dennis whyte fusion presentation to asp june 16 2015
TRANSCRIPT
1Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
MIT Plasma Science & Fusion Center
Smaller & Sooner:���Key New Technologies to Accelerate the���
Development of Fusion Energy
Dennis Whyte MIT Plasma Science and Fusion CenterMIT Nuclear Science and Engineering
With grateful acknowledgement to colleagues & studentsat MIT and Princeton Plasma Physics Lab
American Security Project “Energy Week” LuncheonNew York, June 2015
2Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
The fusion of light nuclei is the energy source of stars, and basically, the universe
Big ball of hydrogen “plasma”
Interior temperature ~ 15 Million C
3Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
The fusion of light nuclei is the energy source of stars, and basically, the universe
On EarthHeavy types of hydrogen100 million degrees C10 atmospheres of pressure
4Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Fusion is the ultimate energy source
• Limitless fuel���
• No radioactive waste in fuel cycle• No proliferation
• Inherently safe
• No greenhouse gases
• Million times power density of “chemical” energyØ Minimized environmental footprint
• Can rapidly scale to large % of energy demand
6Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Fusion is the ultimate energy source
• Limitless fuel���
• No radioactive waste in fuel cycle• No proliferation
• Inherently safe
• No greenhouse gases
• Million times power density of “chemical” energyØ Minimized environmental footprint
• Can rapidly scale to large % of energy demand
7Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Magnetic bottles in toroidal (“donut”) shape have been extremely successful at reaching fusion conditions
On EarthHeavy types of hydrogen ✓ A100 million degrees C ✓ A 2 atmospheres ✓ B
8Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
The magnetic bottle is produced with a set of external coils with very large electrical currents passing through them
CurrentIn coil
9Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Fusion is real, made everyday in experiments of different size and configurations around US and world
Alcator C-Mod (MIT)3 atmospheres100 million C JET (UK)
15 million watts fusion power
0.7 m3 m
10Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Outside the US the world is escalating its investment magnetic fusion science by using “superconductor”
technology to produce the magnetic bottle
South Korea
China
Japan
Germany
11Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Yet fusion energy’s development timeline��� has stalled…
Ener
gy G
ain
Year
12Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
The ITER fusion experiment: ���The science of fusion is ready, but it takes ���
very large size with ~90’s superconductor technology
13Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Smaller, modular fusion devices are the key to���accelerating fusion’s development towards ���
net energy on decade timescale
! Shippingport:+1954+“Pilot”+Fission+Plant++ ITER+
Pthermal)(MW)) 230+ 500++Core)volume)(m3)) 60++ 1000+Cost)(2012)US)B$)) 0.6+ ~+20+
Cost)/)volume)(M$/m3)) 10+ ~+20+Construction)time)(y)) 3.5+ >+20+
!
14Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Smaller, modular fusion devices are the key to���accelerating fusion’s development towards ���
net energy on decade timescale
! Shippingport:+1954+“Pilot”+Fission+Plant++ ITER+
Pthermal)(MW)) 230+ 500++Core)volume)(m3)) 60++ 1000+Cost)(2012)US)B$)) 0.6+ ~+20+
Cost)/)volume)(M$/m3)) 10+ ~+20+Construction)time)(y)) 3.5+ >+20+
!
JET tokamak: 100 m3 ✓ ~4 years construction ca. 1980 ✓But only 10 MW fusion power
15Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Breakthrough superconductor technology provides a stronger magnetic bottle that does not use electricity à
smaller, sooner fusion energy
“ARC” Volume ~ 100 m3 JET (UK): Volume ~ 100 m3
Bmax = 23 T Bmax = 9 T
Pfusion =10 MWPfusion ~ 500 MW
16Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
The way to decrease the size of fusion devices, ���and accelerate fusion energy development, ���is to achieve higher magnetic field strength
βN2
q*2 RB4
Fusion power density
Physics parametersR = linear size, volume & cost ∝ R3���
B = magnetic field strength
17Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
The way to decrease the size of fusion devices, ���and accelerate fusion energy development, ���is to achieve higher magnetic field strength
βN2
q*2 RB4
Fusion power density
Physics parametersR = linear size, volume & cost ∝ R3���
B = magnetic field strength
Increase B two-fold à Gain 24 = 16 advantage!
Well known 20+ years ago but could only be done in resistive, energy consuming copper coils à no net energy
18Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Last few years: A new generation of high-temperature, high-field superconductors is
revolutionary for fusion energy
• Zero resistance
• Form of strong, flexible tapes à can form joints
19Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
REBCO: coated superconductors in ���robust tape form, commercially available
• Strong in tension due to steel • Flexible• Outer Cu coating à simple
solder low-resistance joint• Stark contrast with old NbSn
superconductor strand & CIC!
REBCO tape composition(not to scale)
20Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Breakthrough superconductor technology provides a stronger magnetic bottle that does not use electricity à
smaller, sooner fusion energy
REBCO superconductors ~4 years construction
Bmax = 23 T Bmax = 9 T
Pfusion =10 MWx B4Pfusion ~ 500 MW
21Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
April 2015: New world record of 26.5 Tesla���with REBCO-only, “no-insulation” coil
S. Hahn, J.M. Kim, et al.NNFML, FSU, SUNAM, MITApplied Phys Lett 2015
22Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
REBCO superconductor technology is primed to make smaller, sooner fusion possible!
Bcoil(T) 26.5 23
Je (A/mm2) 400 400-500
T (K) 4.2 25
Materials REBCO, SS316L
σmax (MPa) 593 660
Diameter (m) 0.03 ~ 6
23Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Tape superconductors à Demountable coils à Open the magnetic bottle!
F. Mangiorotti, J. MinerviniMIT Ph.D. thesis
24Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Demountable superconductor coils have a profound effect on modularity of fusion design
• Core is designed as a single integrated unitØ Synergy with keeping
design of small total mass and volume
• Fabrication + qualification done completely off-site
Replaceable“core”���module
25Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Demountable superconductor coils have a profound effect on modularity of fusion design
😀😕
26Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Modular core has a profound effect on fusion design: The liquid immersion “blanket”
• Simple -- No gaps ���
• Energy & fuel extraction with liquid low-velocity flow
• No damage limits in blanket
• Minimize solid replacement ~ 1 m3
FLiBe blanket
Fusionsource
27Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Immersion blanket + 3D printing:���Another revolution for fusion manufacturing and
removing intense heatExternalmotor
Inte
rnal
pum
ps
FLiBe
3D printed car
W
Flibe
2 mm thick
+Internal
Fin
28Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
High magnetic field à Reliable, stable physics regimes that have already been demonstrated
Operational limit diagram
βN2
q*2 RB4
29Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
The revolution of new superconductor technologies ���is ready to be started
Large sizeSector replacement> 20 year timeline
Modest size ���Modular replacement
< 10 year timeline
Fusion power: 500 MWElectrical power: 200 MW
Fusion power: 500 MW
SameScience!
30Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Near-term, small-scale research can pursue this exciting path for fusion energy
31Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Fusion Energy: Can be soon enough to make a difference!
• Fusion energy to solve the world’s needs has always been “50 years in the future”.
• But times have changed! Breakthrough technologies + established fusion science = New design paradigm
• Demonstration plants can be ready in decade, at reasonable cost & size.
• Let’s do it.
34Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Roadmaps to fusion energy should take on risk with variety of weightings in science vs. technology
Lockheed Martin
General Fusion
TriAlpha
Large science risk“Simpler” technology���
Flexible geometryReduced scale
Minimal science riskBreakthrough technologies
Geometry same but modularReduced scale
Science successToo big
Too slow
36Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Detachable magnetic coils à ���Idealized liquid immersion blanket à ���
Improved power density with high-T molten salt
Liquid: 450 – 1450 C
Non-toxic, inert
High resistivityGlobal heat removal
Internal ���heat removal
37Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
Immersion blanket: high-T molten salt FLiBe���Single-phase, low-pressure flow with ���
minimum MHD effectsExternalmotor
Inte
rnal
pum
ps
• Fuel Breeding Ratio ~ 1.14• High thermal efficiency ~ 0.4 - 0.5• Shielding: ~10 FPY coil lifetime
FLiBe
38Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
A fusion energy device heats itself and recycles neutrons internally for tritium hydrogen fuel
Energy Before (MeV)
~ 0.01
~0.01
Energy After (MeV)
14.1
3.5
Plasma physics: T=10 keV
39Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
A fusion energy device heats itself and recycles neutrons internally for tritium hydrogen fuel
Energy Before
~0.01
~0.01
Energy After
14.1
3.5+
+
Alphas heat plasma through scattering
Plasma physics, MAlfven >1
40Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
A fusion energy device heats itself and recycles neutrons internally for tritium hydrogen fuel
14.1 MeV
++
Escapes plasma
Nuclear Physics
41Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
A fusion energy device heats itself and recycles neutrons internally for tritium hydrogen fuel
14.1 à 0
++
Heat
ElectricityNuclear Engineering
42Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
A fusion energy device heats itself and recycles neutrons internally for tritium hydrogen fuel
++
6-Li + n à He + T
Nuclear Engineering, Radiochemistry
43Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
A fusion energy device heats itself and recycles neutrons internally for tritium hydrogen fuel
++
Surrounding materials
Nuclear Material Science
sheath
Low-T Plasma Material Science
44Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
The recipe for fusion energy success is well known: Gain & Power density & Steady-state
Q = Fusion PowerInput Power
Fusion Power
Heat out
InputPower
Blanket area S
Fusion PowerUnit Size
Gain
Power���Density
Steady-���State
45Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
REBCO superconductors performance is constantly improving for application in high-B coils:���E.g. Challenge of field anisotropy in jcrit
B
tape
B
tape
46Whyte, ASP Fusion Lunch, 06/15
REBCO superconductors performance is constantly improving for application in high-B coils:���
E.g. Field anisotropy in jcrit nearly eliminated last year“Progress in coated conductor development for high magnetic field applications.” V. Selvamanickam, et al.U. Houston Superconductor Workshop, Napa, CA Feb. 2015