Neutron and hard X-ray measurements during pellet deposition in TFTR

Measurements of neutrons and hard x rays are made with a pair of plastic scintillators during injection of deuterium pellets into deuterium TFTR plasmas. Three cases are investigated. During ohmic heating in plasmas with few runaway electrons, the neutron emission does not increase when a pellet is injected, indicating that strong acceleration of the pellet ions does not occur. In ohmic plasmas with low but detectable levels of runaway electrons, an x-ray burst is observed on a detector near the pellet injector as the pellet ablates, while a detector displaced 126/sup 0/ toroidally from the injector does not measure a synchronous burst. Reduced pellet penetration correlates with the presence of x-ray emission, suggesting that the origin of the burst is bremsstrahlung from runaway electrons that strike the solid pellet. In deuterium beam-heated discharges, an increase in the d-d neutron emission is observed when the pellet ablates. In this case, the increase is due to fusion reactions between beam ions and the high density neutral and plasma cloud produced by ablation of the pellet; this localized density perturbation equilibrates in about 700 ..mu..sec. Analysis of the data indicates that the density propagates without forming a sharp shock front with a rapid initial propagation velocity (greater than or equal to 2 x 10/sup 7/ cm/sec) that subsequently decreases to around 3 x 10/sup 6/ cm/sec. Modelling suggests that the electron heat flux into the pellet cloud is much less than the classical Spitzer value

Second jet workshop on pellet injection: pellet fueling program in the United States. Summary

S. Milora described the US programme on pellet injection. It has four parts: (1) a confinement experimental program; (2) pellet injector development; (3) theoretical support; and (4) tritium pellet study for TFTR

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Results of hydrogen pellet injection into ISX-B

High speed pellet fueling experiments have been performed on the ISX-B device in a new regime characterized by large global density rise in both ohmic and neutral beam heated discharges. Hydrogen pellets of 1 mm in diameter were injected in the plasma midplane at velocities exceeding 1 km/s. In low temperature ohmic discharges, pellets penetrate beyond the magnetic axis, and in such cases a sharp decrease in ablation is observed as the pellet passes the plasma center. Density increases of approx. 300% have been observed without degrading plasma stability or confinement. Energy confinement time increases in agreement with the empirical scaling tau/sub E/ approx. n/sub e/ and central ion temperature increases as a result of improved ion-electron coupling. Laser-Thomson scattering and radiometer measurements indicate that the pellet interaction with the plasma is adiabatic. Penetration to r/a approx. 0.15 is optimal, in which case large amplitude sawtooth oscillations are observed and the density remains elevated. Gross plasma stability is dependent roughly on the amount of pellet penetration and can be correlated with the expected temporal evolution of the current density profile

Effects of fueling profiles on plasma transport

The effects of cold particle fueling profiles on particle and energy transport in an ignition sized tokamak plasma are investigated in this study with a one-dimensional, multifluid transport model. A density gradient driven trapped particle microinstability model for plasma transport is used to demonstrate potential effects of fueling profiles on ignition requirements. Important criteria for the development of improved transport models under the conditions of shallow particle fueling profiles are outlined. A discrete pellet fueling model indicates that large fluctuations in density and temperature may occur in the outer regions of the plasma with large, shallowly penetrating pellets, but fluctuations in the pressure profile are small. The hot central core of the plasma remains unaffected by the large fluctuations near the plasma edge

Characteristics of an electron-beam rocket pellet accelerator

A proof-of-principle (POP) electron-beam pellet accelerator has been developed and used for accelerating hydrogen and deuterium pellets. An intact hydrogen pellet was accelerated to a speed of 460 m/s by an electron beam of 13.5 keV. 0.3 A, and 2 ms. The maximum speed is limited by the acceleration path length (0.4 m) and pellet integrity. Experimental data have been collected for several hundred hydrogen pellets, which were accelerated by electron beams with parameters of voltage up to 16 kV, current up to 0.4 A, and pulse length up to 10 ms. Preliminary results reveal that the measured burn velocity increases roughly with the square of the beam voltage, as the theoretical model predicts. The final pellet velocity is proportional to the exhaust velocity, which increases with the beam power. To reach the high exhaust velocity needed for accelerating pellets to >1000 m/s, a new electron gun, with its cathode indirectly heated by a graphite heater and an electron beam, is being developed to increase beam current and power. A rocket casing or shell around the pellet has been designed and developed to increase pellet strength and improve the electron-rocket coupling efficiency. We present the characteristics of this pellet accelerator, including new improvements. 13 refs., 6 figs

Repetitive, small-bore two-stage light gas gun

A repetitive two-stage light gas gun for high-speed pellet injection has been developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In general, applications of the two-stage light gas gun have been limited to only single shots, with a finite time (at least minutes) needed for recovery and preparation for the next shot. The new device overcomes problems associated with repetitive operation, including rapidly evacuating the propellant gases, reloading the gun breech with a new projectile, returning the piston to its initial position, and refilling the first- and second-stage gas volumes to the appropriate pressure levels. In addition, some components are subjected to and must survive severe operating conditions, which include rapid cycling to high pressures and temperatures (up to thousands of bars and thousands of kelvins) and significant mechanical shocks. Small plastic projectiles (4-mm nominal size) and helium gas have been used in the prototype device, which was equipped with a 1-m-long pump tube and a 1-m-long gun barrel, to demonstrate repetitive operation (up to 1 Hz) at relatively high pellet velocities (up to 3000 m/s). The equipment is described, and experimental results are presented. 124 refs., 6 figs., 5 tabs

Pellet fueling development at ORNL

Advanced plasma fueling systems for magnetic confinement devices are being developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The general approach is that of producing and accelerating frozen hydrogenic pellets at speeds in the range of 1-2 km/s and higher. Two specific concepts are under development: (1) high-speed pneumatic acceleration; and (2) mechanical (centrifugal) acceleration. Both approaches are being pursued to meet the projected pellet size and delivery rates for major near-term plasma confinement devices, such as the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR), Tore Supra, the Joint European Torus (JET), JT-60, and Doublet III-D (DIII-D), as well as future applications. In addition to these confinement physics related activities, ORNL is pursuing advanced technologies to achieve pellet velocities significantly in excess of the 2-km/s range already attained with pneumatic injectors and has embarked on a development program designed to explore the feasibility of fabricating and accelerating tritium pellets. This paper describes these ongoing activities