First demonstration of Super-X divertor exhaust control for transient heat load management in compact fusion reactors

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Kool, B., Verhaegh, K., Derks, G. L., Wijkamp, T. A., Lonigro, N., Doyle, R., McArdle, G., Vincent, C., Lovell, J., Federici, F., Henderson, S. S., Osawa, R. T., Brida, D., Reimerdes, H., van Berkel, M., team, The EUROfusion tokamak exploitation, team, the MAST-U
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Kool, B.
Verhaegh, K.
Derks, G. L.
Wijkamp, T. A.
Lonigro, N.
Doyle, R.
McArdle, G.
Vincent, C.
Lovell, J.
Federici, F.
Henderson, S. S.
Osawa, R. T.
Brida, D.
Reimerdes, H.
van Berkel, M.
team, The EUROfusion tokamak exploitation
team, the MAST-U
author_facet Kool, B.
Verhaegh, K.
Derks, G. L.
Wijkamp, T. A.
Lonigro, N.
Doyle, R.
McArdle, G.
Vincent, C.
Lovell, J.
Federici, F.
Henderson, S. S.
Osawa, R. T.
Brida, D.
Reimerdes, H.
van Berkel, M.
team, The EUROfusion tokamak exploitation
team, the MAST-U
contents Nuclear fusion could offer clean, abundant energy. However, managing the immense power exhausted from the core fusion plasma towards the divertor remains a major challenge. This is compounded in emerging compact reactor designs which promise more cost-effective pathways towards commercial fusion energy. Alternative divertor configurations (ADCs) are a potential solution to this challenge. In this work, we demonstrate exhaust control in ADCs for the first time, on MAST-U. We employ a novel diagnostic strategy for the neutral gas buffer which shields the target. Our work shows that ADCs tackle key risks and uncertainties in realising fusion energy: 1) an enlarged operating window which 2) improves exhaust control through the absorption of transients which can remove the neutral shield and damage the divertor, 3) isolation of each divertor from other reactor regions, enabling combined control. This showcases real-world benefits of alternative divertors for effective heat load management and control in reactors.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_07784
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle First demonstration of Super-X divertor exhaust control for transient heat load management in compact fusion reactors
Kool, B.
Verhaegh, K.
Derks, G. L.
Wijkamp, T. A.
Lonigro, N.
Doyle, R.
McArdle, G.
Vincent, C.
Lovell, J.
Federici, F.
Henderson, S. S.
Osawa, R. T.
Brida, D.
Reimerdes, H.
van Berkel, M.
team, The EUROfusion tokamak exploitation
team, the MAST-U
Plasma Physics
Nuclear fusion could offer clean, abundant energy. However, managing the immense power exhausted from the core fusion plasma towards the divertor remains a major challenge. This is compounded in emerging compact reactor designs which promise more cost-effective pathways towards commercial fusion energy. Alternative divertor configurations (ADCs) are a potential solution to this challenge. In this work, we demonstrate exhaust control in ADCs for the first time, on MAST-U. We employ a novel diagnostic strategy for the neutral gas buffer which shields the target. Our work shows that ADCs tackle key risks and uncertainties in realising fusion energy: 1) an enlarged operating window which 2) improves exhaust control through the absorption of transients which can remove the neutral shield and damage the divertor, 3) isolation of each divertor from other reactor regions, enabling combined control. This showcases real-world benefits of alternative divertors for effective heat load management and control in reactors.
title First demonstration of Super-X divertor exhaust control for transient heat load management in compact fusion reactors
topic Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.07784