Nuclear fusion reactor

A nuclear fusion reactor having a vacuum vessel in which hydrogen isotope plasma or corpuscular rays is enclosed, a confining magnetic field generating coil for confining said plasma or corpuscular rays at a predetermined position in said vacuum vessel and a divertor disposed in said vacuum vessel and neutralizing ionized corpuscles so as to exhaust them, wherein said divertor comprises:

• a cooling metal base having a refrigerant passage for cooling the divertor;
• a layer with low tritium permeability, having lower tritium permeability than that of the cooling metal base, formed on at least a surface of said cooling metal base facing said plasma or corpuscular rays enclosed;
• and
• a heat resistant and insulating fire member, with a heat resistance higher than that of said cooling metal base, for protecting and thermally shielding from said irradiation of plasma or corpuscular rays, said heat resistant and insulating fire member being formed such that it covers said layer of low tritium permeability, the heat resistant and fire insulating member being made of a fiber reinforced heat resistant member whose reinforcement fibers are made of a material selected from the group consisting of carbon, SiC, B and B.sub.4 C, and whose base material is made of a material selected from the group consisting of carbon, SiC, B.sub.4 C, Be.sub.2 C, SiO.sub.2 and BeO.

A nuclear fusion reactor having a vacuum vessel in which hydrogen isotope plasma or corpuscular rays is enclosed, a confining magnetic field generating coil for confining said plasma or corpuscular rays at a predetermined position in said vacuum vessel, a first cooling metal base forming a wall of said vacuum vessel and having a refrigerant passage for cooling said wall, and a divertor disposed in said vacuum vessel and neutralizing ionized corpuscles so as to exhaust them, wherein said divertor comprises:

• a second cooling metal base having a refrigerant passage for cooling the divertor;
• a layer with low tritium permeability, having lower tritium permeability than that of said second cooling metal base, disposed on at least a surface of the second cooling metal base facing the plasma or corpuscular rays;
• and
• a heat resistant and insulating fire member, covering said second cooling metal base, with a heat resistance and fire insulation higher than that of said second cooling metal base, overlying the surface of the second cooling metal base facing the plasma or corpuscular rays, the heat resistant and insulating fire member being made of a fiber reinforced heat resistant member whose reinforcement fibers are made of a material selected from the group consisting of carbon, SiC, B and B.sub.4 C, and whose base material is made of a material selected from the group consisting of carbon, SiC, B.sub.4 C, Be.sub.2 C, SiO.sub.2 and BeO;
• and wherein said layer with low tritium permeability is also disposed on at least a surface of the first cooling metal base facing the plasma or corpuscular rays.

A nuclear fusion reactor having a vacuum vessel in which hydrogen isotope plasma or corpuscular rays is enclosed, a confining magnetic field generating coil for confining said plasma or corpuscular rays at a predetermined position in said vacuum vessel, a first cooling metal base forming a wall of the vacuum vessel and having a refrigerant passage for cooling said wall, a heat resistant and insulating fire member disposed overlying a surface of said first cooling metal base facing said plasma or corpuscular rays enclosed, with a heat resistance higher than that of said first cooling metal base, and a divertor disposed in said vacuum vessel and neutralizing ionized corpuscles so as to exhaust them, said divertor comprising:

• a second cooling metal base having a refrigerant passage for cooling the divertor;
• a layer with low tritium permeability, having lower tritium permeability than that of said cooling metal base, disposed on at least a surface of said second cooling metal base facing the plasma or corpuscular rays;
• and
• a heat resistant and insulating fire member, with a heat resistance and fire insulation higher than that of said second cooling metal base, covering the surface of the second cooling metal base facing the plasma or corpuscular rays, the heat resistant and insulating fire member being made of a fiber reinforced heat resistant member whose reinforcement fibers are made of a material selected from the group consisting of carbon, SiC, B and B.sub.4 C, and whose base material is made of a material selected from the group consisting of carbon, SiC, B.sub.4 C, Be.sub.2 C, SiO.sub.2 and BeO;
• and wherein said layer with low tritium permeability is also disposed on at least a surface of the first cooling metal base facing the plasma or corpuscular rays;
• said divertor being positioned in contact with said first cooling metal base and being fixed in contact with said first cooling metal base.

A nuclear fusion reactor having a vacuum vessel in which hydrogen isotope plasma or corpuscular rays is enclosed, a confining magnetic field generating coil for confining said plasma or corpuscular rays at a predetermined position in said vacuum vessel, a first cooling metal base forming a wall of the vacuum vessel and having a refrigerant passage for cooling said wall, a first heat resistant and insulating fire member, disposed overlying a surface of said first cooling metal base facing said plasma or corpuscular rays enclosed, with a heat resistance higher than that of said first cooling metal base, and a divertor disposed in said vacuum vessel and neutralizing ionized corpuscles so as to exhaust them, said divertor comprising:

• a second cooling metal base having a refrigerant passage for cooling the divertor;
• a 0.1 .mu.m to 30 .mu.m thick layer having low tritium permeability, lower than that of said second cooling metal base, disposed on at least a surface of the second cooling metal base facing the plasma or corpuscular rays, said layer having low tritium permeability including at least one material having a tritium diffusion coefficient at 600.degree. C. of 1.times.10.sup.-9 cm/sec or less and selected from carbon, Be, a carbide and an oxide of Be, B.sub.4 C, an oxide and a nitride of Al, a carbide, an oxide and nitride of Si, an oxide and a nitride of Ti, an oxide and a nitride of Cr, an oxide of Mn and an oxide of Zr;
• a second heat resistant and insulating fire member, covering said second cooling metal base, provided for said divertor, with a heat resistance and fire insulation higher than that of said second cooling metal base, said divertor being positioned in contact with said first cooling metal base for forming said refrigerant passage for cooling said vacuum vessel and being fixed in contact with said first cooling metal base;
• and wherein said second heat resistant and insulating fire member is joined to the surface of said layer with low tritium permeability by a metal layer formed of at least one material selected from the group consisting of Be, carbon, Al, Ti, Cr, Ni, Fe, Cu, Ag, Au, Mo and W by using a brazing material, said heat resistant and insulating fire member being made of a fiber reinforced heat resistant member whose reinforcement fiber is at least one fiber selected from carbon fiber, SiC fiber, boron fiber and B.sub.4 C fiber and whose base material is made of at least one material selected from the group consisting of carbon, SiC, Be, B.sub.4 C, Be.sub.2 C, SiO.sub.2 and BeO and having a thermal impact coefficient of 20 kW/m, and said first and second cooling metal bases being made of non-magnetic austenitic alloy;
• and
• wherein said layer having low tritium permeability is also disposed on at least a surface of the first cooling metal base facing the plasma or corpuscular rays.

A wall of a torus vacuum vessel for a nuclear fusion reactor, comprising:

• a cooling metal base forming the wall of the vacuum vessel and having a refrigerant passage for cooling said wall;
• a layer of material of low tritium permeability, as compared to material of the cooling metal base, provided on a surface of the cooling metal base facing inside of the vacuum vessel;
• a metal coating layer formed on a surface of the layer of material of low tritium permeability farthest from the cooling metal base;
• and
• heat resistant and insulating fire members overlying a surface of the metal coating layer furthest from the layer of material of low tritium permeability;
• and
• an intermediate member, between the metal coating layer and the heat resistant and insulating fire members, by which the heat resistant and insulating fire members are brazed on the metal coating layer.

A wall of a torus vacuum vessel for a nuclear fusion reactor, comprising:

• a cooling metal base forming the wall of the vacuum vessel and having a refrigerant passage for cooling said wall;
• a layer of material of low tritium permeability, as compared to material of the cooling metal base, provided on a first part of a surface of the cooling metal base facing inside of the vacuum vessel;
• a metal coating layer on a second part of said surface of the cooling metal base, said second part being different from said first part;
• and
• heat resistant and insulating fire members covering the second part and not the first part of the surface of the cooling metal base, adjacent heat resistant and insulating fire members being spaced from each other such that the layer of material of low tritium permeability is provided in spaces between adjacent heat resistant and insulating fire members.

A nuclear fusion reactor having a vacuum vessel in which hydrogen isotope plasma or corpuscular rays is enclosed, the vacuum vessel including, as components thereof, wall structure and a divertor, comprising:

• a cooling metal base for forming a refrigerant passage for cooling components of the vacuum vessel;
• a heat resistant and insulating fire member, with heat resistance higher than that of said cooling metal base, said heat resistant and insulating fire member covering said cooling metal base, the heat resistant and insulating fire member being made of a fiber-reinforced material;
• a layer of a material having lower tritium permeability than that of the cooling metal base, separate from the heat resistant and insulating fire member, said layer being provided on a surface of the cooling metal base facing inside of the vacuum vessel, wherein the layer of a material having lower tritium permeability is interposed between the cooling metal base and the heat resistant and insulating fire member, the heat resistant and insulating fire member protecting and thermally shielding said layer of a material having lower tritium permeability from the plasma or corpuscular rays;
• and
• a metal coating layer interposed between the layer of a material having lower tritium permeability and the heat resistant and insulating fire member.