Spain will have its own thermonuclear reactor

Spain will have its own thermonuclear reactor over the next decade. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPL) researchers are collaborating with University of Seville when developing a new thermonuclear device. The ultimate goal, known as Project SMART, is to develop a unique reactor design that explores two technologies and provides a sustainable energy solution.

He SMART (Small Aspect Ratio Tokamak) This is a reactor whose goal is to achieve controlled nuclear fusion. According to a press release, the researchers have developed a spherical tokamak that will explore low aspect ratio positive and negative triangular plasma scenarios.

Manuel García-Muñoz, professor at the Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics at the University of Seville, noted that negative triangle will provide better performanceas I could suppress the instabilities damaging the reactor walls.

According to PPL researchers, SMART is the first spherical tokamak that will explore the potential of negative triangularity. The choice of this design was not accidental. According to scientists, the spherical shape will make it easier to contain the plasma and allow it to be better controlled.

“This is a potential game-changer with attractive fusion characteristics and power management for future compact fusion reactors,” Garcia-Muñoz said. “Negative triangularity has lower level of vibrations inside the plasmabut it also has a large deflection area to distribute heat transfer,” he added.

Spanish thermonuclear reactor – long-term project

Project SMART represents a different approach to fusion experiments. New tokamak structure may suppress plasma instabilitywhich can lead to power outages and damage to the wall.

“Form is very important in terms of retention. That’s why NSTX-U, PPPL’s main fusion experiment, is not squat like other tokamaks,” the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory said in a press release.

Next step study diagnostic methods to monitor the state of the plasma. Researchers at Princeton University have developed Thomson’s dispersion diagnostic, which They will measure the temperature and electron density in the plasma. during synthesis reactions. Added to this are other methods developed by the University of Seville that measure temperature, rotation and ion density, as well as diagnostics using multiple energy soft X-rays (ME-SXR) and spectrometers.

Currently, fusion reactors are at an experimental stage. The technology is under development and successful experiments have been conducted such as ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), a tokamak with a chamber capable of heating deuterium and tritium to over 100 million degrees Celsius. Despite this, It is impossible to build a fusion reactor that generates more energy than it consumes. sustainable.

The SMART project consists mainly of young students from the University of Seville. Although preliminary tests have already been carried out, Spanish researchers hope to conduct extended tokamak testing in the last quarter of 2024..