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Fusion Science and Technology
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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
C. Mistrangelo, A. R. Raffray, Aries Team
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 4 | November 2007 | Pages 849-854
Technical Paper | First Wall, Blanket, and Shield | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1598
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A dual coolant Pb-17Li (DCLL) blanket concept has been selected as reference design for the ARIES-CS compact stellarator power plant study. This configuration is characterized by helium cooled first wall and ferritic steel structures, and a self-cooled breeding zone. Flow channel inserts (FCIs) made of silicon carbide (SiC) composite are placed in the PbLi channels, serving both as thermal and electrical insulator. The goal is to optimize the Pb-17Li inlet and outlet temperatures for high power cycle efficiency while accommodating the material temperature limits, providing reasonable flow distribution and maintaining an acceptable pressure drop.A numerical study of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows in the poloidal channels that distribute the liquid metal in the breeder units has been carried out to assess the performance of such a concept with regard to the above mentioned goals and constraints. The analysis considers the electrical coupling between adjacent poloidal ducts and the influence of various parameters such as the electric conductivity of the SiC insert and the orientation of the magnetic field.