CALABAZAS CREEK RESEARCH, INC. — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 24b

Description

High power RF loads are required to dissipate the power from gyrotrons used for heating fusion plasmas. The ITER facility, currently under construction in France, will require twenty four loads in its initial phase with and additional twenty four required for a future upgrade. High power RF loads are also required at other facilities under construction or planned. The current cost is very high due to the complex and rigorous performance specifications. Calabazas Creek Research Inc. (CCR) is proposing to apply additive manufacturing to dramatically reduce the cost of RF loads. The goal is to reduce the cost for each load by $100,000, which is approximately half the current cost. The program will redesign conventionally machined components to allow 3D printing to reduce the number of parts and assembly operations. The 3D printed design will also improve thermal and mechanical performance.ITER requires a total of forty eight RF loads. Loads will also be required for facilities under construction or planned in China, Korea, Japan, Europe, India, and the United States.