WEST (formerly Tore Supra)
43°42′13″N 5°45′54″E / 43.703626°N 5.764968°E
MW | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Year(s) of operation | 2016– |
WEST, Tungsten (
WEST is situated at the nuclear research center of
Tore Supra holds the record of the longest plasma duration time for a tokamak (6 minutes 30 seconds[2] and over 1000 MJ of energy injected and extracted in 2003), and it allowed researchers to test critical parts of equipment such as plasma facing wall components or superconducting magnets that will be used in its successor, ITER.
Device parameters
Tore Supra as of 1988:
- Major plasma radius (machine centre to plasma centre) : 2.25 m
- Minor plasma radius: 0.70 m
- Toroidal magnetic field on the center of the plasma core: 4.5 T
- Plasma current: 1.7 MA
- Longest plasma discharge (predicted): 1000 s
- Auxiliary plasma heating (lower hybrid current drive): 20 MW
Tore Supra as of 2006 (parameters essentially the same):[3]
- Weight of NbTi superconductor : ~45 tonnes
- Maximum magnetic field on the conductor : 9.0 T
- Total magnetic energy : 600 MJ
- Weight of magnetic circuit : 830 tonnes
WEST as of 2018:[4]
- Major plasma radius (machine centre to plasma centre) : 2.5 m
- Minor plasma radius: 0.50 m
- Toroidal magnetic field on the center of the plasma core: 3.7 T
- Plasma current: 1 MA
- Longest plasma discharge (predicted): 1000 s
- Auxiliary plasma heating (lower hybrid current drive): 17 MW
Tore Supra Operation 1988–2010
By 1998 it had produced over 20,000 plasma shots of up to 2 minutes duration.[5]
Between 2000 and 2002 the vacuum chamber was completely renewed/relined.[6] increasing the power extraction by active cooling to 25 MW (to allow longer plasma duration).[7]
In Dec 2003 it achieved a record 6.5 minute plasma[2] This was plasma shot #32299, Lower hybrid power ~2.9 MW, total injected energy ~1.1 GJ, plasma current ~500 kA, nl ~ 2.6x1019 m−2.[5]
WEST
Beginning in March 2013[8] Tore Supra underwent an extensive refit, including new poloidal coils to achieve diverted operation, a new cooling system, and all-metal cladding, mainly for experiments on tungsten divertor technology for ITER.[9] The reactor was renamed WEST, for "Tungsten (chemical symbol "W") Environment in Steady-state Tokamak".[10] WEST achieved first plasma in December 2016.[11]
References
- ^ "WEST – Tungsten (W) Environment in Steady-state Tokamak". WEST: Tungsten (W) Environment in Steady-state Tokamak. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- ^ a b 6.5-minute pulse in Tore Supra. Dec 2003
- ^ THE TORE SUPRA TOKAMAK
- ^ "WEST main plasma parameters". WEST: Tungsten (W) Environment in Steady-state Tokamak. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
- ^ a b Tore Supra, description, results. Select 6. main/major results
- ^ Chambre à vide de Tore Supra
- ^ Tore Supra, description, results. Select 4. Extracting power
- ^ At 25 Tore Supra is looking WESTward
- ^ First plasma for WEST fusion reactor (World Nuclear News, 19 December 2016)
- ^ WEST winds up for fusion. Dec 2015
- ^ "WEST: first plasma shot announcement". Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
External links
- Tore Supra Official Site CEA(in French)
- Tore Supra Official Site – in English
- Tore Supra photos
- Tore Supra video gallery
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