Tritium neutral beams for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

Abstract

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) has operated for a number of years with deuterium neutral beam injection as its major source of plasma heating. The final phase of TFTR operation, scheduled for 1991, will use a mixture of deuterium and tritium to achieve approximate energy breakeven, where the fusion power output equals the heating power input. In order to maintain a 50–50 mixture in the hot reacting core of the plasma under these conditions, it will be necessary to use two of the four beamlines to produce tritium neutral beams. This paper will discuss our plans for operation with tritium.