Nuclear Energy in the Future

Brad Nelson

Chief Engineer, US ITER

The ITER Project

Presentation for

NE-50 Symposium on the

Future of Nuclear Energy

November 1, 2012

Fusion research is ready for the next step –

A self-heated “burning” Plasma

11/1/2012 NE 50 ITER 2

We Have Produced Fusion Power

NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 3

Joint European Torus (JET) is largest existing

tokamak,

The next step is ITER:

JET

~15 m

ITER

~29 m

NE 50 ITER

R=6.2 m, a=2.0 m, Ip=15 MA, B

T=5.3 T, 23,000 tons

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500 MW fusion power, gain (Q) of 10

Fusion has made steady progress,

ITER goal is a big step

11/1/2012 6

ITER is a special partnership to address

a global challenge and opportunity

Mission:

to demonstrate

the scientific and

technological

feasibility of

fusion energy

Partnership:

a unique arrangement of nations jointly responsible for

construction, operation, and decommissioning

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The Signatories of the ITER Agreement Elysée Palace, Paris: November 21, 2006

with French President Jacques Chirac, in Paris, France, on November 21, 2006. From left to right: Vladimir Travin (Deputy Director of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, Russian Federation), Kim Woo Sik (Vice Prime-Minister,

Ministry of Science and Technology, Korea), Takeshi Iwaya (Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan), José Manuel Barroso (President of the

European Commission), Jacques Chirac (President of the French Republic), Xu Guanhua (Minister of Science and Technology, People's

Republic of China), Anil Kakodhar (Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy), Dr. Raymond Orbach (Under

Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy), and Janez Potočnik (European Commissioner for Science and Research).

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Negotiated Value Proposition

Benefit Sharing

• Equal access to data

• Right to propose and

conduct experiments

• Participation in design

and access to design

information

• U.S. industry role in

manufacturing high-

technology components

• Joint ownership of

intellectual property

Cost Sharing (mostly in-kind)

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ITER – site is in France

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ITER – site is in France

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The ITER Site Plan shows ITER scope

Magnet Power Convertor Buildings

(500 MW Pulsed)

Cryoplant Building (85 kw @ 4.5k, 1300 kw @80K)

Hot Cell

Cooling Towers

(1200 MW)

Tokamak / Assy Buildings

2x750 ton cranes 170 m long

PF Assy Building

Birdseye View of the ITER Site

• Will cover about 60 ha (150 acres)

• Large number of systems

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The ITER Site Plan shows ITER scope

Magnet Power Convertor Buildings

(500 MW Pulsed)

Cryoplant Building (85 kw @ 4.5k, 1300 kw @80K)

Hot Cell

Cooling Towers

(1200 MW)

Tokamak / Assy Buildings

2x750 ton cranes 170 m long

PF Assy Building

Birdseye View of the ITER Site

• Will cover about 60 ha (150 acres)

• Large number of systems

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ITER Today – construction in progress

NE 50 ITER 14 Photos by ITER organization NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 14

ITER Today – construction in progress

NE 50 ITER 15 Photos by ITER organization NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 15

ITER Today – construction in progress

NE 50 ITER 16 Photos by ITER organization NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 16

ITER Today – construction in progress

NE 50 ITER 17 Photos by ITER organization NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 17

ITER Today – construction in progress

NE 50 ITER 18 Photos by ITER organization NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 18

ITER Today – construction in progress

NE 50 ITER 19 Photos by ITER organization NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 19

ITER Tokamak Building – Defined by Levels

L5

L4

L3

L2

L1

B1

B2

Seismic bearing pedestals

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ITER Tokamak Core in Building

9/18/2012 NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 21

• First Plasma November 2020

• ~20 years operation

ITER Level 0 Construction Schedule

First plasma

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How do we:

• Provide specified magnetic field over a large volume?

• Protect the device from high heat flux and neutrons?

• Heat the plasma and drive the plasma current?

• Diagnose the plasma?

• Fuel the plasma?

• Maintain the device over time?

ITER has many engineering challenges

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The Core of ITER

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ITER’s Magnet System

Toroidal field (TF) coils produce confining/ stabilizing toroidal field

Poloidal field (PF) coils position and shape plasma

Central solenoid (CS) coil induces current in the plasma

Magnet System weighs ~ 8,700 tons (same as frigate USS Bainbridge) NE 50 ITER 25

Magnets are unprecedented in size and

performance for fusion systems

TF coils

11.8 Tesla, 41 GJ

40,000 tons centering force

40 mm dia

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Magnets are unprecedented in size and

performance for fusion systems

40 mm dia

TF conductor, as formed into

pancakes

TF conductor close-up

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TF conductor is being delivered

Over 70% of required 450t of Nb3Sn strand

has been produced around the world

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TF coils are being constructed now

A1 Segment

B3 Segment

TF Coil ~360 t, 16 m Tall x 9 m Wide

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Magnets are unprecedented in size and

performance for fusion systems

Central Solenoid

13 Tesla, 7 GJ

30 kV, 1.2 T/s 6 coil modules in stack

NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 30

Magnets are unprecedented in size and

performance for fusion systems

Central Solenoid

13 Tesla, 7 GJ

30 kV, 1.2 T/s 6 coil modules in stack

Single CS module, 553 turns

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Central Solenoid Conductor

NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 32

Insulation wrapping machine

CS conductor with cabling exposed

• Nb3Sn cable in conduit • 45 kA max current at ~13T • > 40 km finished conductor required

Conductor forming trials

Inside the magnet set are the vacuum

vessel and in-vessel components

Toroidal

Field Coil

Poloidal

Field Coils

Vacuum Vessel 9 sectors

Blanket 440 modules

Divertor 54 cassettes

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Vacuum vessel is the plasma chamber

• Double walled, water-cooled, stainless steel structure provides high quality vacuum and first confinement barrier for radioactive materials.

• Prototype constructed to prove feasibility of double wall construction with prototypic size and tolerances.

• Vessel must be protected from the plasma.

+/- 15 mm

2000 m3

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Vacuum vessel is the plasma chamber

• Double walled, water-cooled, stainless steel structure provides high quality vacuum and first confinement barrier for radioactive materials.

• Prototype constructed to prove feasibility of double wall construction with prototypic size and tolerances.

• Vessel must be protected from the plasma.

+/- 15 mm

2000 m3

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Plasma interacts with surfaces

Photos courtesy JET

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Divertor Exhausts a Major Part of Plasma

Heating Power and Helium “Ash”

Divertor Cassette (upgradeable) Challenge:

Absorb 10–20 MW/m2 heat flux while minimizing

impurity influx, tritium retention

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First Wall and Blanket Take Balance of

Neutron Radiation and Plasma Heat Load

• To remove the useful neutron power and most of the particle power

in the plasma

• To provide shielding of the vacuum vessel structure and S/C coils

• To help in passive stabilization of the plasma

The blanket serves three main functions:

38

First Wall Plasma Heat Load requires

special technology

NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 39 Ref: Raffray

Plasma Heating/Current Drive Require

Multiple Systems

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~ 50 Diagnostics Monitor Plasma Behavior

Must Survive Harsh Operating Conditions

NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 41

ITER relative to JET High neutron and gamma fluxes (up to x 10)

Neutron heating (1 MW/m3) (essentially zero)

High fluxes of energetic neutral particles from CX (up to x5)

Long pulse lengths (up to x 100)

High neutron fluence (> 105 ! )

Fueling of plasma by frozen pellets

Pellet injection to achieve

efficient core fueling

Protium, Deuterium and Tritium Pellets

@ 14° Kelvin

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Test Blanket modules demonstrate

tritium breeding technology

• Tritium breeding is necessary for the fusion fuel cycle.

• Several breeding blanket concepts are under consideration.

• ITER provides three equatorial ports for test blanket modules.

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Other challenges

In addition to challenges already discussed

(related to component performance requirements

and design), there are global challenges.

• Availability issues

– Reliability issues

– Remote Maintenance issues

– Vacuum quality, leaks, and in-situ leak detection

• Safety and interaction with regulators

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Blanket maintenance requires in-vessel

rail and vehicle

• Maintenance system deployed through 4 ports, requires rail, vehicle,

system to hand components from vehicle to port, etc.

• Larger-scale system built and tested in JA.

• Development of new system will include significant deployment and

use during machine assembly.

1 blanket in months, all in ~2 years

Demonstration of

• Blanket module handling

• Rail deployment NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 45

What ITER Means for the US

• Create, understand, and control a reactor-prototypical fusion plasma

• Demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of a promising virtually inexhaustible and relatively clean energy source

• Position the US to provide fusion-reactor technology

• Create high-tech jobs and work in the US

• International partnership: working together toward a global goal.

NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 46

US Scope is provided by multiple

institutions

NE 50 ITER

ORNL 100% Central Solenoid

Windings + JA Support

ORNL

8% of Toroidal Field Conductor

+ JA Support

ORNL 100% Pellet Injector

100% Disruption Mitigation

ORNL Blanket/Shield

(design only)

ORNL 100% Tokamak Cooling

Water System

PPPL 75% Steady State Electrical Network

PPPL 14% of Port-based

Diagnostics

ORNL 88% Ion Cyclotron Transmission Lines

ORNL 88% Electron

Cyclotron Transmission Lines

PPPL In-Vessel Coils

(prelim. design only)

ORNL 100% Roughing Pumps,

Vacuum Standard Components

SRNL 100% Tokamak Exhaust

Processing System

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US Scope is highly integrated with

central ITER core

NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 48

Cooling Water System

ICH Transmission

Lines

Vacuum

System

TF Coil Conductor

Blanket/Shield Design

Pellet Injection System Disruption Mitigation

Port Diagnostics

Central Solenoid

ECH Transmission

Lines

TEP SSEN

Over 80% of Project Funding will be Spent in the US

As of June 2012,

over $808M

(in total value with options)

has been awarded to US

industry, universities, and

DOE laboratories in 38

states plus DC.

Note: This data does not reflect contracts Awarded to US Industry by the EU (>$55M) or Korea (>$23M)

NE 50 ITER 11/1/2012 49

Summary

• The ITER project combines the expertise from around

the world to build the first fusion reactor – China, EU,

India, Japan, Korea, Russian Federation and the U.S.

• An international organization is already operating in

Cadarache, France, where ITER is under

construction.

• There are many engineering challenges, but each can

be met.

• ITER is proceeding toward a first plasma in 2020.

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