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Latest News
WEST claims latest plasma confinement record
The French magnetic confinement fusion tokamak known as WEST maintained a plasma in February for more than 22 minutes—1,337 seconds, to be precise—and “smashed” the previous record plasma duration for a tokamak with a 25 percent improvement, according to the CEA, which operates the machine. The previous 1,006-second record was set by China’s EAST just a few weeks prior. Records are made to be broken, but this rapid progress illustrates a collective, global increase in plasma confinement expertise, aided by tungsten in key components.
S. A. W. Gerstl, Donald J. Dudziak, D. W. Muir
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 62 | Number 1 | January 1977 | Pages 137-156
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE77-A26945
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A computational method to determine cross-section requirements quantitatively is described and applied to the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). To provide a rational basis for the priorities assigned to new cross-section measurements or evaluations, this method includes 1. quantitative estimates of the uncertainty of currently available data 2. the sensitivity of important nuclear design parameters to selected cross sections 3. the accuracy desired in predicting nuclear design parameters. Perturbation theory is used to combine estimated cross-section uncertainties with calculated sensitivities to determine the variance of any nuclear design parameter of interest. The paper extends the theory for cross-section sensitivity and uncertainty analysis and gives formulas for convenient upper-limit estimates for the variance of integral design parameters due to estimated cross-section uncertainties. The application to the TFTR activation analysis predicts an upper limit for the uncertainty of the calculated personnel dose rate from activated reactor components of∼45% due to all estimated cross-section errors. Since this upper limit is within the accuracy requirement of ≤50% for the calculated maximum allowable personnel dose rate, it is concluded that all nuclear data used for the TFTR activation analysis are adequate in this application.