Fusion Reactor Design Cuts Radioactive Tritium Buildup by 75 Percent
A new wall design for fusion reactors significantly reduces tritium retention—a major safety and operational concern for future power plants. Tests on Europe's JET tokamak show the upgraded interior cuts tritium accumulation dramatically compared to older carbon walls, advancing the case for commercial fusion energy viability.
Originaltitel: Overview of tritium retention in divertor tiles and dust particles from the JET tokamak with the ITER-like wall
<p>Divertor tiles after Joint European Torus-ITER like wall (JET-ILW) campaigns and dust collected after JET-C and JET-ILW operation were examined by a set of complementary techniques (full combustion and radiography) to determine the total, specific and areal tritium activities, poloidal tritium distribution in the divertor and the presence of that isotope in individual dust particles. In the divertor tiles, the majority of tritium is detected in the surface region and, the areal activities in the ILW divertor are in the 0.5-12 kBq cm-2 range. The activity in the ILW dust is associated mainly with the presence of carbon particles being a legacy from the JET-C operation. The total tritium activities show significant differences between the JET operation with ILW and the earlier phase with the carbon wall (JET-C) indicating that tritium retention has been significantly decreased in the operation with ILW.</p>