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A tokamak is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field generated by external magnets to confine plasma in the shape of an axially-symmetrical torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement devices being developed to produce controlled thermonuclear fusion power. The tokamak concept is currently one of the leading candidates for a practical fusion reactor.
Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors. Research into fusion reactors began in the 1940s, but as of 2024, no device has reached net power, although net positive reactions have been achieved.
ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy through a fusion process similar to that of the Sun. Upon completion of construction of the main reactor and first plasma, planned for late 2025, it will be the world's largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment and the largest experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor. It is being built next to the Cadarache facility in southern France. ITER will be the largest of more than 100 fusion reactors built since the 1950s, with ten times the plasma volume of any other tokamak operating today.
Magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) is an approach to generate thermonuclear fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel in the form of a plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of controlled fusion research, along with inertial confinement fusion.
A spheromak is an arrangement of plasma formed into a toroidal shape similar to a smoke ring. The spheromak contains large internal electric currents and their associated magnetic fields arranged so the magnetohydrodynamic forces within the spheromak are nearly balanced, resulting in long-lived (microsecond) confinement times without external fields. Spheromaks belong to a type of plasma configuration referred to as the compact toroids. A spheromak can be made and sustained using magnetic flux injection, leading to a dynomak.
DEMO, or a demonstration power plant, refers to a proposed class of nuclear fusion experimental reactors that are intended to demonstrate the net production of electric power from nuclear fusion. Most of the ITER partners have plans for their own DEMO-class reactors. With the possible exception of the EU and Japan, there are no plans for international collaboration as there was with ITER.
The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), internal designation HT-7U, is an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei, China. The Hefei Institutes of Physical Science is conducting the experiment for the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has operated since 2006.
The tokamak à configuration variable is an experimental tokamak located at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) in Lausanne, Switzerland. As the largest experimental facility of the Swiss Plasma Center, the TCV tokamak explores the physics of magnetic confinement fusion. It distinguishes itself from other tokamaks with its specialized plasma shaping capability, which can produce diverse plasma shapes without requiring hardware modifications.
Ignitor is the Italian name for a planned tokamak device, developed by ENEA. As of 2022, the device has not been constructed.
A spherical tokamak is a type of fusion power device based on the tokamak principle. It is notable for its very narrow profile, or aspect ratio. A traditional tokamak has a toroidal confinement area that gives it an overall shape similar to a donut, complete with a large hole in the middle. The spherical tokamak reduces the size of the hole as much as possible, resulting in a plasma shape that is almost spherical, often compared to a cored apple. The spherical tokamak is sometimes referred to as a spherical torus and often shortened to ST.
In nuclear fusion power research, the plasma-facing material (PFM) is any material used to construct the plasma-facing components (PFC), those components exposed to the plasma within which nuclear fusion occurs, and particularly the material used for the lining the first wall or divertor region of the reactor vessel.
The GLAss Spherical Tokamak is a name given to a set of small spherical tokamaks located in Islamabad, Pakistan. They were developed by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) as part of the National Tokamak Fusion Program (NTFP) in 2008 and are primarily used for teaching and training purposes.
Dimitris Drikakis, PhD, FRAeS, CEng, is a Greek-British applied scientist, engineer and university professor. His research is multidisciplinary. It covers fluid dynamics, computational fluid dynamics, acoustics, heat transfer, computational science from molecular to macro scale, materials, machine learning, and emerging technologies. He has applied his research to diverse fields such as Aerospace & Defence, Biomedical, and Energy and Environment Sectors. He received The William Penney Fellowship Award by the Atomic Weapons Establishment to recognise his contributions to compressible fluid dynamics. He was also the winner of NEF's Innovator of the Year Award by the UK's Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange for a new generation carbon capture nanotechnology that uses carbon nanotubes for filtering out carbon dioxide and other gases.
COMPASS, short for Compact Assembly, is a compact tokamak fusion energy device originally completed at the Culham Science Centre in 1989, upgraded in 1992, and operated until 2002. It was designed as a flexible research facility dedicated mostly to plasma physics studies in circular and D-shaped plasmas.
The ARC fusion reactor is a design for a compact fusion reactor developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). ARC aims to achieve an engineering breakeven of three. The key technical innovation is to use high-temperature superconducting magnets in place of ITER's low-temperature superconducting magnets. The proposed device would be about half the diameter of the ITER reactor and cheaper to build.
The China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor, or CFETR, is a proposed tokamak fusion reactor, which uses a magnetic field in order to confine plasma and generate energy. As of 2015, tokamak devices are leading candidates for the construction of a viable and practical thermonuclear fusion reactor. These reactors may be used to generate sustainable energy whilst ensuring a low environmental impact and a smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuel-based power plants.
HL-2A (Huan-Liuqi-2A) is a medium-sized tokamak for fusion research in Chengdu, China. It was constructed by the China National Nuclear Corporation from early 1999 to 2002, based on the main components of the former German ASDEX device. HL-2A was the first tokamak with a divertor in China. The research goals of HL-2A are the study of fundamental fusion plasma physics to support the international ITER fusion reactor.
The Tokamak Chauffage Alfvén Brésilien (TCABR) is a tokamak situated at the University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil. TCABR is the largest tokamak in the southern hemisphere and one of the magnetic-confinement devices committed to advancing scientific knowledge in fusion power.
The Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT) is a planned superconducting tokamak currently under construction in Frascati, Italy. It is set to be operated by the Italian government-sponsored research and development agency, ENEA, and will serve as a testbed for the construction of a DEMOnstration Power Plant. Its primary focus is to investigate the challenges posed by thermal heat loads endured by the divertor of a fusion power plant.
References
- ↑ Paenthong, Worathat; Wisitsorasak, Apiwat; Sangaroon, Siriyaporn; Promping, Jiraporn; Ogawa, Kunihiro; Isobe, Mitsutaka (2022-10-01). "Fast-ion orbit analysis in Thailand Tokamak-1". Fusion Engineering and Design. 183: 113254. Bibcode:2022FusED.18313254P. doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113254. ISSN 0920-3796.
- ↑ Sangaroon, S.; Ogawa, K.; Isobe, M.; Wisitsorasak, A.; Paenthong, W.; Promping, J.; Poolyarat, N.; Tamman, A.; Ploykrachang, K.; Dangtip, S.; Onjun, T. (2023-03-01). "Feasibility study of neutral beam injection in Thailand Tokamak-1". Fusion Engineering and Design. 188: 113419. Bibcode:2023FusED.18813419S. doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2023.113419. ISSN 0920-3796. S2CID 255534680.
- ↑ Xie, Echo (2023-07-26). "Thailand debuts first tokamak device with help from Chinese scientists". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ↑ Lapuekou, Chono (2023-07-27). "Thailand Launches First Tokamak in Southeast Asia, as Major Milestone in Clean Energy Research". Laotian Times. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
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