In order for the DEMO reactor (DEMOnstration Power Plant) to demonstrate the economic feasibility of nuclear fusion in the 1950s, the technicians have to solve several challenges. One of the largest consists of Develop materials which must be used in the construction of the nuclear reactor DEMO. This is the challenge facing the IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility DEMO-Oriented NEutron Source) project.
The other major stumbling block that this type of energy generation presents us with requires that we find a way to get around Stabilize plasma which serves as fuel to keep it from decomposing the jacket, vacuum chamber and other components of the reactor. Achieving this without reducing the power of the nuclear fusion reaction is not easy, especially when you consider that the interaction between the deuterium and tritium nuclei contained in the plasma takes place at a temperature close to 150 million degrees Celsius.
Stabilizing the particle soup that the plasma contains at 150 million degrees Celsius without impairing reaction performance is a real challenge.
Several research groups are currently working in this area and are approaching it with different strategies. One of the most interesting discoveries of recent times leaves us moderately optimistic, because the ionized helium-4 nuclei, which result from the fusion of the deuterium and tritium nuclei, together with the neutron, which has an energy of about. 14 MeV is thrown against the walls of the container, have a stabilizing effect on the edge zone of the plasma.
A research group at MIT has also made a very interesting contribution in this area. He suggests using magnets in the reactor a new superconducting material known as YBCO (yttrium barium copper oxide) which combines yttrium, barium and copper oxide and tries to create a magnetic field that is significantly stronger than that of conventional magnets. And just a few days ago, MIT, Princeton, and other US institutions surprised us with a joint contribution aimed at making a difference in plasma stabilization strategies.
Super H mode can help us solve one of the great challenges of nuclear fusion
The models that the researchers are working with show that the very high temperature of the plasma can effectively prevent the jacket, the inner lining of the vacuum chamber and, above all, the divertor, the steel structure, from being damaged. and tungsten forming the bottom of the vacuum chamber, consists in cooling its outer layers. The problem is that it is not easy to do this without significantly worsening the fusion reaction that takes place in the gas core.
The Super-H mode suggests increasing the temperature and pressure in the outermost layers of the plasma to increase energy production in the inner area
The Super-H mode suggests increasing the temperature and pressure in the outermost layers of the plasma to increase energy production in the inner area. To do this, however, the gas zone must be cooled closer to the divertor. Researchers tried to do this by injecting gases into the plasma that exert the desired cooling effect, but they encountered a problem: these gases are transported from the outer region into the core of the gas and the reaction performance is noticeably impaired.
The huge component we can see in this photo is just one of the 54 identical pieces that make up the bottom of the reactor’s vacuum chamber. The divertor resists the bombardment of high-energy neutrons from the plasma and converts its kinetic energy into heat.
Fortunately, they reported a few days ago that they had found a very promising solution to this challenge, which is out Inject nitrogen into the plasmawhich simultaneously acts on the magnetic field generated by the magnets of the reactor to control the shape of the gas and to soften its impact on the divertor. This strategy has a cooling effect on the periphery of the plasma without significantly impairing the reaction performance in the gas core.
Those responsible for ITER have welcomed this news with open arms, as this approach can have a very positive impact on the development of the nuclear fusion reactor under construction in Cadarache, France. However, it is likely that commercial fusion reactors that theoretically arrive after the DEMO combine several of the strategies Stabilization of plasma, which we talked about in this article. And maybe a lot more is coming. Nuclear fusion is pursuing its course with a clear goal: to face its commercial advance in the 1960s.
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