Operational status of the superconducting system for LHD

Large Helical Device (LHD) is a heliotron-type experimental fusion device which has the capability of confining current-less and steady-state plasma. The primary feature on the engineering aspect of LHD is using superconducting (SC) coils for magnetic confinement: two pool boiling helical coils (H1, H2) and three pairs of forced-flow poloidal coils (IV, IS, OV). These coils are connected to the power supplies by SC bus-lines. Five plasma experimental campaigns have been performed successfully in four years from 1998. The fifth operation cycle started in August 2001 and finished in March 2002. We have succeeded to obtain high plasma parameters such as 10 keV of electron temperature, 5 keV of ion temperature and beta value of 3.2%. The operational histories of the SC coils, the SC bus-lines and the cryogenic system have been demonstrating high reliability of the large scale SC system. The operational status and the results of device engineering experiments are summarized

Stable long-term operation of superconducting current-feeder system for the LHD

A superconducting (SC) current-feeder system is used as the current transmission lines for the experimental fusion device, LRD. It consists of nine flexible SC bus lines with total length of 497 m, and nine pairs of gas-cooled current leads. To avoid the propagation of the ice on the leads, the temperature of the terminals had been kept in the range between 5 and 20 degrees C by the heaters. The measured voltage drops of all leads were less than 20 mV. The liquid helium levels of the leads and the sub-cooler tank will equalize by the siphon method. The total time of the coil excitations exceeds 3000 hours. We have demonstrated successfully that the SC current-feeder system was stable and easy to handle, and is useful for the SC experimental fusion device

Transmission of survival signals through Delta-like 1 on activated CD4+ T cells

Notch expressed on CD4+ T cells transduces signals that mediate their effector functions and survival. Although Notch signaling is known to be cis-inhibited by Notch ligands expressed on the same cells, the role of Notch ligands on T cells remains unclear. In this report we demonstrate that the CD4+ T cell Notch ligand Dll1 transduces signals required for their survival. Co-transfer of CD4+ T cells from Dll1−/− and control mice into recipient mice followed by immunization revealed a rapid decline of CD4+ T cells from Dll1−/− mice compared with control cells. Dll1−/− mice exhibited lower clinical scores of experimental autoimmune encephalitis than control mice. The expression of Notch target genes in CD4+ T cells from Dll1−/− mice was not affected, suggesting that Dll1 deficiency in T cells does not affect cis Notch signaling. Overexpression of the intracellular domain of Dll1 in Dll1-deficient CD4+ T cells partially rescued impaired survival. Our data demonstrate that Dll1 is an independent regulator of Notch-signaling important for the survival of activated CD4+ T cells, and provide new insight into the physiological roles of Notch ligands as well as a regulatory mechanism important for maintaining adaptive immune responses

Development of 1 MJ Conduction-Cooled LTS Pulse Coil for UPS-SMES

A 1 MW, 1 s UPS-SMES is being developed for a protection from a momentary voltage drop and an instant power failure. As a key technology of the UPS-SMES, we developed a prototype LTS pulse coil with a stored energy of 100 kJ and conducted cooling and excitation tests in 2005. The operation test of the prototype UPS-SMES using this 100 kJ coil with power converters have been performed in 2006. A 1 MJ coil was designed before the fabrication of the 100 kJ prototype coil. The superconductor, the electric insulation technique, the winding method, and the cooling structure used for the 100 kJ coil were based upon the 1 MJ coil design. The successful performance test results of the prototype 100 kJ coil validated the design concept and fabrication technique of the 1 MJ coil. According to the achievement of the prototype 100 kJ UPS-SMES, the 1 MJ conduction-cooled LTS pulse coil has been fabricated successfully. The successful experimental results of the 100 kJ prototype coil with power converters and the fabrication procedure of the 1 MJ full size coil are described

First Cool-Down Performance of the LHD

The first cool-down test of the Large Helical Device (LHD) and the performance of the LHD cryogenic system during the first cycle operation are described. The first cool-down started on Feb. 23, 1998 and finished on Mar. 22. After the cool-down, the excitation tests of the SC coils up to 1.5 T and the first cycle operations for plasma physics experiments were conducted until May 18. The first cycle operation was successfully completed after the warm-up process to room temperature from May 19 to Jun. 15. The cooling characteristics of the LHD, such as temperature distribution during cool-down, heat loads under steady state condition, reliability during long-term operation, are reporte

Thermal hydraulic characteristics study of prototype NET and CEA cable-in-conduit conductors (CICCs)

The thermal hydraulic characteristics of low temperature helium in a Cable-in-Conduit Conductor (CICC) significantly affects the overall design and performance of the associated large scale superconducting magnet system. It is essential to understand the transient and steady state behavior of the helium in the conductor. Throughout the development of CICCs, the reduction of flow impedance has been one of the key factors to improving the overall pressure drop. The newly developed CICC for the ITER project has a hybrid cooling scheme: a central channel that is surrounded by bundles, for which the thermal hydraulic characteristics are not well understood. This thesis describes an experimental and analytical investigation of thermal hydraulic characteristics of low temperature helium in conventional and hybrid CICCS. Pressure drop measurements for both NET and CEA conductors have been conducted, using low temperature helium and liquid nitrogen to obtain a range of Reynolds numbers. The results are correlated with classical friction factor and Reynolds number analysis. The flow impedance reduction of the CEA conductor is described by measures of a developed flow model. Thermally induced flow in the CEA conductor has been studied with an inductive heating method. The induced velocity in the central channel is measured by a Pitot tube with steady state Reynolds number up to {approximately}7000. The transient pressure wave propagation has been recorded with pressure transducers placed equally along the conductor. The supercritical helium temperature in the central channel has been measured with the thermometer probe. However, the reduction of the central channel area significantly affects the overall thermal hydraulic characteristics of the conductor. The results suggest the importance of the central channel. A transient heat transfer experiment studied the.transverse heat transfer mechanism in the CEA conductor. The temperatures in the central channel and bundle region were measured with different sized heat pulses. The results are discussed in terms of a heat transfer model which is based upon the communication of the helium in the central channel and bundle

Myeloid molecular characteristics of human γδ T cells support their acquisition of tumor antigen-presenting capacity

Human T cells expressing γδ T cell receptor have a potential to show antigen-presenting cell-like phenotype and function upon their activation. However, the mechanisms that underlie the alterations in human γδ T cells remain largely unclear. In this study, we have investigated the molecular characteristics of human γδ T cells related to their acquisition of antigen-presenting capacity in comparison with activated αβ T cells. We found that activated γδ but not αβ T cells upregulated cell surface expression of a scavenger receptor, CD36, which seemed to be mediated by signaling through mitogen-activated protein kinase and/or NF-κB pathways. Confocal microscopical analysis revealed that activated γδ T cells can phagocytose protein antigens. Activated γδ T cells could induce tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cells using both apoptotic and live tumor cells as antigen resources. Furthermore, we detected that C/EBPα, a critical transcription factor for the development of myeloid-lineage cells, is expressed much higher in γδ T cells than in αβ T cells. These results unveiled the molecular mechanisms for the elicitation of antigen-presenting functions in γδ T cells and would also help designing new approaches for γδ T cell-mediated human cancer immunotherapy

System identification and robust anti-windup control for a helium liquifier

This paper addresses the system identification and advanced control of a helium (He) liquifier supplying cooling power at liquid helium (LHe) temperatures (-269 °C). To study the dynamic response to heat load variation, a He liquifier simulation model is utilized. The main focus is to regulate the discharge pressure of the compressor station to guarantee stable system operation. System identification is first conducted to obtain plant models, and a two degree of freedom H ∞ controller is designed to achieve regulation. Moreover, saturation of the control valve is compensated via an anti-windup technique, which is suitable for regulation problem with disturbance rejection. The effectiveness of the proposed control designs is demonstrated by dynamical simulations in EcosimPro (EA International) software

An Optimal Control Approach for an Overall Cryogenic Plant Under Pulsed Heat Loads

This work deals with the optimal management of a cryogenic plant composed by parallel refrigeration plants, which provide supercritical helium to pulsed heat loads. First, a data reconciliation approach is proposed to estimate precisely the refrigerator variables necessary to deduce the efficiency of each refrigerator. Second, taking into account these efficiencies, an optimal operation of the system is proposed and studied. Finally, while minimizing the power consumption of the refrigerators, the control system maintains stable operation of the cryoplant under pulsed heat loads. The management of the refrigerators is carried out by an upper control layer, which balances the relative production of cooling power in each refrigerator. In addition, this upper control layer deals with the mitigation of malfunctions and faults in the system. The proposed approach has been validated using a dynamic model of the cryoplant developed with EcosimPro software, based on first principles (mass and energy balances) and thermo-hydraulic equations