FICOP · Optimization of fast-ion confinement against edge instabilities for future fusion reactors
Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-09-01 → 2024-12-31
- EU contribution
- €174,234
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Optimization of fast-ion confinement against edge instabilities for future fusion reactors
The quality-of-life of modern societies has reached unprecedented levels, and this is usually linked to the large (electrical) energy consumption per capita. The main energy sources that have made this possible in the last century are fossil fuels and nuclear fission. However, the sustainability of these resources is now in question and there is an increasing concern in the society about the impact of these on the environment and its consequences. In this context, nuclear fusion emerges as a promising solution to the global energy demands. Nowadays, the most advanced concept for making nuclear fusion possible for energy production is the tokamak. A tokamak is a device based on magnetic confinement fusion. The fuel (in state of plasma) is heated up to temperatures of the order of millions degrees Celsius, in order to make the fusion reactions possible. The plasma, this is, an ionized quasi-neutral gas, is kept confined and away from the vessel walls by means of complex magnetic fields. In a tokamak fast (energetic) ions play a key role: they are responsible for the heating and current drive of the plasma. If not well confined, the loss of fast-ions is detrimental for the tokamak efficiency and poses a risk to the machine integrity. For this reason, it is of paramount importance to understand the behaviour of fast-ions and their interaction with plasma instabilities. The goal of this work is the optimization of fast-ion confinement in tokamaks. In particular, the study of the interaction between fast-ions and instabilities that appear in the edge of the plasma, the region which is closer to the walls. These instabilities are characteristic of the different confinement regimes in which a tokamak can be operated. Thus, understanding the behaviour of fast-ions in the presence of these, may help to guide the operational point of future fusion reactors.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The project presented here deals with Fast-Ion Confinement OPtimization (FICOP) in magnetically confined fusion reactors. The goal of the project presented here is the characterization of the effect of edge instabilities on fast-ion confinement and the understanding of the physical mechanisms behind this interaction, as well as to experimentally explore the conditions upon which ion runaway can take place in tokamaks by studying the behaviour of fast-ions in the current ramp-up and ramp-down phases, disruptions, and sawtooth crashes. To fulfill these objectives, novel and cutting-edge data analysis techniques will be developed to be applied to fusion diagnostics, including integrated tomography techniques and deep learning. The results of this project are expected to have a direct impact on the fusion community. The problem of power exhaust in tokamaks mainly focuses on the power dissipation through the divertor plates. Therefore, the limits to tokamak operation are set based on the heat fluxes that the materials in the divertor plates can tolerate. However, an additional constraint might come from the fast-ion heat loads due to edge instabilities that may deposit power not only on the divertor plates but also in the first wall of the main chamber, often in localized areas. The results of this project may help to assess weather fast-ion heat loads to the main chamber first wall due to edge instabilities can pose an additional constraint to the operational regime of a tokamak fusion reactor, or eventually impact its design by the addition of reinforced structures. The experimental results of the project will also be used to benchmark the state-of-the-art codes that the fusion community uses to make projections towards future machines. If successful, the benchmark will strengthen our confidence in our predicting capabilities, while if unsuccessful, the results will motiv
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLA · SevillaCoordinatorSpain
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/101069021
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e515950eec&appId=PPGMS
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e5f8685df8&appId=PPGMS
Data: CORDIS, © European Union