Stabilising fusion plasmas in new FOM programme

25 November 2009
A Dutch research programme lead by dr. Tony Donné of the FOM Institute Rijnhuizen will investigate the properties of high temperature fusion plasmas. Hot fusion plasmas of 150 million degrees Centigrade, confined by magnetic fields, can easily develop instabilities which decrease the performance of the fusion reactor. These instabilities tend to amplify themselves and the researchers have taken up the task of actively stabilising the plasma with microwaves. The expected results of the research would be a crucial contribution to the operation of ITER, the international fusion reactor currently under construction. Tony Donné: "By combining the existing knowledge and expertise in the Netherlands, we as a relatively small player in the international fusion community can make an important contribution to the development of fusion as a sustainable energy source."

With this prototype stabilisation system, the researchers have recently successfully tested a number of concepts to control a fusion plasma. The instabilities in the plasma were suppressed by beaming in microwave power in the order of 1 megawatt; the reaction of the instabilities to the microwave beam is investigated by analyzing the nanowatt signals sent out by the plasma itself. The detected signal is used to aim the mirrors at the instability and to activate the microwave source at just the right time to hit the rapidly rotating instabilities.

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