Publications related to 20 years of research on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

Experimental study and interpretative modelling of the Power Exhaust in Configurations with Multiple X-Points in TCV

Nuclear fusion presents a promising clean energy source to mitigate future energy crises, with magnetic confinement fusion well-positioned to provide a baseload scenario to power future reactors. The unmitigated power exhaust of such reactors threatens its ...

EPFL2024

Global fluid simulations of plasma turbulence in stellarators

António João Caeiro Heitor Coelho

In order to cope with the decarbonization challenge faced by many countries, fusion is one of the few alternatives to fossil fuels for the production of electricity. Two devices invented in the middle of the previous century have emerged as the most promis ...

EPFL2024

Nonlinear simulation of plasma turbulence using a gyrokinetic moment-based approach

Antoine Cyril David Hoffmann

Plasma turbulence plays a fundamental role in determining the performances of magnetic confinement fusion devices, such as tokamaks. Advances in computer science, combined with the development of efficient physical models, have significantly improved our u ...

EPFL2024

Re-design of EU DEMO with a low aspect ratio

Hartmut Zohm

The design point that had been chosen for EU DEMO in 2016 is reviewed here and a modification is proposed with a lower aspect ratio. Previously the same aspect ratio, A, was chosen for EU DEMO as in major tokamak experiments including ITER (A = 3.1), and, ...

2024

Neutron-Gamma Noise Measurements in a Zero-Power Reactor Using Organic Scintillators

Andreas Pautz, Oskari Ville Pakari, Vincent Pierre Lamirand

Noise measurements in light water reactor systems aid in generating validation data for integral point kinetic parameter predictions and generating monitoring parameters for reactor safety and safeguards. The CROCUS zero-power reactor has been used to supp ...

Ieee-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc2024

Divertor turbulence characterisation using Gas Puff Imaging in the TCV tokamak

Curdin Tobias Wüthrich

The performance of magnetic confinement fusion devices, such as tokamaks, is strongly correlated to the phenomena that occur in the boundary region of the plasma core that faces the wall of the device. The dominant cross-field transport mechanisms from the ...

EPFL2024

Long plasma duration operation analyses with an international multi-machine (tokamaks and stellarators) database

Stefano Coda, Jeffrey Huang

Combined high-fusion performance and long-pulse operation is one of the key integration challenges for fusion energy development in magnetic devices. Addressing these challenges requires an integrated vision of physics and engineering aspects with the purp ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2024

Gamma noise to non-invasively monitor nuclear research reactors

Pavel Frajtag, Andreas Pautz, Oskari Ville Pakari, Vincent Pierre Lamirand, Tom Mager

Autonomous nuclear reactor monitoring is a key aspect of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s strategy to ensure nonproliferation treaty compliance. From the rise of small modular reactor technology, decentralized nuclear reactor fleets may strain the ...

Nature Research2024

Scenario optimization for the tokamak ramp-down phase in RAPTOR: A. Analysis and model validation on ASDEX Upgrade

Olivier Sauter, Federico Alberto Alfredo Felici, Anna Teplukhina, Simon Van Mulders, Cassandre Ekta Contré, Bernhard Sieglin

We discuss how the combination of experimental observations and rapid modeling has enabled to improve understanding of the tokamak ramp-down phase in ASDEX Upgrade. A series of dedicated experiments has been performed, to disentangle the effect of individu ...

Iop Publishing Ltd2024

Overview of fast particle experiments in the first MAST Upgrade experimental campaigns

Matteo Vallar

MAST-U is equipped with on-axis and off-axis neutral beam injectors (NBI), and these external sources of super-Alfv & eacute;nic deuterium fast-ions provide opportunities for studying a wide range of phenomena relevant to the physics of alpha-particles in ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2024

First-principle based predictions of the effects of negative triangularity on DTT scenarios

Olivier Sauter, Gabriele Merlo, Alberto Mariani

Plasmas with negative triangularity (NT) shape have been recently shown to be able to achieve H-mode levels of confinement in L-mode, avoiding detrimental edge localised modes. Therefore, this plasma geometry is now studied as a possible viable option for ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2024

Demonstration of a sparse sensor placement technique to the limited diagnostic set in a fusion power plant

Lorenzo Martinelli, Artur Perek

DEMO will have a limited diagnostic set for optimization of reactor performance, and limited diagnostic coverage due to challenging reactor conditions. This poses challenges for control, especially for detachment control which is planned to be performed wi ...

Elsevier Science Sa2024

Heterogeneous catalysis via light-heat dual activation: A path to the breakthrough in C1 chemistry

Bingqiao Xie

A hybrid photothermal catalytic system, which combines both the photochemical (light) and thermal (heat) activation pathways over a bifunctional catalyst, has demonstrated remarkable levels of reaction activity and selectivity when compared with individual ...

Cell Press2024

Progress in the development of the ITER baseline scenario in TCV

Olivier Sauter, Stefano Coda, Alexander Karpushov, Yann Camenen, Benoît Labit, Antoine Pierre Emmanuel Alexis Merle, Olivier Claude Martin Février, Simon Van Mulders, Filippo Bagnato, Alessandro Pau, Matteo Vallar, Cassandre Ekta Contré, Stefano Marchioni, Oleg Krutkin, Reinart Andreas J. Coosemans

Under the auspices of EUROfusion, the ITER baseline (IBL) scenario has been jointly investigated on AUG and TCV in the past years and this paper reports on the developments on TCV. It is found that the performance of TCV IBL is mainly limited by (neoclassi ...

2024

Gyrokinetic simulations of turbulence in magnetic fusion plasmas using a delta-f PIC scheme with evolving background

Moahan Murugappan

Using the GKEngine code which simulates an electrostatic plasma with adiabatic electron response under a sheared-slab geometry, an attempt at developing a hybrid approach between the delta-f and full-f schemes to describe plasma profiles exhibiting high fl ...

EPFL2024

NBI optimization on SMART and implications for scenario development

Mario Ludovico Podesta, Francesca Maria Poli

The SMall Aspect Ratio Tokamak (SMART) under commissioning at the University of Seville, Spain, aims to explore confinement properties and possible advantages in confinement for compact/spherical tokamaks operating at negative vs. positive triangularity. T ...

Iop Publishing Ltd2024

Disruption avoidance and investigation of the H-Mode density limit in ASDEX Upgrade

Federico Alberto Alfredo Felici, Alessandro Pau, Bernhard Sieglin

In recent years a strong effort has been made to investigate disruption avoidance schemes in order to aid the development of integrated operational scenarios for ITER. Within the EUROfusion programme the disruptive H-mode density limit (HDL) has been studi ...

Iop Publishing Ltd2024

Interpretative 3D MHD modelling of deuterium SPI into a JET H-mode plasma

Umar Sheikh, Mengdi Kong, Cristian Sommariva, Haomin Sun

The pre-thermal quench (pre-TQ) dynamics of a pure deuterium ( D 2 ) shattered pellet injection (SPI) into a 3 MA / 7 MJ JET H-mode plasma is studied via 3D non-linear MHD modelling with the JOREK code. The interpretative modelling captures the overall evo ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2024

Scenario optimization for the tokamak ramp-down phase in RAPTOR. Part B: safe termination of DEMO plasmas

Olivier Sauter, Emiliano Fable, Federico Alberto Alfredo Felici, Anna Teplukhina, Simon Van Mulders, Cassandre Ekta Contré

An optimized plasma current ramp-down strategy is critical for safe and fast termination of plasma discharges in a tokamak demonstration fusion reactor (DEMO), both in planned and emergency scenarios, avoiding plasma disruptions and excessive heat loads to ...

Iop Publishing Ltd2024

Study of impurity C transport and plasma rotation in negative triangularity on the TCV tokamak

Basil Duval, Olivier Sauter, Stefano Coda, Alexander Karpushov, Laurie Porte, Benoît Labit, Antoine Pierre Emmanuel Alexis Merle, Justin Richard Ball, Filippo Bagnato, Alessandro Pau, Dmytry Mykytchuk

Carbon impurity transport is studied in the TCV tokamak using a charge exchange recombination diagnostic. TCVs flexible shaping capabilities were exploited to extend previous impurity transport studies to negative triangularity (delta < 0). A practical way ...

Iop Publishing Ltd2024