Single-piece maintenance procedures for the TITAN reversed-field pinch reactor

The TITAN reactor is a compact (major radius of 3.9 m and minor plasma radius of 0.6 m), high neutron wall loading (--18MW/m2) fusion energy system based on the reversed-field pinch (RFP) concept. The TITAN-I fusion power core (FPC) is a lithium, self-cooled design with vanadium alloy (V-3Ti-1Si) structural material. The compact design of the TITAN fusion power core (FPC) reduces the system to a few small and relatively low mass components, making toroidal segmentation of the FPC unnecessary. A single-piece maintenance procedure in which the replaceable first wall and blanket is removed as a single unit is, therefore, possible. The TITAN FPC design provides for top access to the reactor with vertical lifts used to remove the components. The number of remote handling procedures is few and the movements are uncomplicated. The annual torus replacement requires that the reusable ohmic-heating coil set and hot-shield assembly be removed and temporarily stored in a hot cell. The used first wall and blanket assembly is drained and disconnected from the coolant supply system, then lifted to a processing room where it is cooled and prepared for Class-C waste burial. The new, pre-tested first wall and blanket assembly is then lowered into position and the removal procedure is reversed to complete the replacement process