UWMAK-III, a noncircular tokamak power reactor design

Abstract

UWMAK-III is a conceptual power reactor design study aimed at understanding the problems associated with using advanced technologies and several new or different design approaches in tokamak systems. Advanced technologies studied include the use of the molybdenum based alloy, TZM, as the primary structural material, the use of aluminum as the stabilizer and aluminum alloy structure for the NbTi superconducting magnets, and the use of a closed cycle helium gas turbine power conversion system. New or different design approaches include the study of RF (fast magnetosonic waves) plasma heating, a blanket design where tritium breeding is accomplished only in the outer blanket region, a permanent inner blanket that is basically a hot shield, tritium extraction and recycling processes, and the general design approach to blanket module removal. The maximum module weight is only 42 t. An MHD analysis has determined the noncircular plasma shaped as a characteristic ''D'' with neutral points on the plasma boundary for a poloidal divertor. The reactor is small (major radius = 8.1 m) with a relatively high ..beta.. (about 9 percent), and an average neutron wall loading of 2.5 MW/m/sup 2/. It is designed to generate 5000 MW(th) during the burn and 1985 MW(e) continuously.more » The net plant efficiency is about 42 percent. Aspects of the design study include the reactor plasma physics of a noncircular reactor plasma, theory of divertor operation, vacuum system design, toroidal and poloidal field superconducting magnet analysis, blanket design and neutronics, thermal hydraulics and mechanical design, tritium handling, extraction, and recycle, neutron-induced radioactivity, materials properties and radiation damage, helium gas turbine power cycle design, balance of plant considerations, resource implications of the design, and an economic analysis. An overview chapter is included to summarize our findings and a summary is given in the final chapter.« less