The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), nicknamed the “Chinese artificial sun”, achieved an electron temperature of over 100 million degrees in its core plasma during a four-month experiment this year. That’s about seven times more than the interior of the Sun, which is about 15 million degrees C.
The experiment shows China is making significant progress towards tokamak-based fusion energy production.
The experiment was conducted by the EAST team at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASHIPS) in collaboration with domestic and international colleagues.
The plasma current density profile was optimized through the effective integration and synergy of four kinds of heating power: lower hybrid wave heating, electron cyclotron wave heating, ion cyclotron resonance heating and neutral beam ion heating.
Power injection exceeded 10 MW, and plasma stored energy boosted to 300 kJ after scientists optimized the coupling of different heating techniques. The experiment utilized advanced plasma control and theory/simulation prediction.
Scientists carried out experiments on plasma equilibrium and instability, confinement and transport, plasma-wall interaction and energetic particle physics to demonstrate long-time scale, steady-state H-mode operation with good control of impurity, core/edge MHD stability, and heat exhaust using an ITER-like tungsten divertor.
With ITER-like operating conditions such as radio frequency wave-dominant heating, lower torque, and a water-cooling tungsten divertor, EAST achieved a fully non-inductive steady-state scenario with extension of fusion performance at high density, high temperature and high confinement.
Meanwhile, to resolve the particle and power exhaust, which is crucial for high-performance steady-state operations, the EAST team employed many techniques to control the edge-localized modes and tungsten impurity with metal walls, along with active feedback control of the divertor heat load.
Operating scenarios including the steady-state high-performance H-mode and electron temperatures over 100 million degrees on EAST have made unique contributions towards ITER, the Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) and DEMO.
These results provide key data for validation of heat exhaust, transport and current drive models. They also increase confidence in fusion performance predictions for CFETR.
At present, the CFETR physics design focuses on optimization of a third-evolution machine with large radium at 7 m, minor radium at 2 m, a toroildal magnet field of 6.5-7 Tesla and a plasma current of 13 MA.
In support of the engineering development of CFETR and the future DEMO, a new National Mega Science Project – theComprehensive Research Facility – will be launched at the end of this year.
This new project will advance the development of tritium blanket test modules, superconducting technology, reactor-relevant heating and current drive actuators and sources, and divertor materials.
EAST is the first fully superconducting tokamak with a non-circular cross section in the world. It was designed and constructed by China with a focus on key science issues related to the application of fusion power. Since it began operating in 2006, EAST has become a fully open test facility where the world fusion community can conduct steady-state operations and ITER-related physics research.
Learn more: Chinese Fusion Tool Pushes Past 100 Million Degrees
The Latest on: Fusion power
[google_news title=”” keyword=”fusion power” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Fusion power
- US and Japan team up to further development of nuclear fusion: 'Fusion is too important for needless competition'on April 27, 2024 at 3:30 am
"We are further leading the way in developing and deploying next generation clean energy technology." US and Japan team up to further development of nuclear fusion: 'Fusion is too important for ...
- Fallout 4 power armor explainedon April 25, 2024 at 10:23 am
Find out exactly where you can find your first set of Fallout 4 power armor, how to repair it, and see our tier list of every power armor set.
- Nuclear fusion experiment overcomes two key operating hurdleson April 25, 2024 at 9:43 am
Two important barriers to a stable, powerful fusion reaction have been leapt by an experiment in a small tokamak reactor, but we don’t yet know if the technique will work in larger devices ...
- Nuclear Power’s Expansion Risks Collapse on Widening Conflictson April 25, 2024 at 6:32 am
Atomic power’s potential as a clean-energy source forestalling climate change is increasingly at risk, with new data suggesting nuclear growth could be threatened by spreading geopolitical instability ...
- Nuclear fusion breakthrough overcomes key barrier to limitless clean energyon April 25, 2024 at 5:48 am
Nuclear fusion breakthrough overcomes key barrier to limitless clean energy - ‘Fusion energy is the ultimate energy source for humanity,’ researchers say ...
- LLNL Physicist Tammy Ma Shares Fusion Goals at TED Conferenceon April 25, 2024 at 12:00 am
Livermore’s dreams of bountiful clean energy took to the stage last week at the 2024 Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference in Vancouver, Canada.
- Germany Is Holding Up Italy’s Push for G-7 to Back Nuclear Poweron April 24, 2024 at 7:22 am
Italy and Germany have clashed over whether Group of Seven nations should include a reference to nuclear power as part of the green transition at an upcoming summit of energy ministers, according to ...
- MIT Technology Reviewon April 23, 2024 at 2:00 pm
A detailed study confirms that record-setting magnets built by the Plasma Science and Fusion Center and Commonwealth Fusion Systems meet the requirements for an economical, compact power plant.
- MUSE Nuclear Fusion Stellerator Made with Off the Shelf Parts and 3D Printed Shellon April 22, 2024 at 2:16 am
This is a scientific first that enables mostly off the shelf magnet for simple and low cost experiments to test new concepts for future fusion power plants. It does not generate net energy, but it has ...
via Bing News