Tritium Facilities for the LMJ Cryogenic Targets

Two major Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) projects are currently in progress. The US program at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which has taken its first firing of a cryogenic target with DT fuel this year, mainly relies on cryogenic targets with capillary filled capsule. For the French ICF...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fusion science and technology 2011-10, Vol.60 (3), p.885-888
Main Authors: Vincent-Viry, O., Bachelet, F., Collier, R., Fleury, E., Legaie, O., Jeannot, L., Perin, J. P., Viargues, F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Commissioning
Cooling
Firing
Fuels
Gloveboxes
Inertial confinement fusion
Permeation
Tritium
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Two major Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) projects are currently in progress. The US program at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which has taken its first firing of a cryogenic target with DT fuel this year, mainly relies on cryogenic targets with capillary filled capsule. For the French ICF experiments carried out on the Laser MegaJoule (LMJ), the nominal filling path of cryogenic target assemblies (CTAs) is permeation of DT fuel through the microshell. The CEA Valduc tritium facilities, where targets are filled, are thus original installations with specific designs and technologies. This paper deals with the description of the tritium facilities for the LMJ cryogenic targets (twelve gloveboxes are needed to deliver 6 CTAs at the same time). After a short presentation of the whole gloveboxes chain, the paper will focus on the heart of the plant: the filling and cooling station (IRCC: 4 gloveboxes). 3 out of 4 of these gloveboxes (LCCR, LCTC and LCPC) are at the moment under commissioning at the manufacturer's site. The last one (LCGC) has been delivered to CEA Valduc and is currently under testing with deuterium. A description of the IRCC design and specifications is given as well as the main results of the commissioning process.
ISSN:1536-1055
1943-7641
DOI:10.13182/FST11-A12559