Tokamak Physics Experiment (TPX) design

TPX is a national project involving a large number of U.S. fusion laboratories, universities, and industries. The element of the TPX requirements that is a primary driver for the hardware design is the fact that TPX tokamak hardware is being designed to accommodate steady state operation if the external systems are upgraded from the 1000 second initial operation. TPX not only incorporates new physics, but also pioneers new technologies to be used in ITER and other future reactors. TPX will be the first tokamak with fully superconducting magnetic field coils using advanced conductors, will have internal nuclear shielding, will use robotics for machine maintenance, and will remove the continuous, concentrated heat flow from the plasma with new dispersal techniques and with special materials that are actively cooled. The Conceptual Design for TPX was completed during Fiscal Year 1993. The Preliminary Design formally began at the beginning of Fiscal Year 1994. Industrial contracts have been awarded for the design, with options for fabrication, of the primary tokamak hardware. A large fraction of the design and R&D effort during FY94 was focused on the tokamak and in turn on the tokamak magnets. The reason for this emphasis is because the magnets require a large design and R&D effort, and are critical to the project schedule. The magnet development is focused on conductor development, quench protection, and manufacturing R&D. The Preliminary Design Review for the Magnets is planned for fall, 1995.