Search results for "Thermonuclear fusion"
showing 10 items of 12 documents
Gasdynamic ECR ion source for negative ion production
2018
H− ion sources are needed in various areas of accelerator technology, such as beam injection into cyclotrons and storage rings and as a part of neutral beam injectors for plasma heating in experimental facilities studying thermonuclear fusion. It was recently demonstrated that gasdynamic ion source based on ECR discharge in a simple mirror trap is very efficient for proton beam production [1]. Here we use the gasdynamic plasma source as the first stage driver of volumetric negative ion production through dissociative electron attachment (DEA) [2]. Experiments were performed with a pulsed 37 GHz / up to 100 kW gyrotron radiation in a dual-trap magnetic system, which consists of two identical…
Tritium retention in plasma facing materials of JET ITER-Like-Wall retrieved from the vacuum vessel in 2012 (ILW1), 2014 (ILW2) and 2016 (ILW3)
2021
Abstract ITER-Like-Wall (ILW) project has been carried out at Joint European Torus (JET) to test plasma facing materials relevant to International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor – ITER [1]. Limiters and an upper dump plate of the vacuum vessel are made of bulk beryllium tiles, whereas for the divertor bulk tungsten and tungsten-coated carbon fibre (CFC) composite tiles are used. During the shutdowns in ILW1 (2012), ILW2 (2014) and ILW3 (2016), selected beryllium tiles were removed from the vacuum vessel. In this study, tiles from three positions were analysed, and analysis results were compared regarding both the tile position in the vacuum vessel and differences in the exploitation con…
Simulation of cluster impact fusion
1992
We report molecular dynamics simulations of the impact of TiD clusters on TiD targets. In each cluster collision the total fusion probability seems to be due to a single deuterium deuterium collision. The kinetic energies of incident deuterium atoms gradually level off around the initial cluster energy, but do not reach the high energy tail of a corresponding Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Neither any other support for a thermonuclear fusion mechanism was observed. On the contrary, our simulations imply that the enhanced fusion rate is rather due to channeled many atom collision cascade type mechanism.
Low-level gamma-ray spectrometry for analysing fusion plasma conditions
2008
Abstract A new method, combining activation by neutrons and charged particles with ultra low-level gamma-ray spectrometry, aimed at obtaining a better understanding and more adequate measurements of MeV particle leaks in magnetic fusion devices was studied here. A total of 36 samples containing Ti, LiF, B 4 C and W were placed in a boron-nitride holder mounted on the ceiling of the JET Tokamak. The samples were activated by 63 pulses from a D– 3 He plasma and were later measured using underground gamma-ray spectrometry. The radionuclides 7 Be, 46 Sc, 54 Mn, 56 Co, 57 Co, 58 Co, 124 Sb, 181 Hf, 182 Ta, 181 W and 185 W were detected in several of the samples, with very low levels of activity …
Nuclear Level Density and the Determination of Thermonuclear Rates for Astrophysics
1997
The prediction of cross sections for nuclei far off stability is crucial in the field of nuclear astrophysics. We discuss the model mostly employed for such calculations: the statistical model (Hauser-Feshbach). Special emphasis is put on the uncertainties arising from nuclear level density descriptions and an improved global description is presented. Furthermore, criteria for the applicability of the statistical model are investigated and a "map" for the applicability of the model to reactions of stable and unstable nuclei with neutral and charged particles is given.
Thermonuclear reactionS30(p,γ)Cl31studied via Coulomb breakup ofCl31
2014
Coulomb breakup at high energy in inverse kinematics of proton-rich Cl-31 was used to constrain the thermonuclear S-30(p,gamma)Cl-31 capture reaction rate under typical Type I x-ray burst conditions. This reaction is a bottleneck during rapid proton-capture nucleosynthesis (rp process), where its rate depends predominantly on the nuclear structure of Cl-31. Two low-lying states just above the proton-separation threshold of S-p = 296( 50) keV in Cl-31 have been identified experimentally using the (RB)-B-3-LAND setup at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung GmbH. Both states are considered to play a key role in the thermonuclear S-30( p,gamma)Cl-31 capture reaction. Excitation ene…
Discovery of an Exceptionally Strong β -Decay Transition of F20 and Implications for the Fate of Intermediate-Mass Stars
2019
A significant fraction of stars between 7 and 11 solar masses are thought to become supernovae, but the explosion mechanism is unclear. The answer depends critically on the rate of electron capture on ^{20}Ne in the degenerate oxygen-neon stellar core. However, because of the unknown strength of the transition between the ground states of ^{20}Ne and ^{20}F, it has not previously been possible to fully constrain the rate. By measuring the transition, we establish that its strength is exceptionally large and that it enhances the capture rate by several orders of magnitude. This has a decisive impact on the evolution of the core, increasing the likelihood that the star is (partially) disrupte…
Electron recombination with tungsten ions with open f-shells
2017
We calculate the electron recombination rates with target ions W$^{q+}$, $q = 18$ -- $25$, as functions of electron energy and electron temperature (i.e. the rates integrated over the Maxwellian velocity distribution). Comparison with available experimental data for W$^{18+}$, W$^{19+}$, and W$^{20+}$ is used as a test of our calculations. Our predictions for W$^{21+}$, W$^{22+}$, W$^{23+}$, W$^{24+}$, and W$^{25+}$ (where the experimental data are not available) may be used for plasma modelling in thermonuclear reactors. The results for the temperature dependent rates for each ion are fitted with the standard analytical expressions to make them easy to use. All of these ions have an open e…
3-D Shielding Analyses of the Vertical and Mid-Plane Ports in ITER
1996
A three dimensional (3-D) shielding analysis of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) has been performed with the aim of calculating the nuclear heating on the magnet system, correlating it to the existing vertical and horizontal ports. When these openings are left unshielded, more than 50 kW are calculated for the upper half of Toroidal Field Coil system and two of the Poloidal Field Coils. A simple plug, with same thickness as of the vacuum vessel can lower the heating to meet the imposed requirements. 5 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs.
Stability of gyrotron operation in very high-order modes
2012
This study was motivated by the desire to increase the power, which can be delivered by gyrotrons in long pulse and continuous regimes. Since the admissible power level is determined by the density of ohmic losses in resonator walls, to increase the radiated power a gyrotron should operate in higher order modes. Using an existing gyrotron developed for plasma experiments in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor as a base model, the stability of operation of such a gyrotron in modes with larger number of radial variations was studied. It is shown that the power level achievable in such gyrotrons in stable single mode regimes is close to 1.5 MW. The power level 1.7–1.8 MW can b…