TEST PLATFORM FOR THE ITER TOKAMAK'S ACTIVELY COOLED TUNGSTEN DIVERTOR
The IRFM has been operating the Tore Supra tokamak since 1988. Because of its special configuration, in particular the 'active' cooling of components, Tore Supra has provided a unique base for experimenting with materials in the plasma environment, prior to the assembly of ITER components. It has thus documented all the characteristics of continuous operation of tokamaks in a "carbon" environment, invalidating in particular its use in machines handling tritium.
With the WEST - Tungsten (W) Environment in Steady-state Tokamak project, Tore Supra has become a unique testing platform for a 'critical' component of the ITER tokamak, the actively cooled tungsten divertor.
Running along the floor of the vacuum chamber, the divertor is the part of the tokamak that receives most of the heat and particle flows from the central plasma.