The engineering design of ARC: A compact, highfield, fusion nuclear science facility and demonstration power plant

The affordable, robust, compact (ARC) reactor conceptual design study aims to reduce the size, cost, and complexity of a combined fusion nuclear science facility (FNSF) and demonstration fusion pilot power plant. ARC is a 200 MWe tokamak reactor with a major radius of 3.3 m, a minor radius of 1.1 m, and an on-axis magnetic field of 9.2 T. ARC is designed to use rare earth barium copper oxide (REBCO), a type of high-temperature superconductor (HTS), for its toroidal field coils. The use of HTS technology offers many advantages over traditional superconductors when applied to tokamak designs. REBCO superconductors in particular have orders of magnitude higher critical current density than traditional superconductors such as Nb₃Sn at local fields greater than 20 T, enabling much higher fields to be used in the tokamak. The large allowable temperature range (up to ~90 K) of HTS allows the use of coolants other than helium and makes possible the design of joints in the toroidal field coils. This allows the vacuum vessel to be replaced quickly, lowering first wall survivability concerns and reducing the cost and operational implications of vessel failure during the experimental phase of the reactor. External current drive for ARC is provided by two inboard (high-field side) RF launchers using 25 MW of lower hybrid and 13.6 MW of ion cyclotron fast wave power. The resulting efficient current drive provides a robust, steady state core plasma far from disruptive limits. ARC uses an all-liquid blanket, consisting of low pressure, slowly flowing fluorine lithium beryllium (FLiBe) molten salt. The liquid blanket is low-risk technology and provides effective neutron moderation and shielding, excellent heat removal, and a tritium breeding ratio ≥ 1.1. The large temperature range over which FLiBe is liquid permits blanket operation at ~900 K with single phase fluid cooling and a high-efficiency Brayton cycle, allowing for net electricity generation when operating ARC as a pilot power plant. When coupled with a demountable compact reactor design, the immersion blanket allows the vacuum vessel to be a replaceable component, eliminating the need for complex sector maintenance. The modular design of ARC allows a single machine to initially serve as an experiment and then transition to a demonstration commercial reactor.