Disruption scenarios, their mitigation and operation window in ITER

Abstract

The impacts of plasma disruptions on ITER have been investigated in detail to confirm the robustness of the design of the machine to the potential consequential loads. The loads include both electro-magnetic (EM) and heat loads on the in-vessel components and the vacuum vessel. Several representative disruption scenarios are specified based on newly derived physics guidelines for the shortest current quench time as well as the maximum product of halo current fraction and toroidal peaking factor arising from disruptions in ITER. Disruption simulations with the DINA code and EM load analyses with a 3D finite element method code are performed for these scenarios. Some margins are confirmed in the EM load on in-vessel components due to induced eddy and halo currents for these representative scenarios. However, the margins are not very large. The heat load on various parts of the first wall due to the vertical movement and the thermal quench (TQ) is calculated with a 2D heat conduction code based on the database of heat deposition during disruptions and simulation results with the DINA code. For vertical displacement event, it is found that the beryllium (Be) wall does not melt during the vertical movement, prior to the TQ. Significant melting is anticipated for the upper Be wall and the tungsten divertor baffle due to TQ after the vertical movement. However, its impact could be substantially mitigated by implementing a reliable detection system of the vertical movement and a mitigation system, e.g. massive noble gas injection. Some melting of the upper Be wall is anticipated at major disruptions. At least several tens of unmitigated disruptions must be considered even if an advanced prediction/mitigation system is implemented. With these unmitigated disruptions, the loss of the Be layer is expected to be within ≈30–100 µm/event out of a 10 mm thick Be first wall.