MIT Magnet Allows Path to Commercial Fusion Power
Community Fusion System (CFS) and MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center claimed that a high-temperature superconducting magnet was successfully tested. The 20-tesla field intensity, according to MIT researchers and CFS, is the most intense electromagnetic field ever created on Earth, paving the way for the construction of the first fusion power generator.
Magnet design is one of the most difficult issues in producing the conditions required for fusion. According to the researchers, it is now possible to construct and contain plasma that generates more energy than it consumes. Magnet technology developed by the MIT-CFS team makes this possible.
MIT studies on fusion power
A statement from Dennis Whyte, supervisor of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, the unique alliance and collaboration between MIT and CFS enabled them to be quick and efficient in making, producing, and testing this magnet. As stated by Whyte at a news briefing, they could draw from and build on the assets of each firm to form a consortium to offer this technology on the short timeline demanded by the climate problem.
Furthermore, the fusion presents substantial challenges. If proven, MIT’s technology could become a carbon-free, infinite source of energy. The demonstration is a big step toward addressing the most serious issues about SPARC, a high-field fusion energy project at MIT.
They want SPARC to have a fusion gain, or Q-factor, of at least 2, which means that twice as much fusion power is produced as is required to sustain a reaction. A demonstration device is expected to be completed in the year 2025.
As stated by Maria Zuper, the vice chairman of MIT Research, the goal is to build a power plant the size of a small school gym that generates the same amount of power as a coal plant while emitting no carbon. The fuel is hydrogen, which is derived from water, which we have plenty of.
Magnetic fields
Fusion is the method through which the Sun is powered. A fusion process occurs when two light nuclei combine to form a single heavier nucleus, releasing energy if the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the total mass of both originating nuclei. The leftover mass is converted into power.
A field of magnets keeps a group of protons and electrons, or plasma, together, creating a hidden cloak. Magnetic fields exert tremendous influence upon electrically charged particles. One of the most well-known concepts for control is a doughnut-shaped device known as a tokamak. Over 150 tokamaks have been created and tested, with each demonstrating capability by approaching the fusing threshold. While most systems generate electromagnetic fields using copper electromagnets, the French ITER concept employs low-temperature superconductors.
The use of elevated temperatures superconductors, according to the researchers, is a critical step in the MIT-CFS fusion endeavor. These superconductors can withstand a much stronger electromagnetic field, resulting in smaller tokamaks. This was accomplished by employing a new superconducting material, rare-earth barium copper oxide (ReBCO), which operates at twenty degrees Kelvin.
A ribbon-shaped ReBCO variant became commercially available only a few years ago. The use of brand-new high-temperature superconducting magnets took use of decades of tokamak studies.
Magnet style
A three-year period of design, supply chain, and manufacturing process development were required for the magnet enhancement. According to the experts, numerous models were created using a real model and CAD designs.
The new magnet was gradually charged in a series of steps until it produced an electromagnetic field of 20 tesla. That represents the highest field strength yet achieved by a high-temperature superconducting fusion magnet, according to fusion researchers. The magnet is constructed from 16 plates stacked on top of one another. Researchers said that in order to create a strong magnetic field, the material must be encased in a strong metal framework.
The newly developed magnet’s size and performance are similar to those of a non-superconductor magnet used in MIT’s Alcator C-Mod experiment, which was completed in 2016. According to Whyte, the distinction in terms of power consumption is indeed fascinating because the constraining magnetic field was created by an ordinary copper conducting magnet [consuming] about 200 million watts of power
The magnet’s properties
According to Whyte, the new magnet utilized approximately 30 watts, meaning that the amount of energy required to confine the electromagnetic field was lowered by a factor of approximately 10 million. He stated that switching to a high-field superconducting device could result in “net energy from fusion [because] we do not need to use as much power to provide the constraining magnetic field.”
The MIT fusion center experiment also demonstrated that a scale-built magnet could maintain an area of more than 20 tesla. The required performance level for the SPARC tokamak device, which will be utilized to demonstrate net energy from fusion.
This test entails obtaining temperatures high enough for a superconducting magnet to generate a field while consuming as little power as possible. The magnitude of the field strength, which required several days to ramp up, was thought to be sufficient to keep what developers termed a stable state. The equilibrium between energy use and temperature was achieved in this situation.
The next stage is to construct SPARC, using the successful magnet test as a foundation. Significant technical and economic challenges remain; nonetheless, scientists believe the road to fusion energy may finally be descending.
Read the original article on EETIMES.
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