TFTR D&D Project: Final Examination and Testing of the TFTR TF-Coils
Author: Irving J. Zatz
Date of PPPL Report: January 2003
In operation for nearly 15 years, TFTR (Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor) was not only a fusion science milestone, but a milestone of achievement in engineering as well. The TFTR D&D (Decommissioning and Decontamination) program provided a rare opportunity to examine machine components that had been exposed to a unique performance environment of greater than 100,000 mechanical and thermal load cycles. In particular, the possible examination of the TFTR toroidal-field (TF) coils, which met, then exceeded, the 5.2 Tesla magnetic field machine specification, could supply the answers to many questions that have been asked and debated since the coils were originally designed and built. A test program conducted in parallel with the D&D effort was the chance to look inside and examine, in detail, the TFTR TF coils for the first time since they were delivered encased to PPPL (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory). The results from such a program would provide data and insight that would not only benefit PPPL and the fusion community, but the broader scientific community as well.