Transient DC-Arc Voltage Model in the Hybrid Switch of the DTT Fast Discharge Unit
The focus of this work is the transient modelling of the DC-arc voltage on a Hybrid Switch (a mechanical switch in parallel with a static switch) of a key protection component called Fast Discharge Unit (FDU) in the Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT). The DTT facility is an experimental tokamak in advanced design and realization phase, which will be built in the ENEA Research Centre in Frascati (Italy). The FDU allows the safe discharge of the Toroidal Field (TF) superconducting magnets when a quench is detected or a failure occurs in the power supply or in the cryogenic system. In this work, the arc conductance of the mechanical By-Pass Switch (BPS) of the Hybrid Switch is modelled using the well…
Design optimization for the quench protection of DTT's superconducting toroidal field magnets
Abstract The paper is focused on the optimal design of Fast Discharge Unit (FDU) for the quench protection of the Toroidal Field (TF) magnets of the Divertor Tokamak Test facility (DTT), an experimental facility under construction in ENEA Frascati Research Centre (Rome, Italy). The FDU is a safety key component that protects the superconducting magnets when a quench is detected through the fast extraction of the energy stored in the magnets by adding a discharge dump resistor (DR) in the TF magnets circuit. A comparison between a fixed DR and a switched variable DR has been implemented by changing resistor parameters and by using multiple current control of the power electronics components …
Conceptual Design and Modeling of the Toroidal Field Coils Circuit of DTT
Italian Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT) facility is part of the general European programme on the fusion research. Its specific role is to cover the gap on the power exhaust for the future DEMOstration power plant (DEMO). This tokamak will be built and installed in Italy at Frascati ENEA laboratories. The paper describes the Toroidal Field (TF) coils circuit powered by a TF power supply that feeds in series 18 toroidal superconducting magnets and the development of three software models in order to validate the adopted technical solutions in term of maximum voltage and maximum current stress on each power device/component, due to both the operating and fault conditions, and across TF coils.
Transient Electrical Behaviour of the TF Superconducting Coils of Divertor Tokamak Test Facility During a Fast Discharge
The paper is focused on the electromagnetic analysis of the Toroidal Field (TF) superconducting coils of the Divertor Tokamak Test facility (DTT) when electrical transients occur in the TF coils system: for example, during the operations of the Fast Discharge Units (FDUs) and considering also, the simultaneous occurrence of a fault condition. During the FDU intervention, a transient voltage excitation lasting few microseconds occurs at the TF coil terminals and it electrically stresses the insulations of TF coils itsef. To investigate the voltage distribution across, inside and between different Double Pancakes (DPs) of each TF coil, a lumped parameters circuital model has been developed an…
Conceptual Design and Modeling of Fast Discharge Unit for Quench Protection of Superconducting Toroidal Field Magnets of DTT
The paper deals with the modelling and simulation of a Fast Discharge Unit (FDU) for quench protection of the Toroidal Field (TF) magnets of the Divertor Tokamak Test, an experimental facility under design and construction in Frascati (Italy). The FDU is a safety key component that protects the superconducting magnets when a quench is detected through the fast extraction of the energy stored in superconducting magnets by adding in the TF magnets a dump (or discharge) resistor. In the paper, two different configurations of dump resistors (fixed and variable respectively) have been analysed and discussed. As a first result, it is possible to underline that the configuration with variable dump…
The European DEMO fusion reactor: Design status and challenges from balance of plant point of view
DEMO initial conceptual design studies are being conducted in Europe as part of the European Union Roadmap to Fusion Electricity, which aims to demonstrate the feasibility of electricity produced by nuclear fusion reactors around the middle of this century. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the DEMO project, highlighting its main characteristics and challenges in terms of design, integration, and operation. Particular emphasis is given on some important systems of the Balance of Plant (BoP), such as the primary heat transfer systems, the related power conversion systems, and the electrical power plant. The relevance of such systems is due to the need of a continuous reanaly…