Thermal and control dynamics modelling and simulation of general purpose cold traps

The control of tritium in present and future fusion plants is important for the viability of fusion as a power source. This study presents a generic model which describes the thermal and closed loop control behaviour of cold trap assemblies. The model can also be applied to any gas' separation or purification in chemical processing, archeometry sample processing and industrial process applications, typically in the range of 80-200 K. It applies to any trap configuration and is used to simulate the dynamic behaviour, the thermal and mass transfer processes and the control parameters in order to optimise performance. In the special case of hydrogen isotope separation, including tritium, as in fusion applications, the model is used to gain an in-depth knowledge of the packed bed control system and operation under tritium gas, and minimise any unnecessary testing and stressing of the cold trap.