Recent results at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly

The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) project at Los Alamos is charged with developing and demonstrating the tritium technology required for the magnetic fusion energy program. Since June 1987 the project has been operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory under the joint funding of the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). At TSTA the technology under development includes reactor exhaust gas processing technology and safety systems. This project is not currently investigating the processing of tritium extracted from a breeding blanket. The processing of tritium extracted from a breeding blanket is a possible upgrade to TSTA. This possible upgrade is the subject of an ongoing study among Los Alamos, JAERI and the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). This installing such on upgraded process systems at TSTA in the 1990--1992 time frame. The exhaust gas processing system at TSTA is designed to demonstrate full-scale exhaust gas processing for a fusion machine of a size currently being designed for ITER. Of course, deuterium is also a major component of the exhaust gas. Current gas processing uses a total gas stream comprised of /approximately/65% deuterium, 35% tritium, 1-2% reactive impurities (currently nitrogen and methane) with the remaining gas hydrogen and helium. The tritium inventory required to process through this loop at this rate is about 110 g. The main process loop at TSTA has been operating at this flow rate since July 1987. In addition to the operation of the main process loop, a number of nonloop experiments are underway at TSTA. This paper will update the status of both loop and nonloop studies at Los Alamos