TFCX pumped limiter and vacuum pumping system design and analysis

Abstract

Impurity control system design and performance studies were performed in support of the Tokamak Fusion Core Experiment (TFCX) pre-conceptual design. Efforts concentrated on pumped limiter and vacuum pumping system design configuration, thermal/mechanical and erosion lifetime performance of the limiter protective surface, and helium ash removal performance. The reference limiter design forms a continuous toroidal belt at the bottom of the device and features a flat surface with a single leading edge. The vacuum pumping system features large vacuum ducts (diameter approximately 1 m) and high-speed, compound cryopumps. Analysis results indicate that the limiter/vacuum pumping system design provides adequate helium ash removal. Erosion, primarily by disruption-induced vaporization and/or melting, limits the protective surface lifetime to about one calendar year or only about 60 full-power hours of operation. In addition to evaluating impurity control system performance for nominal TFCX conditions, these studies attempt to focus on the key plasma physics and engineering design issues that should be addressed in future research and development programs.