DIII-D (tokamak)

DIII-D is a tokamak that has been operated since the late 1980s by General Atomics (GA) in San Diego, USA, for the U.S. Department of Energy. The DIII-D National Fusion Facility is part of the ongoing effort to achieve magnetically confined fusion. The mission of the DIII-D Research Program is to establish the scientific basis for the optimization of the tokamak approach to fusion energy production.[1]

DIII-D
A worker inside the DIII-D vessel
Device TypeTokamak
LocationSan Diego, California, US
AffiliationGeneral Atomics
Technical specifications
Major Radius1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Minor Radius0.67 m (2 ft 2 in)
Magnetic field2.2 T (22,000 G) (toroidal)
Heating power23 MW
Plasma currentup to 2.0 MA
History
Year(s) of operation1986 – present
Preceded byDoublet III

DIII-D was built on the basis of the earlier Doublet III, the third in a series of machines built at GA to experiment with tokamaks having non-circular plasma cross sections. This work demonstrated that certain shapes strongly suppressed a variety of instabilities in the plasma, which led to much higher plasma pressure and performance. DIII-D is so-named because the plasma is shaped like the letter D, a shaping that is now widely used on modern designs, and has led to the class of machines known as "advanced tokamaks." Advanced tokamaks are characterized by operation at high plasma β through strong plasma shaping, active control of various plasma instabilities, and achievement of steady-state current and pressure profiles that produce high energy confinement for high fusion gain (ratio of fusion power to heating power).

DIII-D is one of two large magnetic fusion experiments in the U.S. (the other being NSTX-U at PPPL) supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. The program is focusing on R&D for pursuing steady-state advanced tokamak operation and supporting design and operation of the ITER experiment now under construction in France. ITER is designed to demonstrate a self-sustained burning plasma that will produce 10 times as much energy from fusion reactions as it requires for heating.

DIII-D Research Program

The DIII-D research program is a large international collaboration, with over 600 users participating from more than 100 institutions. General Atomics operates the San Diego-based facility for the United States Department of Energy through the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences.[2]

Research in DIII-D aims to elucidate the basic physics processes that govern the behavior of a hot magnetized plasma, and to establish a scientific basis for future burning plasma devices such as ITER. Ultimately, the goal is to use this understanding to develop an economically attractive fusion power plant.

The tokamak consists of a toroidal vacuum chamber surrounded by magnetic field coils which contain and shape the plasma. The plasma is created by applying a voltage to generate a large electrical current (more than one million amperes) in the chamber. The plasma is heated to temperatures ten times hotter than that of the sun by a combination of high-power neutral beams and microwaves. The plasma conditions are measured using instrumentation based on intense lasers, microwaves, and other precision plasma diagnostics.[3]

History
Schematic of Doublet II

In May 1974, AEC selected General Atomics to build the Doublet III magnetic fusion experiment based on the success of earlier Doublet I and II magnetic confinement experiments. In Feb 1978, the Doublet III fusion experiment achieved its first operation with plasma at General Atomics. The machine was later upgraded and renamed DIII-D in 1986. [4]

The DIII-D program achieved several milestones in fusion development, including the highest plasma β (ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure) ever achieved at the time (early 1980s) and the highest neutron flux (fusion rate) ever achieved at the time (early 1990s).

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See also

References
  1. DIII-D "DIII-D". Retrieved Feb 17, 2018.
  2. General Atomics - Magnetic Fusion Energy. "ga.com". Retrieved Feb 17, 2018.
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF0t3j_2WSI
  4. General Atomics History. May 1974 and Feb 1978."ga.com". Retrieved Feb 17, 2018. url=http://www.ga.com/Websites/ga/images/about/history/1974-may.jpg, url=http://www.ga.com/Websites/ga/images/about/history/1978-february.jpg

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