Abstract
For a few years the multi-physics modelling of the resonance cavity (resonator) of MW-class continuous-wave gyrotrons, to be employed for electron cyclotron heating and current drive in magnetic confinement fusion machines, has gained increasing interest. The rising target power of the gyrotrons, which drives progressively higher Ohmic losses to be removed from the resonator, together with the need for limiting the resonator deformation as much as possible, has put more emphasis on the thermal-hydraulic and thermo-mechanic modeling of the cavity. To cope with that, a multi-physics simulator has been developed in recent years in a shared effort between several European institutions (the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie and Politecnico di Torino, supported by Fusion for Energy). In this paper the current status of the tool calibration and validation is addressed, aiming at highlighting where any direct or indirect comparisons with experimental data are missing and suggesting a possible roadmap to fill that gap, taking advantage of forthcoming tests in Europe.
Highlights
In the magnetic confinement machines for nuclear fusion, gyrotrons [1] are employed to heat the plasma [2,3,4,5] by injecting a microwave beam at a frequency equal to the electron rotation frequency in the magnetic field which confines the plasma or its harmonics [6]
Besides the capability of exhausting the power deposited in the cavity, an accurate control of its thermal deformation [8] is needed in order not to lose the optimum resonance regime, avoiding at the same time the plastic deformation of the resonator
The heat released in the resonator, driving the thermal deformation, depends on the interaction between the electrons and the electromagnetic wave, affected in turn by the deformation in a complex thermal-hydraulic, thermo-mechanic and electro-dynamic multi-physics problem, similar to some extent to those encountered in other fields related to nuclear fusion, for instance, that of superconducting magnets [9,10]
Summary
In the magnetic confinement machines for nuclear fusion, gyrotrons [1] are employed to heat the plasma [2,3,4,5] by injecting a microwave beam at a frequency equal to the electron rotation frequency in the magnetic field which confines the plasma or its harmonics [6]. While or several studies were carried in the gyrotrons and cavity mock-ups, currently ongoing or foreseen in the near future, a more past few years on specific aspects of the modelling of the resonator, the aim of this paper is first to perform for the first time a comprehensive evaluation of the calibration and partial validation exercises done so far for the multi-physics modelling of the gyrotron cavity, before moving to the description of present and future tests in regards to their possible contribution to the validation of the model
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