Tokamak JET (Joint European Torus) is an experimental torus-shaped fusion reactor [kształt przypominający donuta – przyp red.]located at the Culham Center for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire in The facility uses magnetic fields to keep hot, ionized gas (plasma) away from the inner walls of the tank, enabling it to operate safely at temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius – ten times hotter than the temperature at the core.
The experimental campaign in the JET tokamak was carried out by over 300 scientists from European research centers belonging to the EUROfusion consortium and engineering and scientific and technical employees from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). She took part in the campaign, among others: a group of Polish scientists from the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion (IFPiLM) in Warsaw.
Currently, JET is the only device in which a large number of thermonuclear reactions can be carried out. The high-efficiency deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel mixture currently used there will be used in fusion power plants in the future. The goal of the completed experimental campaign was to develop the technologies and methodologies necessary for future fusion power plants.
Poles experimented with thermonuclear energy
Most experimental fusion devices use hydrogen or deuterium alone. However, testing a mixture of deuterium and tritium allows us to get as close as possible to the conditions in a real thermonuclear facility – explained in the IFPiLM announcement.
“Experiments at JET have optimized deuterium-tritium fusion reactions and contributed to the development of techniques for managing fuel containment, heat removal, and material evolution. This has provided information that is critical to the design and operation of future reactors, such as the International Experimental Research Reactor located south France – ITER, the DEMO fusion demonstration power plant, as well as for all other research conducted around the world for the development of thermonuclear power plants,” the scientists report.
Explaining the importance of the experimental campaign, scientists talk about combining the past and the future in fusion research. “The campaign, based on experiments conducted in late 2021, has advanced our understanding of deuterium-tritium plasmas. Insights from this campaign on optimizing fusion reactions and developing novel operational strategies combine past knowledge with future applications in nuclear fusion technology.” was announced in the press material.
Scientists tested new concepts developed on smaller European tokamaks, initially with deuterium and then with a deuterium-tritium fuel mixture. This research is important for understanding how processes observed in smaller devices will be adapted to larger future fusion projects.
As emphasized, the campaign marks progress in work with tritium. “JET scientists have made significant progress using tritium as a fuel component through the introduction of novel monitoring and cleaning technologies, including laser diagnostic methods such as LID-QMS (laser-induced desorption-quadrupole mass spectrometry). These innovations are critical to the future operation of the tokamak ITER, because they ensure accurate monitoring of tritium consumption and increase the operational safety of the device,” informs the EUROfusion consortium. “The main success of the DTE3 campaign was the ability to reproduce the high fusion energy experiments from the second deuterium-tritium experimental campaign (DTE2) in 2021. This achievement demonstrates the reliability and readiness of JET’s operational methods, which are essential to the future success of the ITER project.” .
The campaign involved testing various operational scenarios to effectively manage the heat removed from hot, ionized gaseous fuel (plasma). Scientists focused on dissipating energy at the edge of the plasma – while maintaining high energy levels in the plasma core, a critical balance for reactor feasibility. This included minimizing or eliminating energy bursts resulting from plasma edge instabilities and implementing innovative thermal load management techniques, such as feedback-controlled fouling gas venting to create a radiation zone located around point X. Additionally, the team demonstrated real-time control of the DT fuel mixture via injecting gas and frozen deuterium pellets, which is a key method of controlling thermonuclear reactions. These advances are critical to the successful operation of future fusion reactors.
The authors of the works also talk about deepening knowledge about the effects of high-energy neutrons. “Focusing on the impact of 14.1 MeV fusion neutrons, which transfer the energy of fusion reactions from the plasma, the campaign provided insight into their impact on cooling systems and electronics, the latter of which is working in collaboration with CERN. This knowledge is essential for designing safer and more efficient future fusion reactors,” they said.
Tokamak JET will be phased out soon
The JET reactor began operation in 1983 as a joint European project. Over time, it underwent several improvements to improve its performance. In 1991, JET became the world’s first reactor using a half-and-half mix of tritium and deuterium. The facility has set numerous records in nuclear fusion research, including a record plasma Q (ratio of nuclear fusion power produced to external power input to heat the plasma) of 0.64 in 1997 and a record nuclear fusion energy output of 59 megajoules in a five-second pulse in December 2021. The tokamak, built by European countries and used jointly by European scientists throughout its entire operational period, became the property of the UKAEA in October 2021, celebrated the 40th anniversary of obtaining the first plasma in June this year, and the end of the device’s operation is scheduled for the end of 2023.
The Polish Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, participating in the work with JET, represents the Polish scientific and research community in the EUROfusion consortium project and coordinates fusion research in Poland. For this purpose, the Scientific and Industrial Center for New Energy Technologies (CeNTE) was established, bringing together the research potential of over 20 national entities, which include: research institutes, universities, Polish Academy of Sciences institutes and industrial companies.
Source: Gazeta
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