CHIMERA Facility Development Programme and Virtual Results
The CHIMERA fusion technology facility, currently under construction at the UKAEA site in South Yorkshire, will enable testing of large in-vessel component modules under reactor-like conditions of combined in-vacuo thermal power density and magnetic field. With integral large superconducting magnet and PWR water loop, CHIMERA is also ideally placed for experiments on liquid metal breeding blanket prototypes. Even before construction and commissioning is complete, a parallel and supporting research and development programme is underway.
Developments in technologies have been required as part of CHIMERA construction. A bespoke infrared heating system has been developed, capable of applying 0.5 MW/m2 to component surfaces up to the size of the ITER test blanket module first wall. The heater modules must endure the high magnetic forces from the CHIMERA static and pulsed magnets. The results of a crucial development programme are presented. CHIMERA will feature a range of diagnostics, including load cells to measure static and pulsed magnetic forces, and induced current sensors, all of which have required prior development activities.
Testing will be in enhanced with simulation ‘digital twin’ capability; the first results are presented which relate to commissioning of the CHIMERA device. The digital twin will combine multi-physics simulations updated with experimental data employing stochastic capabilities. There are multiple important use cases. First, it enables a ‘virtual test run’ potentially revealing unexpected mock-up under test behaviour in advance of a test. Second, it augments the test diagnostics in real-time providing supplementary information to understand the mock-up state. The digital twin can be operated under conditions which are more extreme than the operational capability of CHIMERA and can be used to integrate additional physical processes not captured in the experiment. The digital twin is used to plan component response and validation experiments on CHIMERA including assisting specification of sensors required on the mock-up.