Tritium shunt heat exchanger with sweep gas
AssigneeCommonwealth Fusion Systems LLC
InventorsMatthew Vernacchia, James Logan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Certain aspects of the present disclosure are generally directed to tritium shunt heat exchangers that use a sweep gas. In some aspects, a heat exchanger system for a fusion power plant is disclosed herein. The system may advantageously allow for efficient energy and tritium extraction from a tritium-containing fluid, while minimizing tritium leakage into the environment. For example, the system may comprise components, such as a thermally conductive solid connector, a sweep gas, reactive materials, etc., that allow for high heat transfer efficiency, and/or high tritium removal and extraction efficiency. In addition, some aspects of the disclosure are directed to methods for using or making such a system.
Claims33
A heat exchanger system, comprising:
- a first conduit;
- a second conduit;
- a solid connector thermally coupling an external surface of the first conduit to an external surface of the second conduit;
- and
- a gas flow device, positioned to flow a gas around the first conduit, the second conduit, and the solid connector.
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A heat exchanger system, comprising:
- a first conduit containing a primary fluid, wherein the primary fluid comprises tritium;
- a second conduit containing a secondary fluid, wherein the secondary fluid comprises tritium at a lower concentration than the primary fluid;
- a solid connector thermally coupling an external surface of the first conduit to an external surface of the second conduit;
- and
- a sweep gas surrounding the first conduit, the second conduit, and the solid connector, wherein the sweep gas contains tritium arising from the primary fluid.
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A method, comprising:
- passing a primary fluid comprising tritium into a first conduit of a heat exchanger;
- directing, via a connector, heat from the primary fluid to a secondary fluid contained within the second conduit of the heat exchanger, wherein the connector thermally couples an external surface of the first conduit to an external surface of a second conduit;
- and
- flowing a sweep gas around the first conduit, the second conduit, and the connector to remove tritium from the primary fluid and the connector.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.