Chris Brown Hanni Lux James Cowan
Developments in fusion energy technology and the aspiration to build and run commercial fusion energy power plants has seen the commencement of numerous publicly and privately funded projects in recent years. Megaprojects, like fusion power plants, by their very nature are inherently complex and risky, therefore providing a robust cost estimate in …
PreprintV.G. Kiptily P.J. Bonofiglo T. Craciunescu J. Eriksson M. Fitzgerald V. Goloborodko M. Nocente S. Menmuir M. Podestà M. Poradzinski D. Rigamonti Z. Stancar S.E. Sharapov H. Sun D.M. Taylor M. Tardocchi P. Beaumont F. Belli F.E. Cecil C.D. Challis R. Coelho M. Curuia R. Dumont J. Garcia M. Garcia-Munoz Z. Ghani Ye. Kazakov D. Keeling E. Lerche C.F. Maggi J. Mailloux P. Mantica M.J. Mantsinen D. Marocco C. Perez von Thun F. Rimini
The fusion reaction between deuterium and tritium, D(T,n)4He is the main source of energy in future thermonuclear reactors. Charged fusion products of this reaction, α-particles (4He-ions), are born with an average energy of 3.5 MeV. Transferring energy to the thermal plasma during their slowing down, the…
PreprintDaniel Padrão David Hancock James Paterson Frank Schoofs Christopher Tuck Ian Maskery
Heat sinks have manifold applications, from micro-electronics to nuclear fusion reactors. Their performance expectations will continue to increase in line with the power consumption and miniaturisation of technology. Additive manufacturing enables the creation of novel, compact heat sinks with greater surface-to-volume ratios and geometrical comple…
Preprint PublishedMax T. P. Rigby–Bell Alex J. Leide Slava Kuksenko Chris Smith Chris Bearcroft Gyula Zilahi Louise Gale Tony Razzell James Wade–Zhu Dave J. Bowden
Silicon carbide fibre–reinforced silicon carbide matrix (SiCf/SiC) composites are desirable in structural nuclear applications due to their low density, high temperature strength and tolerance to energetic radiation. We have subjected two industrial grades of SiCf/SiC to high energy He²⁺ ion irradiation, up to 10,000 a…
Preprint PurchaseH. J. Campbell Y. Zhang T. Fukushima
Optimisation of REBCO coated conductor tapes specifically for use in nuclear fusion will help improve the magnet component lifetimes in future tokamak reactor power plants. The focus of this work was exploration of a novel approach to irradiation studies on REBCO tapes, utilising multiple magnetic measurements to probe evolution of the REBCO flux-p…
Preprint PublishedD. Kennedy M. Giacomin B. S. Patel W. A. Hornsby D. Dickinson C. M. Roach
We present herein the results of a linear gyrokinetic analysis of electromagnetic microinstabilites in the conceptual high−β, reactor-scale, tight-aspect-ratio tokamak STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, https://step.ukaea.uk). We examine a range of flux surfaces between the deep core and the pedestal top for the two candidate flat…
Preprint PublishedP.A. Ferreirós S.O. von Tiedemann N. Parkes D. Gurah D.J.M. King P. Norman M.R. Gilbert A.J. Knowles
Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) with high melting points and low neutron absorption cross-section are sought for generation-IV fission and fusion reactors. A high throughput computational screening tool, Alloy Search and Predict (ASAP), was used to identify promising RHEA candidates from over 1 million four-element equimolar combinations. Th…
Preprint PublishedPaul Wrigley Paul Wood Sam O'Neill Daniel Robertson Richard Hall Jason Joannou
New Technologies such as High Temperature Superconducting magnets and advanced computing in Fusion Reactors, Advanced Generation IV Reactor Technologies or Off-Site Modular Construction are exciting developments in low carbon energy. Modular Reactors enable “factory shop build and transport to site” according to the International Atomic Ener…
Preprint PurchaseMark Gilbert
Nuclear data, describing neutron reaction probabilities (cross sections) and decay behaviour, are critical to the design and operation of fusion experiments and future fusion power plants. Equally vital, are the inventory codes that use the data to predict neutron-induced activation and transmutation of materials, which will define the radiologica…
Preprint PublishedM. Tindall T. Deighan S. Rosini N. Bowden S. Biggs-Fox T. Barrett
Critical to the successful design of fusion reactor components is the development of coupled simulation models, capable of conducting efficient whole system design optimisation and virtual component qualification, under conditions which cannot be readily tested. Additionally, successful lifetime monitoring and predictive maintenance of fusion compo…
Preprint Published