Google enters in the fusion research

Machine-learning researchers at Google Research have developed in collaboration with researchers at Tri Alpha Energy a new computer algorithm which has significantly speeded up the optimization of its C-2U plasma generator.

On 25 July, the researchers published a report in the journal Scientific Reports describing the “Optometrist Algorithm” , a machine-learning tool that aids in choosing parameters to hold hotter nuclear plasma for longer periods in fusion experiments, one of the keys to cracking the complex code of nuclear fusion.

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China achieves the world’s longest high confinement fusion discharge

The EAST machine. Source: Institute of Plasma Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences

The Institute of Plasma Physics at Chinese Academy of Sciences have set a new world record in fusion by achieving 101.2 seconds in the so-called H-mode confinement regime in a fusion reactor on the 3rd of July.

The experiment was conducted on Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor at the Institute of Physical Science in Hefei, China.

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Our Lectures in Fusion within the UPC Master Course in Barcelona

Xavier Sáez delivering his lecture at UPC.

This spring our fusion group has contributed with three lectures to the Fusion Technology Course of the Nuclear Engineering Master organized by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain. This course is designed to offer the students an comprehensive overview on key topics in Fusion Technology, delivered by specialist lecturers from F4E, CIEMAT, CEA, IPP, UPC and BSC/Fusion group.

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BSC Fusion group improves the performance of fusion codes for EUROfusion

On 20 April 2017, our Fusion group researcher Xavier Sáez visited the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching, Germany, to participate in the bi-annual meeting of the EUROfusion High Level Support Team (HLST).

Xavier presented the work developed in the group to improve the performance of SFINCS and FELTOR codes. SFINCS is a novel drift-kinetic solver which can be used to predict neoclassical flows in 3D magnetic configurations while FELTOR solves 3D full-F gyrofluid model equations with discontinuous Galerkin method.

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