Repeating pneumatic hydrogen pellet injector for plasma fueling

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Abstract
A repeating pneumatic pellet injector has been developed for plasma fueling applications. The repetitive device extends pneumatic injector operation to steady state. The active mechanism consists of an extruder and a gun assembly that are cooled by flowing liquid‐helium refrigerant. The extruder provides a continuous supply of solid hydrogen to the gun assembly, where a reciprocating gun barrel forms and chambers cylindrical pellet from the extrusion; pellets are then accelerated with compressed hydrogen gas (pressures up to 125 bar) to velocities ≤1.9 km/s (1.6 km/s for deuterium pellets). The gun assembly design can accommodate different pellet sizes and barrel lengths. Steady‐state rates of 2 s−1 have been obtained with 2.1‐ , 3.4‐ , and 4.0‐mm‐diameter pellets. The present apparatus operates at higher firing rates in short bursts; for example, a rate of 6 s−1 for 2 s with the larger pellets. These pellet parameters are in the range applicable for fueling large present‐day fusion devices such as the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR). Experimental results are presented, including effects of propellant pressure and barrel length on gun performance.

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