As part of the International Thermonuclear Engineering Reactor (ITER) plasma fueling development program, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has fabricated a pellet injection system to test the mechanical and thermal properties of extruded tritium. This repeating, single-stage, pneumatic injector, called the Tritium-Proof-of-Principle Phase II (TPOP-II) Pellet Injector, has a piston-driven mechanical extruder and is designed to extrude and accelerate hydrogenic pellets sized for the ITER device. The TPOP-II program has the following development goals: evaluate the feasibility of extruding tritium and deuterium-tritium (0-T) mixtures for use in future pellet injection systems; determine the mechanical and thermai properties of tritium and D-T extrusions; integrate, test, and evaluate the extruder in a repeating, single-stage light gas gun that is sized for the ITER application (pellet diameter -7 to 8 mm); evaluate options for recycling propellant and extruder exhaust gas; evaluate operability and reliability of ITER prototypical fueling systems in an environment of significant tritium inventory that requires secondary and room containment systems.In tests with deuterium feed at ORNL, up to 13 pellets have been extruded at rates up to 1 Hz and accelerated to speeds of 1 .O to 1.1 km/s, using hydrogen propellant gas at a supply pressure of 65 bar. Initially, deuterium pellets 7.5 mm in diameter and 11 mm in length were producedthe largest cryogenic pellets produced by the fusion program to date. These pellets represent about a 10% density perturbation to ITER. Subsequently, the extruder nozzle was modified to produce pellets which are nearly 7.5 mm right circular cylinders. Tritium and D-T pellets have been produced in experiments at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA). Hydrogenic pellets will be used in ITER to sustain the fusion power in the plasma core and may be crucial in reducing first-wall tritium inventories by a process called isotopic fueling in which tritium-rich pellets fuel the burning plasma core and deuterium gas fuels the edge.

Monitoring the breathing air in tritium facility

This report is a collection of reliability and maintenance data on several types of radiation protection instrumentation. Some radiation detectors are used for personnel safety; others are used for environmental stewardship. Six types of instruments are addressed in this report. These are: continuous air monitors, tritium room air monitors, facility vent stack monitors, tritium bubbler monitors, tritium in effluent water monitors, and general purpose radiation survey meters. Literature searches, operating experience data, and occurrence reports were used to identify failure modes and to estimate quantitative failure rates for several general types of radiation protection instruments. Likewise, data on instrument repair has been found when possible and used to estimate the mean time to repair. These data can be useful for facility safety assessment, personnel safety assessment, environment assessment, and for equipment and labor planning purposes.

The Safety, Tritium and Applied Research facility at the Idaho National Laboratory is a US Department of Energy National User Facility engaged in various aspects of materials research for nuclear applications related to fusion and advanced fission systems. Research activities are mainly focused on the interaction of tritium with materials, in particular plasma facing components, liquid breeders, high temperature coolants, fuel cladding, cooling and blanket structures and heat exchangers. Other activities include validation and verification experiments in support of the Fusion Safety Program, such as beryllium dust reactivity and dust transport in vacuum vessels, and support of Advanced Test Reactor irradiation experiments. This paper presents an overview of the programs engaged in the activities, which include the US-Japan TITAN collaboration, the US ITER program, the Next Generation Power Plant program and the tritium production program, and a presentation of ongoing experiments as well as a summary of recent results with emphasis on fusion relevant materials.

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