BSC at Fusion Materials Meeting

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On June 7-9, the BSC researchers Georg Huhs, Stephan Mohr and Mervi Mantsinen from the CASE department participated in a EUROfusion meeting on fusion materials. Their presentation on Recent advances in large-scale atomistic materials modeling at Barcelona Supercomputer Center was well received. The meeting was organized by Prof. María José Caturla at the University of Alicante, Spain.

Materials research is a key topic for the European and worldwide fusion research programme as the technological feasibility of fusion energy depends on the availability of materials that are capable of withstanding the operational conditions of fusion reactors.

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First computer simulation of a novel tokamak start up technique

National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U)

Physicist Dr Fatima Ebrahimi from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has carried out first computer simulations to evaluate the efficiency of  a start-up mechanism known as coaxial helicity injection (CHI),  of doughnut-shaped fusion machines such as tokamaks. The approach simulated by Dr Ebrahimi could also benefit devices that use superconducting magnets.

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#IAmAPhysicist

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On Thursday, May 26th, the Institute of Physics (IOP) released a campaign on Twitter to break down the stereotype of what a physicist looks like.

The objective of the movement is to help the non-scientific community to better understand that there is no mainstream physicist, and that there is a wide range of jobs a physicist can do, from finance (econophysics) to healthcare (medical physics).

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Way forward for the ITER Plant Simulator

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Present nuclear power plants make use of robust plant simulators capable of simulating the plant operation. In addition, these plant simulators are able to model possible accidents that could occur in a real situation. In this way operators can be instructed and acquire all the skills that they are going to need in the development of their job. Of course we are talking about “fission” nuclear power plants.

But what about “fusion” nuclear power plants?

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Launch of National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade at Princeton

NSTX exterior.

Last Friday, 20 May 2016, was a historic day at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).  It was a day that the $94-million upgrade to National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX-U), which took almost four years to build, was officially launched by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz.

Funded by the DOE Office of Science, NSTX-U addresses how to create fusion, the process that powers the Sun, on Earth, in a device based on the spherical tokamak concept.

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BSC at Expert Meeting on ITER Neutronics

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The XI ITER Neutronics Meeting takes place this week (the 23rd to the 27th May 2016) in Karlsruhe, Germany. Approximately 110 experts from around the world, including Carles Riera from the BSC Fusion group, attend the meeting to present and discuss:

  1. Recent results of ITER neutronics analyses,
  2. Nuclear integration issues for ITER,
  3. Developments in radiation transport simulation and modelling relevant to ITER,
  4. Neutronic experiments, measurements, and related issues relevant to ITER.

The meeting is organised by the Fusion Neutronics Group of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

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Source: KIT.

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