Advancing tritium self-sufficiency in fusion power plants: insights from the BABY experiment
In the pursuit of fusion power, achieving tritium self-sufficiency stands as a pivotal challenge. Tritium breeding within molten salts is a critical aspect of next-generation fusion reactors, yet experimental measurements of Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR) have remained elusive. Here we present the res...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nuclear Fusion |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ada2ab |
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| author | Rémi Delaporte-Mathurin Nikola Goles John Ball Collin Dunn Emily Edwards Sara Ferry Edward Lamere Andrew Lanzrath Rick Leccacorvi Samuele Meschini Ethan Peterson Stefano Segantin Rui Vieira Dennis Whyte Weiyue Zhou Kevin Woller |
| author_facet | Rémi Delaporte-Mathurin Nikola Goles John Ball Collin Dunn Emily Edwards Sara Ferry Edward Lamere Andrew Lanzrath Rick Leccacorvi Samuele Meschini Ethan Peterson Stefano Segantin Rui Vieira Dennis Whyte Weiyue Zhou Kevin Woller |
| author_sort | Rémi Delaporte-Mathurin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the pursuit of fusion power, achieving tritium self-sufficiency stands as a pivotal challenge. Tritium breeding within molten salts is a critical aspect of next-generation fusion reactors, yet experimental measurements of Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR) have remained elusive. Here we present the results of the Build A Better Yield blanket experiment, which represents a pioneering effort in tritium research by utilizing high-energy (14 MeV) neutron irradiation of molten salts, a departure from conventional low-energy neutron approaches. Using a small-scale (100 ml) molten salt tritium breeding setup, we not only simulated, but also directly measured a TBR ( $3.57\times 10^{-4}$ ). This innovative approach provides crucial experimental validation, offering insights unattainable through simulation alone. Moreover, our findings reveal a surprising outcome: tritium was predominantly collected as HT, contrary to the expected TF. This underscores the complexity of tritium behavior in molten salts, highlighting the need for further investigation. This work lays the foundation for a more sophisticated experimental setup, including increasing the volume of the breeder, enhancing neutron detection, and refining tritium collection systems. Such improvements are crucial for advancing our understanding of fusion reactor feasibility and paving the way for future experiments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c4378bbe8797414f8eda1bd81c105314 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0029-5515 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nuclear Fusion |
| spelling | doaj-art-c4378bbe8797414f8eda1bd81c1053142025-01-10T10:54:32ZengIOP PublishingNuclear Fusion0029-55152025-01-0165202603710.1088/1741-4326/ada2abAdvancing tritium self-sufficiency in fusion power plants: insights from the BABY experimentRémi Delaporte-Mathurin0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1064-8882Nikola Goles1John Ball2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9638-2127Collin Dunn3Emily Edwards4Sara Ferry5Edward Lamere6Andrew Lanzrath7Rick Leccacorvi8Samuele Meschini9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8014-903XEthan Peterson10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5694-7194Stefano Segantin11Rui Vieira12Dennis Whyte13Weiyue Zhou14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8567-0999Kevin Woller15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0450-9731Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaEnvironment, Health & Safety Office, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaPlasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaIn the pursuit of fusion power, achieving tritium self-sufficiency stands as a pivotal challenge. Tritium breeding within molten salts is a critical aspect of next-generation fusion reactors, yet experimental measurements of Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR) have remained elusive. Here we present the results of the Build A Better Yield blanket experiment, which represents a pioneering effort in tritium research by utilizing high-energy (14 MeV) neutron irradiation of molten salts, a departure from conventional low-energy neutron approaches. Using a small-scale (100 ml) molten salt tritium breeding setup, we not only simulated, but also directly measured a TBR ( $3.57\times 10^{-4}$ ). This innovative approach provides crucial experimental validation, offering insights unattainable through simulation alone. Moreover, our findings reveal a surprising outcome: tritium was predominantly collected as HT, contrary to the expected TF. This underscores the complexity of tritium behavior in molten salts, highlighting the need for further investigation. This work lays the foundation for a more sophisticated experimental setup, including increasing the volume of the breeder, enhancing neutron detection, and refining tritium collection systems. Such improvements are crucial for advancing our understanding of fusion reactor feasibility and paving the way for future experiments.https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ada2abtritium breedingTBRmolten salts |
| spellingShingle | Rémi Delaporte-Mathurin Nikola Goles John Ball Collin Dunn Emily Edwards Sara Ferry Edward Lamere Andrew Lanzrath Rick Leccacorvi Samuele Meschini Ethan Peterson Stefano Segantin Rui Vieira Dennis Whyte Weiyue Zhou Kevin Woller Advancing tritium self-sufficiency in fusion power plants: insights from the BABY experiment Nuclear Fusion tritium breeding TBR molten salts |
| title | Advancing tritium self-sufficiency in fusion power plants: insights from the BABY experiment |
| title_full | Advancing tritium self-sufficiency in fusion power plants: insights from the BABY experiment |
| title_fullStr | Advancing tritium self-sufficiency in fusion power plants: insights from the BABY experiment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Advancing tritium self-sufficiency in fusion power plants: insights from the BABY experiment |
| title_short | Advancing tritium self-sufficiency in fusion power plants: insights from the BABY experiment |
| title_sort | advancing tritium self sufficiency in fusion power plants insights from the baby experiment |
| topic | tritium breeding TBR molten salts |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ada2ab |
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