Shatter Thresholds and Fragment Size Distributions of Deuterium–Neon Mixture Cryogenic Pellets for Tokamak Thermal Mitigation

T. E. Gebhart, L. R. Baylor, S. J. Meitner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Reliable mitigation is necessary to eliminate the detrimental effects of a disruption event in large high-current tokamaks such as ITER. To avoid serious damage to plasma-facing components during the thermal quench phase of a disruption, material is injected to radiate the plasma energy over the inner surface of the machine. The most promising method of material injection is a process known as shattered pellet injection (SPI). SPI utilizes cryogenic cooling to desublimate gas into the barrel of a pipe gun to form a solid pellet. High-pressure gas or a mechanical punch is used to dislodge the pellet and accelerate it into a bent tube to intentionally fracture it. Pellets made of a mixture of deuterium and neon are likely candidates for thermal mitigation. The survivability of these pellets throughout their flight path, before striking the shatter tube, is essential for reliable SPI operation. Experiments were conducted to determine intact speed limits for various mixtures. This paper outlines the details of brittle fracture theory and compares a theory-based model to experimental results from various mixtures of deuterium and neon pellets.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)831-835
Number of pages5
JournalFusion Science and Technology
Volume76
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2 2020

Funding

This work was supported by Oak Ridge National Laboratory managed by UT-Battelle, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DEAC05-00OR22725.

Keywords

  • Cryogenic pellet
  • brittle fracture mechanics
  • disruption mitigation
  • mixed gas pellet
  • shattered pellet injection

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Shatter Thresholds and Fragment Size Distributions of Deuterium–Neon Mixture Cryogenic Pellets for Tokamak Thermal Mitigation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this