First Experimental Campaign to Demonstrate STARDUST-Upgrade Facility Diagnostics Capability to Investigate LOVA Conditions

Abstract

Given the urgent need to converge on precise guidelines for accident management in nuclear fusion plants, an experimental campaign has been carried out on the “STARDUST-Upgrade” facility for dust mobilization phenomena investigation at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. The main purpose of this preliminary work was to test the “STARDUST-Upgrade” facility capability to investigate Loss of Vacuum Accidents (LOVAs) and their thermo fluid-dynamic consequences. In fact, upper ports of “STARDUST-Upgrade” were used as inlet ports, reproducing coolant loss consequences from the upper part of the vacuum vessel in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The facility was tested with the aim of reproducing LOVAs thermo fluid-dynamic consequences not only from lower and equatorial level of an ITER-like vacuum vessel but also from upper part of it. The diagnostics required for these experimental studies and the results of this first experimental campaign are presented.