old sugar mill. The Turenki sugar mill was chosen because the technology of the closed sugar factory was suitable for production of wood pellets nearly as such, and required only by slight modifications. A press, designed for briquetting of sugar beat clippings makes the pellets. The Turenki mill will double the volume of wood pellet manufacture in Finland during the next few years. At the start the annual wood pellet production will be 20 000 tons, but the environmental permit allows the production to be increased to 70 000 tons. At first the mill uses planing machine chips as a raw material in the production. It is the most suitable raw material, because it is already dry (moisture content 8-10%), and all it needs is milling and pelletizing. Another possible raw material is sawdust, which moisture content is higher than with planing machine chips. Most of the wood pellets produced are exported e.g. to Sweden, Denmark and Middle Europe. In Sweden there are over 10 000 single-family houses using wood pellets. Biowatti's largest customer is a power plant located in Stockholm, which combusts annually about 200 000 tons of wood pellets

Monitoring of density in tokamaks: pumping and gas injection; Controle de la densite dans les tokamaks: pompage et injection de matiere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dejarnac, R

2002-11-01

In thermonuclear fusion devices, controlling the Deuterium-Tritium fuel density and exhausting the Helium ashes is a crucial point. This is achieved by fuelling the discharges by different methods (gas puffing and pellet injection are the most commonly used) and by implementing pumping devices at the plasma periphery. These two issues are treated in this work, both from an experimental and a modelling point of view, using the neutral transport code EIRENE as main tool for our studies. As far as pumping is concerned, we have modelled the outboard pump limiter of the Tore Supra tokamak with the EIRENE code to which we coupled a plasma module specially developed to simulate the neutrals and the plasma in a coherent way. This allowed to validate the code against experimental data. As far as plasma fuelling is concerned, we present here an original method: the supersonic pulsed gas injection (SPGI). This intermediate method between conventional gas puff (GP) and pellet injection was designed and tested at Tore Supra. It consists of injecting very dense and short gas puffs at high speed into the plasma. Experimentally, SPGI was found to have a better fuelling efficiency than GP and to lead to a strong plasma cooling. The mechanisms responsible for this improved efficiency are analysed by modelling, using the EIRENE code to determine the ionisation source and a 1 D transport model to reproduce the plasma density response. At last, an extrapolation of the present injector is presented, discussing the possibility to obtain a radial drift of the injected matter as observed in the case of high field side pellet injection. (author)

Nuclear fuel pellet loading machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dazen, J.R.; Denero, J.V.

1976-01-01

A nuclear fuel pellet loading machine is described including an inclined rack mounted on a base and having parallel spaced grooves on its upper surface arranged to support fuel rods. A fuel pellet tray is adapted to be placed on a table spaced from the rack, the tray having columns of fuel pellets which are in alignment with the open ends of fuel rods located in the rack grooves. A transition plate is mounted between the fuel rod rack and the fuel pellet tray to receive and guide the pellets into the open ends of the fuel rods. The pellets are pushed into the fuel rods by a number of mechanical fingers mounted on a motor operated block which is moved along the pellet tray length by a drive screw driven by the motor. To facilitate movement of the pellets in the fuel rods the rack is mounted on a number of spaced vibrators which vibrate the fuel rods during fuel pellet insertion. A pellet sensing device movable into an end of each fuel rod indicates to an operator when each rod has been charged with the correct number of pellets

Pellet-plasma interaction studies at ASDEX Upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kocsis, G.; Belonohy, E.; Gal, K.; Kalvin, S.; Veres, G.; Lang, P.T.

2005-01-01

Pellets produced from cryogenic hydrogen isotopes are used for efficient plasma refueling. Beyond this 'classical' application, pellets pacing the frequency of Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) turned out to be a suitable technique to mitigate the power load on plasma facing components. Although pellet pacing is already integrated in the toolkit for plasma control, its underlying physics is still poorly understood. For investigations aiming to resolve where and how an ELM is triggered by the pellet imposed local perturbation precise knowledge of the ablation profile is required. This renewed and even boosted the interest to understand the interaction of pellets with the hot ambient plasma. Both the investigation of the pellet ablation and also its impact on the target plasma were highlighted. Dedicated investigations require precise information both in the space and time domain. E. g. it is necessary to determine the localization of the pellet at the moment it triggers the ELM as well as the actual imposed 3D distribution of the pellet cloud and its mass deposition profile. By these means, a spatial distribution can be mapped out for a local perturbation of the plasma sufficient to release ELMs. High resolution ablation profile and pellet path measurements at different pellet parameters (mass and velocity) could also help to understand the mechanism of the ELM triggering. Recently pellet-plasma interaction is intensively investigated both experimentally at ASDEX Upgrade tokamak and theoretically based on the obtained experimental data. To gain detailed information an observation system was developed at ASDEX Upgrade consisting of digital cameras that detect the pellet cloud distribution and photo diodes that measure the time evolution of the light emission. The great variety of possible combinations of different images, timings and wavelength selections makes the detection sophisticated. Combination of triggered fast camera images and photo diode signals also enables us

Deuterium pellet injector gun design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lunsford, R.V.; Wysor, R.B.; Bryan, W.E.; Shipley, W.D.; Combs, S.K.; Foust, C.R.; Milora, S.L.; Fisher, P.W.

1985-01-01

The Deuterium Pellet Injector (DPI), an eight-pellet pneumatic injector, is being designed and fabricated for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). It will accelerate eight pellets, 4 by 4 mm maximum, to greater than 1500 m/s. It utilizes a unique pellet-forming mechanism, a cooled pellet storage wheel, and improved propellant gas scavenging

Design and construction of hydrogen pellet injector by droplet-method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noda, Etsuo; Iida, Yoshiyuki; Sekiguchi, Tadashi; Suemori, Nobuo; Imaizumi, Hideki.

1984-01-01

A hydrogen pellet injector by a droplet-method has been constructed and studied, in order to realize a hydrogen-isotope pellet injector for refueling into nuclear fusion reactors, which can inject pellets into plasma repetitively. Preliminary experiments with oxygen gas, instead of hydrogen gas, has been systematically carried out. Assuming the liquid concerned as viscous fluid, theoretical predictions about droplet-diameter, its ejected velocity and optimum frequency of ejecting-nozzle vibration for stable droplet production has been made, and it is found that theoretical results are in good agreement with experimental ones. It is found that the stable droplet train can be obtained when the value of Reynolds number is in the range of 1,100--1,300. In the hydrogen experiments based upon the oxygen results, the production of a stable hydrogen liquid-droplet train, their self-solidification and transfer into a vacuum space through an orifice (with the diameter of 1 mm) have been successfully realized, by maintaining the gas pressure around the droplets at 45--50 Torr. (author)

Processing biofuels from farm raw materials - A systems study; Pelletering och brikettering av jordbruksraavaror - En systemstudie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Daniel; Bernesson, Sven

2008-03-15

Use of processed biofuels (pellets, briquettes) has greatly increased in Sweden in recent decades, mainly to replace fossil fuels in large boilers, e.g. in coal powder boilers. More recently, the demand from private households and residential heating systems has also increased, mainly due to conversion from fossil heating oil. This increased interest in pellets and briquettes for heating is beginning to cause a shortage of the traditional raw materials, sawdust and wood shavings, and therefore attention is turning to using a variety of agricultural products as raw material. Such raw materials include cultivated energy crops and wastes and by-products from agriculture. This study describes the typical systems currently used for production of pellets and briquettes and investigates the possibility of using energy crops (Salix, reed canary-grass and hemp) and various wastes and by-products from processing of farm products (straw, cereal screenings, rape-seed meal and distiller's waste) as raw materials. Previous experiences of pelletizing and briquetting of these raw materials are reviewed in order to comprehensively identify possible combustion problems that may occur. On the basis of the results obtained, scenarios for possible production systems in a five-year perspective are presented and the costs and energy demands for these systems calculated. These future scenarios include large scale plants and micro-scale plants, as well as static and mobile equipment. The five main conclusions from the study are: - The farm raw materials of greatest interest for large-scale production are pelleted Salix and reed canary-grass. They have competitive prices and acceptable fuel properties and could be mixed with sawdust in existing large-scale pelletizing factories in Sweden. - Straw has low production costs but can cause serious ash-related problems. Hemp has too high production costs to be of commercial interest, while distiller's waste and rape-seed meal currently

Optimization of bentonite pellet properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanden, Torbjoern; Andersson, Linus; Jonsson, Esther; Fritzell, Anni

2012-01-01

Document available in extended abstract form only. SKB in Sweden is developing and implementing concepts for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel. A KBS-3V repository consists of a deposition tunnel with copper canisters containing spent fuel placed in vertical deposition holes. The canisters are embedded in highly compacted bentonite. After emplacement of canisters and bentonite blocks, the tunnels will be backfilled and sealed with an in-situ cast plug at the entrance. The main concept for backfilling the deposition tunnels imply pre compacted blocks of bentonite stacked on a bed of bentonite pellet. The remaining slot between blocks and rock will be filled with bentonite pellets. The work described in this abstract is a part of the ASKAR-project which main goal is to make a system design based on the selected concept for backfilling. Immediately after starting the backfill installation, inflowing water from the rock will come in contact with the pellet filling and thereby influence the characteristics of the pellet filling. The pellet filling helps to increase the average density of the backfill, but one of the most important properties beside this is the water storing capacity which will prevent water from reaching the backfill front where it would disturb and influence the quality of the installation. If water flows through the pellet filling out to the backfilling front, there will be erosion of material which also will affect the quality of the installed backfill. In order to optimize the properties regarding water storing capacity and sensitivity for erosion a number of tests have been made with different pellet types. The tests were made in different scales and with equipment specially designed for the purpose. The performed tests can be divided in four parts: 1. Standard tests (determining water content and density of pellet fillings and individual pellets, compressibility of the pellet fillings and strength of the individual pellets); 2. Erosion

Review of pellet fueling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turnbull, R.J.

1978-01-01

Fusion reactors based on the Tokamak concept (possibly mirrors, too) will require a low energy method of fueling. Refueling by using solid pellets of hydrogen isotopes appears to be the most promising low energy technique. The main issue in assessing the feasibility of pellet fueling is the ability of the pellet to penetrate into the central region of the reactor. A review is presented of the various theories predicting the lifetime of the pellet and their regions of applicability. Among the phenomena considered are neutral ablation of the solid, ionized ablation of the solid, shielding of the pellet by neutral molecules and electrons and ions, flow of the ablation cloud, distortion of the magnetic field by the flow of an ionized ablation cloud, and charging and electrostatic shielding of the pellet. A brief summary of results of experiments done by the University of Illinois-Oak Ridge and Riso groups is presented. The results of these experiments indicate that, at least at the low temperatures and densities used, a neutral ablation-neutral shielding model is correct. Finally, since all indications are that in order for pellet fueling to be successful, high velocity pellets will be needed, a brief discussion of possible acceleration techniques is presented

Backfilling of deposition tunnels: Use of bentonite pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, David; Sanden, Torbjoern; Jonsson, Esther; Hansen, Johanna

2011-02-01

determine what properties must be exhibited by adjacent swelling materials (Highly Compacted Bentonite or other densely compacted clay-based backfill blocks) in order that the backfill component meets its performance requirements once system equilibration has occurred. Although there is some information available from literature related to pellets, there is still a need to evaluate what optimization can be achieved with respect to density, shape, composition, gradation and as-placed properties. Studies completed to date show a typical as-placed dry density range of ∼1,000 kg/m3 for narrow gaps associated with the block and air-entrained pellet backfill to ∼1,400 kg/m3 for pellet-granule mixtures installed in a horizontal tunnel where equipment access is less problematic. The KBS-3V concept presently utilises pellets placed to ∼1,000 kg/m3 which makes qualification of adjacent sealing materials (HCB or other clay-based blocks) of high importance (ensuring system performance goals are met). These pellet materials also require that means of minimizing erosion caused by water flow along the pellet-rock interface be identified and technological means to protect the backfill from erosion be kept ready for use

Backfilling of deposition tunnels: Use of bentonite pellets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dixon, David (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (Canada)); Sanden, Torbjoern (Clay Technology AB (Sweden)); Jonsson, Esther (Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Mangaement Co. (Sweden)); Hansen, Johanna (Posiva Oy (Finland))

2011-02-15

determine what properties must be exhibited by adjacent swelling materials (Highly Compacted Bentonite or other densely compacted clay-based backfill blocks) in order that the backfill component meets its performance requirements once system equilibration has occurred. Although there is some information available from literature related to pellets, there is still a need to evaluate what optimization can be achieved with respect to density, shape, composition, gradation and as-placed properties. Studies completed to date show a typical as-placed dry density range of approx1,000 kg/m3 for narrow gaps associated with the block and air-entrained pellet backfill to approx1,400 kg/m3 for pellet-granule mixtures installed in a horizontal tunnel where equipment access is less problematic. The KBS-3V concept presently utilises pellets placed to approx1,000 kg/m3 which makes qualification of adjacent sealing materials (HCB or other clay-based blocks) of high importance (ensuring system performance goals are met). These pellet materials also require that means of minimizing erosion caused by water flow along the pellet-rock interface be identified and technological means to protect the backfill from erosion be kept ready for use

Development of quantitative atomic modeling for tungsten transport study using LHD plasma with tungsten pellet injection

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, I.; Sakaue, H. A.; Suzuki, C.; Kato, D.; Goto, M.; Tamura, N.; Sudo, S.; Morita, S.

2015-09-01

Quantitative tungsten study with reliable atomic modeling is important for successful achievement of ITER and fusion reactors. We have developed tungsten atomic modeling for understanding the tungsten behavior in fusion plasmas. The modeling is applied to the analysis of tungsten spectra observed from plasmas of the large helical device (LHD) with tungsten pellet injection. We found that extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission of W24+ to W33+ ions at 1.5-3.5 nm are sensitive to electron temperature and useful to examine the tungsten behavior in edge plasmas. We can reproduce measured EUV spectra at 1.5-3.5 nm by calculated spectra with the tungsten atomic model and obtain charge state distributions of tungsten ions in LHD plasmas at different temperatures around 1 keV. Our model is applied to calculate the unresolved transition array (UTA) seen at 4.5-7 nm tungsten spectra. We analyze the effect of configuration interaction on population kinetics related to the UTA structure in detail and find the importance of two-electron-one-photon transitions between 4p54dn+1- 4p64dn-14f. Radiation power rate of tungsten due to line emissions is also estimated with the model and is consistent with other models within factor 2.

Design and operation of the pellet charge exchange diagnostic for measurement of energetic confined alphas and tritons on TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medley, S.S.; Duong, H.H.

1996-05-01

Radially-resolved energy and density distributions of the energetic confined alpha particles in D-T experiments on TFTR are being measured by active neutral particle analysis using low-Z impurity pellet injection. When injected into a high temperature plasma, an impurity pellet (e.g. Lithium or Boron) rapidly ablates forming an elongated cloud which is aligned with the magnetic field and moves with the pellet. This ablation cloud provides a dense target with which the alpha particles produced in D-T fusion reactions can charge exchange. A small fraction of the alpha particles incident on the pellet ablation cloud will be converted to helium neutrals whose energy is essentially unchanged by the charge transfer process. By measuring the resultant helium neutrals escaping from the plasma using a mass and energy resolving charge exchange analyzer, this technique offers a direct measurement of the energy distribution of the incident high-energy alpha particles. Other energetic ion species can be detected as well, such as tritons generated in D-D plasmas and H or He 3 RF-driven minority ion tails. The diagnostic technique and its application on TFTR are described in detail

Application of the results of carbon pellet modeling to the problem of plasma penetration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vahala, L.L.; El Cashlan, A.G.; Gerdin, G.A.; Parks, P.B.

1990-01-01

The assumptions of the evaporation model for low-Z pellets interacting with magnetic fusion plasmas developed by P. B. Parks are tested. These assumptions are that the vapor density profile in the region adjacent to the pellet surface, falls off with radial distance as r -α , where 5 zi , is much less than a flow time for the vapor in this same region τ f (i.e. for r zi much-lt τ f , is tested at the sonic radius using the results from atomic physics and the low-Z evaporation model. It is found that indeed τ zi much-lt τ f for plasmas with parameters close to thermonuclear conditions (e.g. TFTR and CIT), but not for those of smaller Tokamaks such as TEXT. The results of pellet penetration calculations for the conditions of the TEXT carbon-pellet injection experiments are presented which show better agreement with experiment if the shielding fraction is calculated at each step of the pellet-penetration calculation, the effect of ionization is ignored, and if the effect of possible uncertainties in the background plasma parameters is included. 14 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

Recent Developments Concerning Pellet Combustion Technologies - A Review of Austrian Developments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obernberger, I.; Thek, G.

2006-01-01

This paper gives an overview of recent developments concerning pellet combustion technologies in Austria. It covers basic information about the Austrian pellet market and market developments in recent years as well as about national framework conditions in Austria with regard to standards for Pellets, pellet furnaces and emission limits. A detailed overview is given of the state-of-the-art of Austrian pellet boiler technology, which is - from a technological point of view - probably the best developed market world-wide. Innovations, which have recently been developed and introduced into the market, are described. The most important innovations are new furnace developments based on CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations, flue gas condensation systems for small-scale pellet boilers and multi-fuel concepts, where e.g. firewood and Pellets can be utilised in one boiler. Moreover, emissions from pellet furnaces are discussed and evaluated based on test stand and field measurements. In this respect, a focus is put on fine particulate emissions from pellet boilers. Finally, future developments based on ongoing research projects are described and discussed. The ongoing R and D activities focus on the further reduction of fine particulate emissions by primary and secondary measures, the utilisation of herbaceous biomass fuels and small or micro-scale CHP systems

Fuzzy control of the iron ore pellets thermal treatment on a conveying car

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

В’ячеслав Йосипович Лобов

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to solve the problem of fuzzy control of iron ore pellets thermal treatment on a conveyor roasting machine, to build an automated control system of conveyor roasting machine and perform simulation and to present the results of research. According to the structural scheme of the fuzzy control an automated control system is proposed for being modelled. This is done by using the software MATLAB. The use of atomic emission spectroscopy determines the percentage of the major elements in iron ore pellets considering the main process parameters. This article uses an automated system of fuzzy control of iron ore pellets firing on a conveyor roasting machine with the introduction of atomic emission spectroscopy of the pellets. Development and practical implementation of fuzzy control will improve their quality by taking into account the basic parameters of thermal treatment of pellets such as speed of movement of the grate trucks, gas flow rate, the height of the layer of pellets and the venting speed of the pellets layer with gas-air flow, humidity, average diameter, the basicity and the iron composition in the pellets. The expediency of the developed method of using automated fuzzy control system of iron ore pellets firing on a conveyor roasting car has been proved. The system with fuzzy controller provides a reduction on average 2 m3/h, which is 0,3% of natural gas consumption as compared to the existing systems. This provides more uniform gas permeability of the layer of pellets, which leads to filtration rate increase of the gas flow and to heat exchange intensification in the layer of pellets. It makes it possible to introduce the atomic emission spectroscopy of non-burned pellets and to increase the productivity of conveyor roasting machine by 2,5%. At the same time the resistance of technological equipment (pallets increases, due to more uniform distribution of the thermal field

Fundamentals of Biomass pellet production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Jens Kai; Henriksen, Ulrik Birk; Hustad, Johan Einar

2005-01-01

Pelletizing experiments along with modelling of the pelletizing process have been carried out with the aim of understanding the fundamental physico-chemical mechanisms that control the quality and durability of biomass pellets. A small-scale California pellet mill (25 kg/h) located with the Biomass...

Modeling pellet impact drilling process

Science.gov (United States)

Kovalyov, A. V.; Ryabchikov, S. Ya; Isaev, Ye D.; Ulyanova, O. S.

2016-03-01

The paper describes pellet impact drilling which could be used to increase the drilling speed and the rate of penetration when drilling hard rocks. Pellet impact drilling implies rock destruction by metal pellets with high kinetic energy in the immediate vicinity of the earth formation encountered. The pellets are circulated in the bottom hole by a high velocity fluid jet, which is the principle component of the ejector pellet impact drill bit. The experiments conducted has allowed modeling the process of pellet impact drilling, which creates the scientific and methodological basis for engineering design of drilling operations under different geo-technical conditions.

Design of a tritium pellet injector for TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milora, S.L.; Gouge, M.J.; Fisher, P.W.; Combs, S.K.; Cole, M.J.; Wysor, R.B.; Fehling, D.T.; Foust, C.R.; Baylor, L.R.; Schmidt, G.L.; Barnes, G.W.; Persing, R.G.

1991-01-01

The TFTR tritium pellet injector (TPI) is designed to provide a tritium pellet fueling capability with pellet speeds in the 1- to 3 km/s-range for the TFTR D-T phase. The existing TFTR deuterium pellet injector is being modified at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide a fourshot, tritium-compatible, pipe-gun configuration with three upgraded single-stage pneumatic guns a two -stage light gas gun driver. The pipe gun concept has been qualified for tritium operation by the tritium proof-of-principle injector experiments conducted on the Tritium Systems Test Assembly at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In these experiments, tritium and D-T pellets were accelerated to speeds near 1.5 km/s. The TPI is being designed for pellet sizes in the range from 3.43 to 4.0 mm in diameter in arbitrarily programmable firing sequences at speeds up to approximately 1.5 km/s for the three single-stage drivers and 2.5 to 3 km/s for the two-stage driver. Injector operation will be controlled by a programmable logic controller. 7 refs., 4 figs

Monitoring of density in tokamaks: pumping and gas injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dejarnac, R.

2002-11-01

In thermonuclear fusion devices, controlling the Deuterium-Tritium fuel density and exhausting the Helium ashes is a crucial point. This is achieved by fuelling the discharges by different methods (gas puffing and pellet injection are the most commonly used) and by implementing pumping devices at the plasma periphery. These two issues are treated in this work, both from an experimental and a modelling point of view, using the neutral transport code EIRENE as main tool for our studies. As far as pumping is concerned, we have modelled the outboard pump limiter of the Tore Supra tokamak with the EIRENE code to which we coupled a plasma module specially developed to simulate the neutrals and the plasma in a coherent way. This allowed to validate the code against experimental data. As far as plasma fuelling is concerned, we present here an original method: the supersonic pulsed gas injection (SPGI). This intermediate method between conventional gas puff (GP) and pellet injection was designed and tested at Tore Supra. It consists of injecting very dense and short gas puffs at high speed into the plasma. Experimentally, SPGI was found to have a better fuelling efficiency than GP and to lead to a strong plasma cooling. The mechanisms responsible for this improved efficiency are analysed by modelling, using the EIRENE code to determine the ionisation source and a 1 D transport model to reproduce the plasma density response. At last, an extrapolation of the present injector is presented, discussing the possibility to obtain a radial drift of the injected matter as observed in the case of high field side pellet injection. (author)

Remote visual inspection of nuclear fuel pellets with fiber optics and video image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, F.W.

1986-01-01

Westinghouse Hanford Company has designed and is constructing a nuclear fuel fabrication process line for the Department of Energy. This process line includes a pellet surface inspection system that remotely inspects the cylindrical surface of nuclear fuel pellets for surface spots, flaws, or discoloration. The pellets are inspected on a 100 percent basis after pellet sintering. A feeder will deliver the pellets directly to a fiber optic inspection head. The inspection head will view one pellet surface at a time. The surface image of the pellet will be imaged to a closed-circuit color television camera (CCTV). The output signal of the CCTV will be input to a digital imaging processor that stores approximately 25 pellet images at a time. A human operator will visually examine the images of the pellet surfaces on a high resolution monitor and accept or reject the pellets based on visual standards. The operator will use a digitizing tablet to record the location of rejected pellets, which will then be automatically removed from the product stream. The system is expandable to automated disposition of the pellet surface image

Remote visual inspection of nuclear fuel pellets with fiber optics and video image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, F.W.

1985-01-01

Westinghouse Hanford Company has designed and is constructing a nuclear fuel fabrication process line for the Department of Energy. This process line includes a pellet surface inspection system that remotely inspects the cylindrical surface of nuclear fuel pellets for surface spots, flaws, or discoloration. The pellets are inspected on a 100% basis after pellet sintering. A feeder will deliver the pellets directly to fiber optic inspection head. The inspection head will view one pellet surface at a time. The surface image of the pellet will be imaged to a closed-circuit color television camera (CCTV). The output signal of the CCTV will be input to a digital imaging processor that stores approximately 25 pellet images at a time. A human operator will visually examine the images of the pellet surfaces on a high resolution monitor and accept or reject the pellets based on visual standards. The operator will use a digitizing tablet to record the location of rejected pellets, which will then be automatically removed from the product stream. The system is expandable to automated disposition of the pellet surface image

Pellet imaging techniques on ASDEX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wurden, G.A.; Buechl, K.; Hofmann, J.; Lang, R.; Loch, R.; Rudyj, A.; Sandmann, W.

1990-01-01

As part of a USDOE/ASDEX collaboration, a detailed examination of pellet ablation in ASDEX with a variety of diagnostics has allowed a better understanding of a number of features of hydrogen ice pellet ablation in a plasma. In particular, fast gated photos with an intensified Xybion CCD video camera allow in-situ velocity measurements of the pellet as it penetrates the plasma. With time resolution of typically 100 nanoseconds and exposures every 50 microseconds, the evolution of each pellet in a multi-pellet ASDEX tokamak plasma discharge can be followed. When the pellet cloud track has striations, the light intensity profile through the cloud is hollow (dark near the pellet), whereas at the beginning or near the end of the pellet trajectory the track is typically smooth (without striations) and has a gaussian-peaked light emission profile. New, single pellet Stark broadened D α D β , and D γ spectra, obtained with a tangentially viewing scanning mirror/spectrometer with Reticon array readout, are consistent with cloud densities of 2 x 10 17 cm -3 or higher in the regions of strongest light emission. A spatially resolved array of D α detectors shows that the light variations during the pellet ablation are not caused solely by a modulation of the incoming energy flux as the pellet crosses rational q-surfaces, but instead are a result of a dynamic, non-stationary, ablation process. 20 refs., 4 figs

Pellet injector development at ORNL [Oak Ridge National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouge, M.J.; Argo, B.E.; Baylor, L.R.; Combs, S.K.; Fehling, D.T.; Fisher, P.W.; Foster, C.A.; Foust, C.R.; Milora, S.L.; Qualls, A.L.; Schechter, D.E.; Simmons, D.W.; Sparks, D.O.; Tsai, C.C.

1990-01-01

Advanced plasma fueling systems for magnetic confinement experiments are under development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The general approach is that of producing and accelerating frozen hydrogenic pellets to speeds in the kilometer-per-second range by either pneumatic (light-gas gun) or mechanical (centrifugal force) techniques. ORNL has recently provided a centrifugal pellet injector for the Tore Supra tokamak and a new, simplified, eight-shot pneumatic injector for the Advanced Toroidal Facility stellarator at ORNL. Hundreds of tritium and DT pellets were accelerated at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly facility at Los Alamos in 1988--89. These experiments, done in a single-shot pipe-gun system, demonstrated the feasibility of forming and accelerating tritium pellets at low 3 He levels. A new, tritium-compatible extruder mechanism is being designed for longer-pulse DT applications. Two-stage light-gas guns and electron beam rocket accelerators for speeds of the order of 2--10 km/s are also under development. Recently, a repeating, two-stage light-gas gun accelerated 10 surrogate pellets at a 1-Hz repetition rate to speeds in the range of 2--3 km/s; and the electron beam rocket accelerator completed initial feasibility and scaling experiments. ORNL has also developed conceptual designs of advanced plasma fueling systems for the Compact Ignition Tokamak and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

THE RHIC INJECTION SYSTEM.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

FISCHER,W.; GLENN,J.W.; MACKAY,W.W.; PTITSIN,V.; ROBINSON,T.G.; TSOUPAS,N.

1999-03-29

The RHIC injection system has to transport beam from the AGS-to-RHIC transfer line onto the closed orbits of the RHIC Blue and Yellow rings. This task can be divided into three problems. First, the beam has to be injected into either ring. Second, once injected the beam needs to be transported around the ring for one turn. Third, the orbit must be closed and coherent beam oscillations around the closed orbit should be minimized. We describe our solutions for these problems and report on system tests conducted during the RHIC Sextant test performed in 1997. The system will be fully commissioned in 1999.

Review of fission-fusion pellet designs and inertial confinement system studies at EIR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seifriz, W [Eidgenoessisches Inst. fuer Reaktorforschung, Wuerenlingen (Switzerland)

1978-01-01

The article summarizes the work done so far at the Swiss Federal Institute for Reactor Research (EIR) in the field of the inertial confinement fusion technique. The following subjects are reviewed: a) fission fusion pellet designs using fissionable triggers, b) uranium tampered pellets, c) tampered pellets recycling unwanted actinide wastes from fission reactors in beam-driven micro-explosion reactors, and d) symbiotic fusion/fission reactor studies.

Determination of gas residues in uranium dioxide pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riella, H.G.

1978-01-01

The measurement of low amounts of residual gases, excluding water, in ceramic grade uranium dioxide pellets, using high temperature vacuum extraction technique, is dealt with. The high temperature extraction gas analysis apparatus was designed and assembled for sequential analysis of up to eight uranium dioxide pellets by run. The system consists of three major units, namely outgassing unit, transfer unit and analytical unit. The whole system is evacuated to a final pressure of less then 10 -5 torr. A weighed pellet is transfered into the outgassing unit for subsequent dropping into a Platinum-Rhodium crucible which is heated inductively up to 1600 0 C during 30 minutes. The released gases are imediately transfered from the outgassing to analytical unit passing through a cold trap at -95 0 C to remove water vapor. The gases are transfered to previously calibrated volumetric bulb where the total pressure and temperature are determined. An estimate of the gas content in the pellets at STP condition is obtained from the measured volume, pressure and temperature of the gas mixture by applying ideal gases equation. Analysis to two lots (fourteen samples) of uranium dioxide pellets by the method described here indicated a mean gas content of 0,060cm 3 /g UO 2 . The lower limit of this technique is 0,03cm 3 /g UO 2 (STP). The time required for the analysis of eight pellets is about 9 hours [pt

Remote visual inspection of nuclear fuel pellets with fiber optics and video image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, F.W.

1987-01-01

Westinghouse Hanford Company has designed and constructed a nuclear fuel fabrication process line for the U.S. Department of Energy. This process line includes a system that remotely inspects the cylindrical surface of nuclear fuel pellets for surface spots, flaws, or discoloration. The pellets are inspected on a 100% basis after pellet sintering. A feeder delivers the pellets directly to a fiber optic inspection head, which views one pellet surface at a time and images it to a closed-circuit color television camera (CCTV). The output signal of the CCTV is input to a digital imaging processor that stores approximately 25 pellet images at a time. A human operator visually examines the images of the pellet surfaces on a high resolution monitor and accepts or rejects the pellets based on visual standards. The operator uses a digitizing tablet to record the location of rejected pellets, which are then automatically removed from the product stream. The system is expandable to automated disposition of the pellet surface image

Steam-treated wood pellets: Environmental and financial implications relative to fossil fuels and conventional pellets for electricity generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKechnie, Jon; Saville, Brad; MacLean, Heather L.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Steam-treated pellets can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions relative to coal. • Cost advantage is seen relative to conventional pellets. • Higher pellet cost is more than balanced by reduced retrofit capital requirements. • Low capacity factors further favour steam-treated pellets over conventional pellets. - Abstract: Steam-treated pellets can help to address technical barriers that limit the uptake of pellets as a fuel for electricity generation, but there is limited understanding of the cost and environmental impacts of their production and use. This study investigates life cycle environmental (greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant emissions) and financial implications of electricity generation from steam-treated pellets, including fuel cycle activities (biomass supply, pellet production, and combustion) and retrofit infrastructure to enable 100% pellet firing at a generating station that previously used coal. Models are informed by operating experience of pellet manufacturers and generating stations utilising coal, steam-treated and conventional pellets. Results are compared with conventional pellets and fossil fuels in a case study of electricity generation in northwestern Ontario, Canada. Steam-treated pellet production has similar GHG impacts to conventional pellets as their higher biomass feedstock requirement is balanced by reduced process electricity consumption. GHG reductions of more than 90% relative to coal and ∼85% relative to natural gas (excluding retrofit infrastructure) could be obtained with both pellet options. Pellets can also reduce fuel cycle air pollutant emissions relative to coal by 30% (NOx), 97% (SOx), and 75% (PM 10 ). Lesser retrofit requirements for steam-treated pellets more than compensate for marginally higher pellet production costs, resulting in lower electricity production cost compared to conventional pellets ($0.14/kW h vs. $0.16/kW h). Impacts of retrofit infrastructure become increasingly

ITER Neutral Beam Injection System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohara, Yoshihiro; Tanaka, Shigeru; Akiba, Masato

1991-03-01

A Japanese design proposal of the ITER Neutral Beam Injection System (NBS) which is consistent with the ITER common design requirements is described. The injection system is required to deliver a neutral deuterium beam of 75MW at 1.3MeV to the reactor plasma and utilized not only for plasma heating but also for current drive and current profile control. The injection system is composed of 9 modules, each of which is designed so as to inject a 1.3MeV, 10MW neutral beam. The most important point in the design is that the injection system is based on the utilization of a cesium-seeded volume negative ion source which can produce an intense negative ion beam with high current density at a low source operating pressure. The design value of the source is based on the experimental values achieved at JAERI. The utilization of the cesium-seeded volume source is essential to the design of an efficient and compact neutral beam injection system which satisfies the ITER common design requirements. The critical components to realize this design are the 1.3MeV, 17A electrostatic accelerator and the high voltage DC acceleration power supply, whose performances must be demonstrated prior to the construction of ITER NBI system. (author)

Interstellar propulsion using a pellet stream for momentum transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singer, C.E.

1979-10-01

A pellet-stream concept for interstellar propulsion is described. Small pellets are accelerated in the solar system and accurately guided to an interstellar probe where they are intercepted and transfer momentum. This propulsion system appears to offer orders-of-magnitude improvements in terms of engineering simplicity and power requirements over any other known feasible system for transport over interstellar distance in a time comparable to a human lifespan

Wood pellets in a power plant - mixed combustion of coal and wood pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nupponen, M.

2001-01-01

The author reviews in his presentation the development of Turku Energia, the organization of the company, the key figures of the company in 2000, as well as the purchase of energy in 2000. He also presents the purchase of basic heat load, the energy production plants of the company, the sales of heat in 2000, the emissions of the plants, and the fuel consumption of the plants in 2000. The operating experiences of the plants are also presented. The experiences gained in Turku Energia on mixed combustion of coal and wood pellets show that the mixing ratios, used at the plants, have no effect on the burning properties of the boiler, and the use of wood pellets with coal reduce the SO 2 and NO x emissions slightly. Simultaneously the CO 2 share of the wood pellets is removed from the emissions calculations. Several positive effects were observed, including the disappearance of the coal smell of the bunker, positive publicity of the utilization of wood pellets, and the subsidies for utilization of indigenous fuels in power generation. The problems seen include the tendency of wood pellets to arc the silos, especially when the pellets include high quantities of dust, and the loading of the trucks and the pneumatic unloading of the trucks break the pellets. Additionally the wood pellets bounce on the conveyor so they drop easily from the conveyor, the screw conveyors designed for conveying grain are too weak and they get stuck easily, and static electricity is easily generated in the plastic pipe used as the discharge pipe for wood pellet (sparkling tendency). This disadvantage has been overcome by using metal net and grounding

Some reflections on the diffusion of pellet heating systems in Sweden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahapatra, Krushna; Gustavsson, Leif [1Mid Sweden University, Ecotechnology, SE-831 25 Oestersund (Sweden); Madlener, Reinhard [CEPE - Centre for Energy Policy and Economics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland)

2002-07-01

In the context of global warming and dependence on fossil fuels, modern bioenergy systems have appeared as important sustainable energy solutions with a large untapped potential in Sweden and the rest of the European Union. Small-scale pellet heating systems for space heating of small houses is one of these solutions. In Sweden, such systems have relative advantages over oil- or electricity boiler systems both in terms of greenhouse gas emission reduction and total lifetime cost of equipment and fuel. However, so far the market diffusion process of this technology has been rather slow. This paper, by employing concepts and insights from the literature of evolutionary economics and sociology, studies the factors involved in the diffusion of such systems.

Pellets standard on the way

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laeng, H.-P.

2001-01-01

This short article introduces the Swiss standard that has been adapted from the German standard for heating pellets made of untreated wood. The various requirements placed on the materials used in the manufacture of the pellets and their influence on the pollution emissions produced by boilers and ovens using the pellets as a heating fuel are listed. Further points in the standard referring to declarations to be made by the manufacturer, size and specific weight of the pellets and instructions for the storage and burning of the pellets are discussed

Railgun system using a laser-induced plasma armature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onozuka, M.; Oda, Y.; Azuma, K.

1996-01-01

Development of an electromagnetic railgun system that utilizes a laser-induced plasma armature formation has been conducted to investigate the application of the railgun system for high-speed pellet injection into fusion plasmas. Using the laser-induced plasma formation technique, the required breakdown voltage was reduced by one-tenth compared with that for the spark-discharged plasma. The railgun system successfully accelerated the laser-induced plasma armature by an electromagnetic force that accelerated the pellet. The highest velocity of the solid hydrogen pellets, obtained so far, was 2.6 km/sec using a 2m-long railgun. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Railgun system using a laser-induced plasma armature

Science.gov (United States)

Onozuka, Masanori; Oda, Yasushi; Azuma, Kingo

1996-05-01

Development of an electromagnetic railgun system that utilizes a laser-induced plasma armature formation has been conducted to investigate the application of the railgun system for high-speed pellet injection into fusion plasmas. Using the laser-induced plasma formation technique, the required breakdown voltage was reduced by one-tenth compared with that for the spark-discharged plasma. The railgun system successfully accelerated the laser-induced plasma armature by an electromagnetic force that accelerated the pellet. The highest velocity of the solid hydrogen pellets, obtained so far, was 2.6 km/sec using a 2m-long railgun.

Studies on implementation of pellet tracking in hadron physics experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pyszniak A.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A system for optical tracking of frozen hydrogen microsphere targets (pellets has been designed. It is intended for the upcoming hadron physics experiment PANDA at FAIR, Darmstadt, Germany. With such a tracking system one can reconstruct the positions of the individual pellets at the time of a hadronic interaction in the offline event analysis. This gives information on the position of the primary interaction vertex with an accuracy of a few 100 µm, which is very useful e.g. for reconstruction of charged particle tracks and secondary vertices and for background suppression. A study has been done at the WASA detector setup (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany to check the possibility of classification of hadronic events as originating in pellets or in background. The study has been done based on the instantaneous rate a Long Range TDC which was used to determine if a pellet was present in the accelerator beam region. It was clearly shown that it is possible to distinguish the two event classes. Also, an experience was gained with operation of two synchronized systems operating in different time scales, as it will also be the case with the optical pellet tracking.

Wood pellet heating plants. Market survey. 4. upd. ed.; Hackschnitzel-Heizung. Marktuebersicht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-15

Wood pellets from the agriculture and forestry offer an enormous potential for the development of the use of bio energy in the private area as well as in industry and commerce. Within the market survey 'Wood pellet heating systems', the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (Guelzow-Pruezen, Federal Republic of Germany) reported on the targets and measures of the Federal Government with respect to the heating with biomass, wood pellets as solid biofuels (standardization of solid biofuels, supply, features, evaluation), wood pellet heating plants, economic considerations, market survey on wood pellet heating plants as well as list of addresses for producers of wood pellet heating plants and suppliers of wood pellets.

UV imaging of Multiple Unit Pellet System (MUPS) tablets: A case study of acetylsalicylic acid stability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Novikova, Anna; Carstensen, Jens Michael; Rades, Thomas

2017-01-01

for estimation of the salicylic acid (SA) concentration as degradation product of ASA in the tablets were compared to the SA concentration measured by high performance liquid chromatography with a partial least squares regression resulting in an RMSEP of 4.86% and an R2 of 0.9812. The estimation of the SA......The applicability of multispectral ultraviolet (UV) imaging in combination with multivariate image analysis was investigated to monitor API degradation within multiple unit pellet system (MUPS) tablets during storage. For this purpose, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) layered pellets were coated...

Fuel rod pellet loading head

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howell, T.E.

1975-01-01

An assembly for loading nuclear fuel pellets into a fuel rod comprising a loading head for feeding pellets into the open end of the rod is described. The pellets rest in a perforated substantially V-shaped seat through which air may be drawn for removal of chips and dust. The rod is held in place in an adjustable notched locator which permits alignment with the pellets

Wood pellets : a worldwide fuel commodity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melin, S.

2005-01-01

Aspects of the wood pellet industry were discussed in this PowerPoint presentation. Details of wood pellets specifications were presented, and the wood pellet manufacturing process was outlined. An overview of research and development activities for wood pellets was presented, and issues concerning quality control were discussed. A chart of the effective calorific value of various fuels was provided. Data for wood pellet mill production in Canada, the United States and the European Union were provided, and various markets for Canadian wood pellets were evaluated. Residential sales as well as Canadian overseas exports were reviewed. Production revenues for British Columbia and Alberta were provided. Wood pellet heat and electricity production were discussed with reference to prefabricated boilers, stoves and fireplaces. Consumption rates, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and fuel ratios for wood pellets and fossil fuels were compared. Price regulating policies for electricity and fossil fuels have prevented the domestic expansion of the wood pellet industry. There are currently no incentives for advanced biomass combustion to enter British Columbia markets, and this has led to the export of wood pellets. It was concluded that climate change mitigation policies will be a driving force behind market expansion for wood pellets. tabs., figs

Quality wood chips - an alternative to pellets; Alternative zu Pellets. Qualischnitzel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keel, A.

2008-07-01

This article takes a look at a new wood-chip product that features wood-chips that are dryer than traditional ones. The new 'quality chips' are also of a calibrated size and are supplied dust-free. Their low water content permits their use in the same areas as wood pellets, where, especially in summer, low water-content is important. The increasing use of pellets and the growing shortages of clean sawdust and shavings for their production is commented on, as is the use of forestry wastes in pellet production. The new wood-chip product is further discussed as being a direct alternative to pellets. The low 'grey energy' content for tree-felling, hacking, transport and the drying of the chips is quoted as being less than 5% of the energy in the chippings.

Plasma behavior with molecular beam injection in the HL-1m tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao Lianghua; Tang Nianyi; Cui Zhengying; Xu Deming; Deng Zhongchao; Ding Xuantong; Luo Junlin; Dong Jiafu; Guo Gancheng; Yang Shikun; Cui Chenghe; Xiao Zhenggui; Liu Dequan; Chen Xiaoping; Yan Longwen; Yan Donghai; Wang Enyao; Deng Xiwen

1999-01-01

The authors report effect of the new fueling method of high speed molecular beam injection on Tokamak confinement improvement. The present method is an improvement of conventional gas puffing, with performance comparable to the small pellet injection in HL-1M and also to the slow pellet in ASDEX. The fact that a shallower fueling can lead to similar confinement improvement as a deep one suggests that there may exist a critical position in a Tokamak plasma such that any kind of fueling will have a better confinement as long as it can give rise to density peaking at the critical position

assessment of injection of liquid rhizobial inoculum and traditional inoculation of soybean under furrow and drip irrigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janat, M.; Kurdali, F.

2008-01-01

Soybean in naturally N 2 -fixing legume, but it needs artificial inoculation with appropriate strains of rhizobia when introduced to land not previously cultivated to the crop. As soybean is being introduced to Syria, inoculation with Bradyrhizobium japonicum is essential to ensure effective biological nitrogen fixation by the crop. The question is: what is the most effective mean of inoculation?. As Syria is a water-short country, we examined the possibility of applying the rhizobial inoculant in irrigation system (Biofertigation) in contrast with the conventional seed pelleting application. In a 2 year experiment at a research station near Damascus, we compared seed pelleting of the inoculant under furrow and drip irrigation, with repeated inoculation by injection of a liquid culture rhizobial inoculum through the drip system. Drip irrigation enhanced N 2 fixation by soybean regardless of inoculation technique ad repeated inoculation. Injection of the liquid rhizobial inoculum through drip irrigation system was shown to enhances the acquisition of atmospheric N 2 and improve N 2 fixation by soybean.(author)

[Research of preparation craft of Danshen phenolic acid fast release unit in multi-drug delivery system of Tongmai micro-pellets].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bin; Xiao, Wei; Jia, Xiao-Bin; Huang, Yang

2012-07-01

To prepare Danshen phenolic acid fast release micro-pellets and study its preparation craft. The factors which could impact yield, extrude shaping, dissolution of Danshen phenolic acid micro-pellets such as wetting agent, drug loading dose, adjuvant, lactose dose, disintegrant, CMS-Na dose and wetting agent dose was investigated. The optimum preparation craft of Danshen phenolic acid fast release micro-pellets was screened out by orhogonal design. Formula of Danshen phenolic acid fast release micro-pellets was calculated as volume dose 50 g. The formula was as follows: principal agent 22.5 g, lactose 5 g, CMS-Na 2 g, MCC 20.5 g, 27 mL 30% ethanol as wetting agent. Extrusion-spheronization was applied. The optimum conditions were screened out as follows: extrusion frequency (25 Hz), spheronization machine frequency (50 Hz), spheronization time (4 min). The process was scientific and rational. The preparation is stable settles basis for multi-drug delivery system of Tongmai micro-pellets.

Pelletizing using forest fuels and Salix as raw materials. A study of the pelletizing properties; Pelletering med skogsbraensle och Salix som raavara. En undersoekning av pelleterbarheten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinsson, Lars; Oesterberg, Stefan [Swedish National Testing and Research Inst., Boraas (Sweden)

2004-08-01

Three common forest fuels: light thinning material, cull tree and logging residues as well as energy forest fuel (Salix) has been used as fuel pellet materials. Logging residues and Salix were stacked for approximately 6 and 10 months respectively. Parameters varied for each raw material have been the moisture content and the press length of the die. These parameters have been changed to obtain best possible quality, mainly concerning mechanical durability. Pellets were also produced from bark free shavings in order to use as a reference in this study. Physical as well as chemical properties have been compared. It was comparatively easy to press logging residues and Salix into durable pellets and, even with larger press length, the production of pellets was higher than it was for the other raw materials. The density was equal for all pellets while the mechanical durability was better for all tested raw materials compared with the reference material. The fact that all raw materials besides the reference material contains bark which has an improving effect on the degree of hardness. The quality properties were mainly about the same or better for pellets made of light thinning material and cull tree respectively, compared with the reference pellets. However, the ash content was approximately twice as high compared with the reference pellets. The pellets made of logging residues and Salix respectively were of very good quality concerning duration and density but the ash content was approximately 10 times higher than in the reference pellets. Additionally, the nitrogen content was 6-9 times higher compared with the reference pellets.

Apparatus and method for classifying fuel pellets for nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilks, R.S.; Breakey, G.A.; Castner, R.P.; Sternheim, E.; Sturges, R.H. Jr.; Taleff, A.

1984-01-01

Control for the operation of a mechanical handling and gauging system for nuclear fuel pellets is claimed. The pellets are inspected for diameters, lengths, surface flaws and weights in successive stations. The control includes, a computer for commanding the operation of the system and its electronics and for storing and processing the complex data derived at the required high rate. In measuring the diameter, the computer enables the measurement of a calibration pellet, stores that calibration data and computes and stores diameter-correction factors and their addresses along a pellet. To each diameter measurement a correction factor is applied at the appropriate address. The computer commands verification that all critical parts of the system and control are set for inspection and that each pellet is positioned for inspection. During each cycle of inspection, the measurement operation proceeds normally irrespective of whether or not a pellet is present in each station. If a pellet is not positioned in a station, a measurement is recorded, but the recorded measurement indicates maloperation. In measuring diameter and length a light pattern including successive shadows of slices transverse for diameter or longitudinal for length are projected on a photodiode array. The light pattern is scanned electronically by a train of pulses. The pulses are counted during the scan of the lighted diodes. For evaluation of diameter the maximum diameter count and the number of slices for which the diameter exceeds a predetermined minimum is determined. For acceptance, the maximum must be less than a maximum level and the minimum must exceed a set number. For evaluation of length, the maximum length is determined. For acceptance, the length must be within maximum and minimum limits

Fuel Pellets from Wheat Straw: The Effect of Lignin Glass Transition and Surface Waxes on Pelletizing Properties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stelte, Wolfgang; Clemons, Craig; Holm, Jens K.

2012-01-01

and a high concentration of hydrophobic waxes on its outer surface that may limit the pellet strength. The present work studies the impact of the lignin glass transition on the pelletizing properties of wheat straw. Furthermore, the effect of surface waxes on the pelletizing process and pellet strength...... are investigated by comparing wheat straw before and after organic solvent extraction. The lignin glass transition temperature for wheat straw and extracted wheat straw is determined by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. At a moisture content of 8%, transitions are identified at 53°C and 63°C, respectively....... Pellets are pressed from wheat straw and straw where the waxes have been extracted from. Two pelletizing temperatures were chosen—one below and one above the glass transition temperature of lignin. The pellets compression strength, density, and fracture surface were compared to each other. Pellets pressed...

ELM mitigation with pellet ELM triggering and implications for PFCs and plasma performance in ITER

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baylor, L.R.; Lang, P.T.; Allen, S.L.; Combs, S.K.; Commaux, N.; Evans, T.E.; Fenstermacher, M.E.; Huijsmans, G.T.A.; Jernigan, T.C.; Lasnier, C.J.; Leonard, A.W.; Loarte, A.; Maingi, R.; Maruyama, S.; Meitner, S.J.; Moyer, R.A.; Osborne, T.H.

2015-01-01

PLASMA-SURFACE INTERACTIONS 21 — Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Plasma-Surface Interactions in Controlled Fusion Devices Kanazawa, Japan May 26-30, 2014 The triggering of rapid small edge localized modes (ELMs) by high frequency pellet injection has been proposed as a method to

Reciprocating pellet press

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Charles W.

1981-04-07

A machine for pressing loose powder into pellets using a series of reciprocating motions has an interchangeable punch and die as its only accurately machines parts. The machine reciprocates horizontally between powder receiving and pressing positions. It reciprocates vertically to press, strip and release a pellet.

Portuguese pellets market: Analysis of the production and utilization constrains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monteiro, Eliseu; Mantha, Vishveshwar; Rouboa, Abel

2012-01-01

As opposite in Portugal, the wood pellets market is booming in Europe. In this work, possible reasons for this market behavior are foreseen according to the key indicators of biomass availability, costs and legal framework. Two major constrains are found in the Portuguese pellets market: the first one is the lack of an internal consumption, being the market based on exportations. The second one is the shortage of raw material mainly due to the competition with the biomass power plants. Therefore, the combination of the biomass power plants with pellet production plants seems to be the best option for the pellets production in the actual Portuguese scenario. The main constrains for pellets market has been to convince small-scale customers that pellets are a good alternative fuel, mainly due to the investment needed and the strong competition with natural gas. Besides some benefits in the acquisition of new equipment for renewable energy, they are insufficient to cover the huge discrepancy of the investment in pellets heating. However, pellets are already economic interesting for large utilizations. In order cover a large amount of households, additional public support is needed to cover the supplementary costs of the pellets heating systems. - Highlights: ► There is a lack of internal consumption being the pellets market based on exportation. ► The shortage of raw material is mainly due to the biomass power plants. ► Combining pellet plants with biomass power plants seems to be a wise solution. ► The tax benefits of renewable energy equipments are not enough to cover the higher investment. ► Pellets are already economic interesting for large utilizations in the Portuguese scenario.

Apparatus for transferring nuclear fuel pellets to a plate loader

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huggins, T.B.

1978-01-01

An apparatus is described for transferring nuclear fuel pellets from a grinding machine to a plate loader. It includes a frame, an endless belt fitted to the frame, a control system provided on it for actuating the belt at a preset speed, a V shaped vessel fitted directly above the belt and extending along its length to guide the pellets on the belt and a device to receive the pellets coming from the belt [fr

Manufacture, delivery and marketing of wood pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huhtanen, T.

2001-01-01

Wood pellet is a cheap fuel, the use of which can easily bee automated. Pellet heating can be carried out with a stoker or a pellet burner, which can be mounted to oil and solid fuels boiler or to solid fuel boilers. Vapo Oy delivers wood pellet to farms and detached houses via Agrimarket stores. Vapo Oy delivers pellets to large real estates, municipalities, industry, greenhouses and power plants directly as bulk. The pellets are delivered either by trailers or lorries equipped with fan-operated unloaders. The use of wood pellets is a suitable fuel especially for real estates, the boiler output of which is 20 - 1000 kW. Vapo Oy manufactures wood pellets of cutter chips, grinding dust and sawdust. The raw material for Ilomantsi pellet plant is purchased from the province of North Karelia. The capacity of pelletizing plant is 45 000 t of pellets per year, half of which is exported mainly to Sweden and Denmark

Disruption Mitigation System Developments and Design for ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baylor, Larry R. [ORNL; Barbier, Charlotte N. [ORNL; Bull, Nora D. [ORNL; Combs, Stephen Kirk [ORNL; Fisher, Paul W. [ORNL; Kiss, Gabor [ITER Organization, Cadarache, France; Ericson, Milton Nance [ORNL; Wilgen, John B. [ORNL; Maruyama, So [ITER Organization, Cadarache, France; Meitner, Steven J. [ORNL; Lyttle, Mark S. [ORNL; Rasmussen, David A. [ORNL; Carmichael, Justin R. [ORNL; Smith, Stephen Fulton [ORNL

2015-09-01

A disruption mitigation system (DMS) is under design for ITER to inject sufficient material deeply into the plasma for rapid plasma thermal shutdown and collisional suppression of any resulting runaway electrons. Progress on the development and design of both a shattered pellet injector (SPI) that produces large solid cryogenic pellets to provide reliable deep penetration of material and a fast opening high flow rate gas valve for massive gas injection (MGI) is presented. Cryogenic pellets of deuterium and neon up to 25 mm in size have been formed and accelerated with a prototype injector and a full scale prototype MGI valve is now in testing. Implications of the design with respect to response time and reliability at the proposed injector locations on ITER are discussed.

Numerical analysis of the influence of the fuel pellet shape on the pellet-cladding contact condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marajofsky, Adolfo; Denis, Alicia C.; Soba, Alejandro

2004-01-01

One of the problems of greater concern in nuclear fuels operation is that of pellet-cladding interaction (PCI), since it may be cause of fuel failure. In unfailed claddings, the occurrence of contact with the pellet is generally evidenced by a typical deformation pattern known as bamboo effect. In the present work different pellets' shapes are proposed, all of them with a chamfer next to the top and bottom surfaces. The performance of these pellets design is simulated with a numerical code, DIONISIO, previously developed in this working group, which makes use of the finite elements method. It provides the temperature, stress and strain distribution and the inventory of fission gases by analyzing phenomena like thermal expansion, elasticity, plasticity, creep, irradiation growth, PCI, swelling and densification. The pellets' design tested are grouped into two types: those with a straight chamfer running from the central pellet plane to both extremes (R-type pellets) and those with the chamfer occupying one quarter of the pellet's height leaving a central ring of the standard, cylindrical shape (M-type pellets). Different chamfer depths were numerically tested. It was found that the gap increase associated with the introduction of a deep chamfer is responsible for a significant temperature increment. But chamfers which leave a gap of 110 to 150 μm (assuming a normal fuel element with a gap 90 μm thick) gave place to pellets with an adequate thermal response and, moreover, the disappearance of the bamboo effect or even the appearance of an inverse effect, that is, pellets which make contact with the cladding in the region around its middle plane. (author) [es

Introducing wood pellet fuel to the UK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cotton, R A; Giffard, A

2001-07-01

Technical and non-technical issues affecting the introduction of wood pellet-fired heating to the UK were investigated with the aim of helping to establish a wood pellet industry in the UK. The project examined the growth and status of the industry in continental Europe and North America, reviewed relevant UK standards and legislation, identified markets for pellet heating in the UK, organised workshops and seminars to demonstrate pellet burning appliances, carried out a trial pelletisation of a range of biomass fuels, helped to set up demonstration installations of pellet-fired appliances, undertook a promotional campaign for wood pellet fuel and compiled resource directories for pellet fuel and pellet burning appliances in the UK. The work was completed in three phases - review, identification and commercialisation. Project outputs include UK voluntary standards for wood pellet fuel and combustion appliances, and a database of individuals with an interest in wood pellet fuel.

Railgun system using a laser-induced plasma armature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onozuka, M.; Oda, Y.; Azuma, K. [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., 3-3-1, Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-84 (Japan)

1996-05-01

Development of an electromagnetic railgun system that utilizes a laser-induced plasma armature formation has been conducted to investigate the application of the railgun system for high-speed pellet injection into fusion plasmas. Using the laser-induced plasma formation technique, the required breakdown voltage was reduced by one-tenth compared with that for the spark-discharged plasma. The railgun system successfully accelerated the laser-induced plasma armature by an electromagnetic force that accelerated the pellet. The highest velocity of the solid hydrogen pellets, obtained so far, was 2.6 km/sec using a 2m-long railgun. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}

Ion beam pellet fusion as a CTR neutron test source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnold, R.; Martin, R.

1975-07-01

Pellet fusion, driven by nanosecond pulses containing α particles with 200 MeV energy, is being developed as a neutron source. A prototype system is in the conceptual design stage. During the coming year, engineering design of required accelerator components, storage rings, and pellet configurations, as well as experiments on energy deposition mechanisms, should be accomplished. Successful construction and tests of prototype rings, followed by two years of full scale system construction, would give a source producing a useful flux of fusion neutrons for materials testing. The system as currently envisioned would employ 100 small superconducting high field storage rings (15 cm radius, 140 kG field) which would be synchronously filled with circulating 1 nsec pulses from a 200 MeV linear accelerator over a period of 3 x 10 -4 sec. These ion pulses would all be simultaneously extracted, forming a total current of 10 kA, and focussed from all directions on a deuterium and tritium (DT) pellet with 0.17 mm radium, surrounded by a heavier (metal) coating to increase confinement time and aid compression efficiency. The overall repetition rate, limited principally by physical transport of the pellets, could reach 100/sec. Spacing between pellet and focussing elements would be about 1 m. The predominant engineering problems are the fast extraction mechanism and beam transport devices for the storage rings. Additional theoretical and experimental studies are required on the crucial energy deposition and transport mechanisms in pellets with ion beam heating before firm estimates can be given. Preliminary estimates suggest fusion neutron yields of at least 10 14 /sec and possibly 10 16 /sec are possible, with optimal pellet dynamics, but without the necessity for any large advances in the state-of-the-art in accelerator and storage ring design. (auth)

Numerical simulation of two-piston light gas gun for pellet injection in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Yumei; He Yaling; Chen Zhongqi; Wu Peiyi

1995-01-01

Analysing the shortcoming of the single-piston light gas gun, the author uses the method of characteristics to estimate the performance of the two-piston light gas gun, and compare it with the single-piston gun, the result shows that two-piston gun has advantage on the aspect of the pressure pulse that promotes the pellet. The effects of some important parameters are also discussed. This work provides the theoretical basis for the design and optimization of two-piston light gas gun

Emissions from small scale combustion of pelletized wood fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bachs, A.

1998-01-01

Combustion of wood pellets in small scale heating systems with an effect below 20 kW has increased. During the winter season 1995/96 1500 small plants for heating houses are estimated to be in operation. Stack emissions from three pellet burners and two pellet stoves have been studied at laboratory. Different pellet qualities were tested. When the fraction of fines increased also the NO x emissions increased with about 10 %. As reference fuel 8 mm pellets was used. Tests with 6 mm pellets gave, in most cases, significant lower emissions of CO and THC. Eleven stoves, burners and boilers were studied in a field test. The results show that all the plants generally have higher emissions in the field than during conditions when the plants are adjusted with a stack gas monitoring instrument. A conclusion is that it is difficult for the operator to adjust the plant without a monitoring instrument. The emissions from the tested plants give an estimation of stack gas emissions from small scale pellet plants. The difference between the 'best' and 'worst' technologies is big. The span of emissions with the best technology to the worst is given below. The interval is concerning normal combustion . During abnormal conditions the emissions are on a significant higher level: * CO 80-1 000 mg/MJ; * Tar 0,3-19 mg/MJ; * THC (as methane equivalents) 2-100 mg/MJ; * NO x 50-70 mg/W;, and * Dust emissions 20-40 mg/MJ. Emissions from pellets heating are lower than from wood combustion and the best technology is close to the emission from oil burners. Wood and pellets have the same origin but the conditions to burn them in an environmental friendly way differ. Combustion of pellets could be improved through improved control of the air and fuel ratio that will create more stable conditions for the combustion