CONFIGURATION AND ENGINEERING DESIGN OF THE ARIES-RS TOKAMAK POWER-PLANT

ARIES-RS is a conceptual design study which has examined the potential of an advanced tokamak-based power plant to compete with future energ y sources and play a significant role in the future energy market. The design is a 1000 MWe, DT-burning fusion power plant based on the reve rsed-shear tokamak mode of plasma operation, and using moderately adva nced engineering concepts such as lithium-cooled vanadium-alloy plasma -facing components. A steady-state reversed shear tokamak currently ap pears to offer the best combination of good economic performance and p hysics credibility for a tokamak-based power plant. The ARIES-RS engin eering design process emphasized the attainment of the top-level missi on requirements developed in the early part of the study in a collabor ative effort between the ARIES Team and representatives from U.S. elec tric utilities and industry. Major efforts were devoted to develop a c redible configuration that allows rapid removal of full sectors follow ed by disassembly in the hot cells during plant operation. This was ad opted as the only practical means to meet availability goals. Use of a n electrically insulating coating for the self-cooled blanket and dive rtor provides a wide design window and simplified design. Optimization of the shield, which is one of the larger cost items, significantly r educed the power core cost by using ferritic steel where the power den sity and radiation levels are low. An additional saving is made by rad ial segmentation of the blanket, such that large segments can be reuse d. The overall tokamak configuration is described here, together with each of the major fusion power core components: the first-wall, blanke t and shield; divertor; heating, current drive and fueling systems; an d magnet systems. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.