The influence of pulsed 4 MeV Ni ion bombardment, with and without simultaneous helium injection, has been explored in a low swelling, Ti-modified austenitic stainless steel. Irradiations were carried out to 70 dpa at 950/sup 0/K; the pulsing frequencies were either 60 s on/off or 1 s on/off. Compared to continuous irradiation, pulsing caused a decrease in the interstitial loop diameter at 1 dpa, although at higher doses the overall dislocation density was not affected. Pulsing and helium both promoted the stability of MC precipitates and retarded the subsequent G phase formation; in some cases G-phase was suppressed and eta phase formed instead. Small bubble-like cavities were observed to grow into large voids after steady dual beam irradiation to 70 dpa. However, this conversion was suppressed by pulse irradiation to 70 dpa and furthermore the sizes of the small cavities were somewhat reduced. The results are explained in terms of current mechanistic understanding of mean point defect kinetics and the evolution of microstructure and microcomposition during irradiation with superimposed annealing periods.

Completed in May 1981, the first Yin-Yang magnet for the tandem Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF-B) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) was successfully tested in February 1982 to its full design field (7.68 T) and current (5775 A). Since that time, the entire magnet array has been reconfigured - from the original A-cell to an axicell design. The MFTF-B magnet array now contains a total of 26 large superconducting coils: 2 sets of yin-yang pairs, 2 sets of transition magnets (each containing two coils), 2 sets of axicell magnets (each containing three coils), and 12 central-cell solenoids. This paper chronicles recent magnet history - from te testing of the initial yin-yang set, through the design of the axicell configuration, to the planned development of the system.