Method of removing a machine-replaceable plasma-facing tile from a fusion power reactor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11450441-B2
Application number	US-201916727822-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 26, 2019
Priority date	Nov 4, 2009
Publication date	Sep 20, 2022
Grant date	Sep 20, 2022

Abstract

A method of removing, from a fusion power reactor, a tile that comprises a tile-support tube, which is attached to a back portion of the tile and which comprises a coolant channel that is configured in a horizontal orientation, comprises rotating the tile, which is installed in a locked orientation in a manifold channel of a first wall of the fusion power reactor, until the tile is in an install/remove orientation. The method further comprises grasping, with a removal tool, the tile-support tube. The method additionally comprises lifting the tile away from the first wall of the fusion power reactor with the removal tool such that the tile is completely removed from the manifold channel of the first wall of the fusion power reactor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of removing, from a fusion power reactor, a tile apparatus that comprises a tile and a tile-support tube, wherein the tile-support tube is attached to a back portion of the tile and comprises a coolant channel, the method comprising steps of:
rotating the tile apparatus, which is installed in a locked orientation in a manifold channel of a first wall of the fusion power reactor, until the tile apparatus is in an install/remove orientation;
grasping, with a removal tool, the tile-support tube between the back portion of the tile and the first wall; and
lifting the tile apparatus away from the first wall of the fusion power reactor with the removal tool such that the tile apparatus is completely removed from the manifold channel of the first wall of the fusion power reactor.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of rotating the tile apparatus until the tile apparatus is in the install/remove orientation comprises rotating the tile apparatus in a clockwise direction.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of rotating the tile apparatus until the tile apparatus is in the install/remove orientation comprises rotating the tile apparatus in a counter-clockwise direction.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a plasma-facing portion of the tile is manufactured from tungsten (W).

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the back portion of the tile is manufactured from international thermonuclear experimental reactor-grade (ITER-grade) stainless steel.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein a surface of the back portion of the tile is coated with an electrically insulating material.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coolant channel is manufactured from international thermonuclear experimental reactor-grade (ITER-grade) stainless steel.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the tile apparatus is one of a plurality of tile apparatuses each of which comprises a respective tile, and a respective tile-support tube, wherein the respective tile-support tube is attached to a back portion of the respective tile and comprises a respective coolant channel;
each tile apparatus of the plurality of tile apparatuses is individually rotatable and removable;
when a first tile apparatus of the plurality of tile apparatuses is in a respective locked orientation, the tile of the first tile apparatus overlies at least a portion of another tile of the plurality of tile apparatuses; and
when the first tile apparatus is in a respective install/remove orientation, the tile of the first tile apparatus does not overlie any portion of the other tile.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the coolant channel of the tile-support tube is configured to channel the coolant to and/or from the back portion of the tile, and
the tile comprises a hollow, extending along a plasma-facing surface of the tile.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tile-support tube further comprises at least one guard vacuum region.

11. A method of removing, from a fusion power reactor, a machine-replaceable tile apparatus comprising a plasma-facing tile and a tile-support tube, wherein the tile-support tube is attached to a back portion of the plasma-facing tile and comprises a coolant channel, the method comprising steps of:
rotating the machine-replaceable tile apparatus, which is installed in a locked orientation in a manifold channel of a first wall of the fusion power reactor, until the machine-replaceable tile apparatus is in an install/remove orientation;
accessing a tile-removal tool, which comprises an elongated handle and two tines, and wherein
one end of each of the two tines is connected to a first end of the elongated handle, and
a second end of the elongated handle is located opposite the first end of the elongated handle;

rotating the second end of the elongated handle of the tile-removal tool such that the two tines are in an open state;
inserting the two tines of the tile-removal tool between outer edges of the plasma-facing tile and the first wall of the fusion power reactor;
rotating the second end of the elongated handle of the tile-removal tool such that the two tines are in a closed state and grasp the tile-support tube, wherein the two tines are closer together in the closed state than in the open state; and
lifting the machine-replaceable tile apparatus away from the first wall of the fusion power reactor with the tile-removal tool such that the machine-replaceable tile apparatus is completely removed from the manifold channel of the first wall of the fusion power reactor.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of rotating the machine-replaceable tile apparatus until the machine-replaceable tile apparatus is in the install/remove orientation comprises rotating the machine-replaceable tile apparatus in a clockwise direction.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of rotating the machine-replaceable tile apparatus until the machine-replaceable tile apparatus is in the install/remove orientation comprises rotating the machine-replaceable tile apparatus in a counter-clockwise direction.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein a plasma-facing portion of the plasma-facing tile is manufactured from tungsten (W).

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the back portion of the plasma-facing tile is manufactured from international thermonuclear experimental reactor-grade (ITER-grade) stainless steel.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein a surface of the back portion of the plasma-facing tile is coated with an electrically insulating material.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the coolant channel of the tile-support tube is manufactured from international thermonuclear experimental reactor-grade (ITER-grade) stainless steel.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein when the machine-replaceable tile apparatus is installed in the locked orientation, the coolant channel of the tile-support tube of the machine-replaceable tile apparatus is mated with a coolant channel of the manifold channel of the first wall of the fusion power reactor.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the coolant channel of the tile-support tube is configured to channel the coolant to and/or from the back portion of the plasma-facing tile.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the tile-support tube further comprises at least one guard vacuum region.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Weaver Thomas Lyman

Classifications

• G21B1/11

  Details · CPC title

• Y02E30/10

  Nuclear fusion reactors · CPC title

• G21B1/25

  Maintenance, e.g. repair or remote inspection · CPC title

• G21B1/13 Primary

  First wall; Blanket; Divertor · CPC title