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Latest ITER Newsline

  • Industrial milestone | First cryopump passes all tests

    The serial production of ITER's powerful torus and cryostat cryopumps is progressing at Research Instruments, Germany, on behalf of the European Domestic Agency [...]

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  • Cryoline installation | Ball joints against earthquakes

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  • The changing fusion landscape | ITER hosting private sector workshop

    Take out your smart phone and search your favourite news site for 'nuclear fusion' or 'fusion energy.' On any given day, you will find articles discussing break [...]

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  • Image of the Week | Advisory committee season

    The 30th Meeting of the ITER Council Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC-30) took place at ITER Headquarters from 13 to 16 May. The Science and Tech [...]

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  • ITER Design Handbook | Preserving the vital legacy of ITER

    The contributions that ITER is making to fusion physics and engineering—through decades of decisions and implementation—are delivering insights to the fusion co [...]

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Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Fusion world

DIII-D, advancing fusion science

The DIII-D National Fusion Facility has announced the end of a productive two-year experimentation campaign, with 200 days of operation and 1,600 plasma research hours.

DIII-D has been conducting groundbreaking fusion research since the mid-1980s. DIII-D has over 100 participating institutions and a research team of more than 600 users. (Click to view larger version...)
DIII-D has been conducting groundbreaking fusion research since the mid-1980s. DIII-D has over 100 participating institutions and a research team of more than 600 users.
In operation since the 1980s, the DIII-D tokamak is the largest magnetic fusion research facility in the United States. Operated by General Atomics for the US Department of Energy, it played an important role in providing data for the engineering design phase of ITER, and continues to work to establish the scientific basis for the optimization of the tokamak approach to fusion energy production.

DIII-D explores a wide range of scientific issues that will help to prepare for ITER operation, including the exploration of the effect that internal stabilization coils have on preventing energy bursts from the plasma edge, the development of high-power microwave transmission line components with low energy losses, and software for controlling the plasma and protecting the ITER machine.

Key achievements of the latest campaign, as reported in a press release from General Atomics, include:

  • The demonstration of high performance "diverted negative triangularity" plasma configurations, which alter the shape of the plasma to improve performance and heat dissipation and potentially revolutionize the path to cost-effective fusion energy.
  • The deployment of a new radio-frequency wave injection technology known as "helicon current drive" with an innovative antenna that improves the delivery of energy to the plasma, potentially creating a new method for efficiently sustaining plasmas in a more compact and cost-effective manner.
  • Significant optimizations to DIII-D's flexible three-dimensional magnetic field configurations, which improved particle confinement and protections for the plasma-facing walls of the machine.
Findings from these and other areas of research will be announced in upcoming scientific journals and conferences.

A number of upgrades—such as a new divertor system and increased current drive capability—are planned to bring DIII-D to higher performance levels and to enable new research to improve plasma control and efficiency.

See the original press release here. 

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