STUDY OF A SPHERICAL TOKAMAK BASED VOLUMETRIC NEUTRON SOURCE

With the worldwide development of fusion power focusing on the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), develo pmental strategies for the demonstration fusion power plant (DEMO) are being: discussed. A relatively prudent strategy is to construct and o perate a small deuterium-tritium fuelled volumetric neutron source (VN S) in parallel with ITER. The VNS is to provide, over a period less th an 20 years, a relatively high fusion neutron fluence of 6 MW year m(- 2) and wall loading of 1 MW m(-2) or more, over an accessible blanket test area of more than 10 m(2). Such a VNS would complement ITER in te sting, developing, and qualifying nuclear technology components, mater ials, and their combinations for DEMO and future commercial power plan ts. The effort of this study has established the potential of the sphe rical tokamak as a credible VNS concept that satisfies the above requi rements. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.