Progress in application of high temperature superconductor in tokamak magnets

Contribution to fusion research from IAEA coordinated research projects and joint experiments

“…However, it is well known (i.e. [18], figure 23) that in a tokamak the optimal conditions for energy production are different from those for maximum neutron production. Emphasis on 'fusion for neutrons' will, therefore, broaden the scope of fusion research, in particular in exploring plasma modes that are more suited for neutron production; the motivation is provided by the large number of possible applications of copious fusion neutrons.…”

“…and ICTP. Erasmus Mundus, FusNet and other activities are also contributing to CRP activities, for example during recent Fusion Energy course for DTU students remote experiments on two small tokamaks participating in the CRP, ST25 [18] and GOLEM [32], have been performed. Only JEs and SUMTRAIC/EMTRAIC and ICTP schools had 176 students participating, and the number of PhD students involved in the CRP activities exceeds 60.…”

Experiments on ST40 at high magnetic field

“…The spherical tokamak (ST) path to fusion has been proposed in Stambaugh et al [1], and experiments on STs have already demonstrated the feasibility of this approach. Advances in high temperature superconductor (HTS) technology [13][14][15] allows significant increase in the toroidal field (TF) which was found to improve confinement in STs. The combination of the high β, which has been achieved in STs [17] and high TF that can be produced by HTS TF magnets, opens a path to lower-volume fusion reactors, in accordance with the fusion power scaling proportional to β 2 B t 4 V. The high field spherical tokamak ST40, figures 1 and 2, is a prototype on this path and is now operating.…”

Analysis of Tokamak fusion device parameters affecting the efficiency of Tokamak operation

“…Continual engineering and scientific challenges that face the design of fully operational tokamaks for energy generation are extensive. Major examples include issues such as the interior coatings used are not currently able to withstand the extreme plasma temperatures for extended periods [33,34], the magnetic confinement field is difficult to keep strong enough whilst still able to dynamically change with the continuous plasma reaction [35,36] and the pressure inside the chamber is unstable largely for similar reasons [37,38]. Diagram 1. basic image of a toroidal tokamak reactor [14] While tokamaks show great potential, there are many hurdles associated with the technology.…”