Fusion Research
Exploring alternating current drive for plasma confinement.
The ultimate aim of the ALCUTOR research project is to generate the know how to be able to build power plants that will exploit the advantages of nuclear fusion process for clean and affordable energy production. The objectives of ALCUTOR proposal is to experimentally test the effects of alternating current drive on plasma confinement and stability, using hydrogen-helium plasma:
Design all the details and build the experimental toroidal device described here;
Obtain the first plasma at thermonuclear temperature;
Investigate how alternating current and the conductive shell affects the control of plasma MHD instabilities and the overall position of the plasma column;
Run multiple tests to measure the plasma parameters like temperature, density, confinement time, transport loses, stability, and other plasma behavior, compared to the traditional devices;
Investigate the alternating current contribution to Joule heating, potentially reducing the need for expensive auxiliary heating systems;
Investigate possible measures to mitigate the problems that may appear during tests, to reach the best results possible with the proposed technology.
Research Team
Ing. Octavian Balaci (project coordinator)
Ing. Ioan Socol (project management)
New Toroidal Reactor
Build and test the new innovative design for magnetic confinement of fusion plasma based on AC current drive and stabilisation of plasma.
