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Gaithersburg, MD 20879
phone: (301) 258-0545
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web: http://fusionpower.org

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FPN07-21

TFTR Anniversary Noted

April 5, 2007

Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) Operations Terminated 10 Years ago - The construction of TFTR was started in March 1976 as part of a major US Energy R&D effort in response to the Gulf oil embargo of the mid-1970s. During the 8 year period from 1974 to 1982, the US fusion budget grew from $57M to $461M - an eight fold increase. TFTR was the first of the three large tokamaks (TFTR, JET and JT-60) beginning operation in December 24, 1982. For the next 15 years, TFTR operation defined the frontier of fusion research. In 1996, the US fusion budget was cut 35% forcing a restructuring of the US fusion program that resulted in the premature termination of TFTR on April 4, 1997 after 15 years of operation.

TFTR achieved all of the original project goals and made numerous contributions including:

First magnetic fusion experiment to achieve power plant fuel temperature of 200 million °C (20 kev) (1986), and ultimately a record 510 million، C (45kev) (1995)

First observation of the "bootstrap current" in a tokamak, a self generated current that is the key feature of steady-state tokamak fusion power plants (1986)

First direct measurements of long wavelength turbulence that formed the basis for an improved theoretical modeling of turbulence (1990)

First magnetic fusion experiment to use fusion power plant fuel mixture of 50% deuterium (D) and 50% tritium (T) (1993)

First magnetic fusion experiment to produce fusion power exceeding 10 million watts (1994)

Record peak plasma pressure of 6 atm in a D-T plasma, higher than that expected in ITER. (1994)

Record fusion power densities of 0.3 million watts per cubic meter comparable to the 0.5 MW/m3 expected in ITER (1994)

First experimental observation of the "enhanced reversed shear" confinment mode that is now a key feature of steady-state tokamak power plant concepts. (1994)

First observation of neoclassical tearing modes that limit output of high performance fusion plasmas (1995)

First unambiguous measurements of self-heating by alpha particles in a DT fusion plasma (1995)

First measurements of instabilities excited by fusion alpha particles (1996).

First to identify and quantify the retention of tritium in graphite plasma facing components as a major issue for fusion power plants using trace tritium (1989) and 50/50 DT (1995)

First closed cycle processing of tritum on a fusion experiment using 50% deuterium (D) and 50% tritium (T) (Feb 1997)

TFTR engineering systems operated above the original design ratings for toroidal field and neutral beam power.

About 1 million curies of tritium was handled safely over a three year period during over 1,000 DT experiments.

The total cost of the TFTR program (design, construction, operation and decommissioning ) was $1.65 B.

The US fusion program expended $2.5 B during the past 10 years.

The above summary was provided by Dale Meade and is posted at http://fire.pppl.gov