Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear

Instituto Superior Técnico

Lisbon, Portugal

http://www.ipfn.ist.utl.pt

C Silva | March 2015 | IST

.

Carlos Silva

csilva@ipfn.ist.utl.pt

Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear

Controlled Nuclear Fusion

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Nuclear Fusion

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Nuclear Fusion Nuclear fusion involves the merging of light elements

Nuclear fusion could provide a safe energy source with abundant reserves and

low environmental impact

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Fusion reactions

MeVHHeHeD

MeVHTDD

MeVnHeDD

MeVnHeTD

3.18

03.4

27.3

6.17

43

4

4

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Advantages of nuclear fusion

Fuel Years

Deuterium 3x1011

Lithium

Earth 30 000

Oceans 30x106

Clean Abundant

= +

45 l 40 t 1 unit

Waste free

~200 000 kW h

Author’s name | Place, Month xx, 2007 | Event C Silva | March 2015 | IST 6

Advantages of nuclear fusion

Low Activation Competitive

Safe

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Plasma Confinement

gravitational magnetic inertial

Magnetic confinement is the most promising for

energy production

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Nuclear Fusion history September 1958 “Atoms for Peace” (IAEA, Geneva)

Plasma physics is very difficult. A

worldwide collaboration is

necessary for progress

Fusion technology is very complex.

It's almost impossible to build a

fusion reactor in this century

L.A.Artsimovich E.Teller

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Nuclear Fusion history

B-3 stellarator

Princeton University

Initial results very disappointing (1950 - 1965)

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Nuclear Fusion history

1968 - A turning point for fusion (Tokamak)

IAEA Novosibirsk

(August 1968)

T3 reaches 1 keV

Confirmed in 1969: mission from

Culham (UK) to Moscow

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Tokamak | early 1960’s

World's first tokamak device Russian T1 Tokamak @ Kurchatov Institute in Moscow

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TOKAMAK

From Russian: toroidalnaya kamera,

magnitnaya katushka : Toroidal chamber

with magnetic coil

Tokamak is a toroidal plasma confinement

system comprising:

External coils that generate the toroidal

magnetic field

Transformer that produces a toroidal

current

The plasma current creates the poloidal

magnetic field lines resulting in a helical

field

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Tokamak

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R&D magnetic confinement

Tokamak Stellarator

EU is world leader

Tokamak configuration is favored

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Major radius: 5.5 m

Minor radius: 0.53 m

Plasma volume: 30 m3

Stelarators | Wendelstein 7-X

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Joint

European

Torus

(JET)

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Vacuum vessel

Toroidal filed coils

(cooled)

Support

structure

(2600t)

Poloidal coils

…etc

Fusion device | JET

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Unique in the world with a capacity of

Nuclear fusion

Joint European Torus (JET) 1980’s-2015?

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Demonstration fusion power

Q = 0.65

1.7 MW (World First)

16.2 MW

(World Record)

25 MW

16 MW

Heating

Fusion Energy

Q=0.65

Q = 0.2

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Plasma turbulence affects the energy confinement time

Plasma energy confinement

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International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

Mission

• Prove scientific and technical feasibility of fusion energy

P = 500 MW, D = 300 s, Q = 10 – 20

• Test the integration of all the

technologies needed for a

nuclear fusion power plant

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International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

Mega-project de R&D

15000 M€

30 years 10 years construction

20 years operation

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JET allowed extrapolation of performance for baseline regime of operation of ITER

Fusion research profits from a step ladder approach based

on devices of different size but similar magnetic configuration

≈30 years

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ITER is a necessary step

ITER JET DEMO

6 m

80 m3

~ 16 MWth

12 m

800 m3

~ 500 MWth

Diameter (torus)

Plasma volume

Fusion power

Present Future

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WHEN?

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Significant progress

1968

Uma década

após T3

Progresso

impressionante

Anos 80-90

T

n T

E

ITER

Comparable with computers and accelerators progress

1980-1990

One decade

after T3

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Fusion energy | When?

- Classical approach: 60 years

- “Fast Track”: 40 years

Graphics by Prof. Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith, IAEA

Fusion Energy Conference, Vilamoura, 2004

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Fusion: Multidisciplinary Research

Power electronics

Superconductors

Control (plasmas, engineering)

Materials

Nuclear engineering

Remote handing

Simulation - numerical models

Diagnostics

Theoretical and experimental

physics

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ISTTOK @ IST

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ISTTOK

In operation since 1991 at IST

Density < 5 1018 m-3, Temperature < 200 eV

Fusion: 1 1020 m-3 , 20 keV

Objectives:

Training students and engineers

Development of diagnostics and new concepts: flexible, low

cost, short development time scales (collaboration with

several European laboratories)

Research in Plasma Physics (edge plasma)

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Activities in Magnetic Confinement | Main thrusts

ISTTOK

Collaboration in EU devices

• MAST

• ASDEX-Up

• TJ-II

• W7-X

• COMPASS

• Tore-Supra

• TCV