Artificial Sun Exceeds 100 Seconds, Tungsten Divertor Assists

On July 4th, the Institute of Plasma Physics in CIA announced that, the first time in the world, the national scientific device – fully superconducting fusion device Oriental hyper ring (EAST) achieved the model of 101.2 seconds steady-state long pulse high confinement plasma operation, establishing an important foundation for human development and utilization of nuclear fusion energy.

EAST, the Chinese fourth generation nuclear fusion experimental device, is 11 meters high, 8 meters in diameter and weighs 400 tons. Its scientific goal is to make deuterium and tritium which are particularly abundant in the seawater fuse at a very high temperature. Just like the sun nuclear fusion, it provides clean energy for human beings. Therefore EAST is called "artificial sun".
 
It is worth noticing that the high confinement operation made a breakthrough from 60 seconds to 101.2 seconds 50 million degrees of plasma continuous discharge. The breakthrough of 100 seconds cannot be made without the help of tungsten.
tungsten divertor image
 
Tungsten has many excellent properties such as a high melting point, high thermal conductivity, low sputtering rate, low fuel retention and low neutron activation. Thus it is the first choice for plasma facing material fusion experimental reactor and demonstration reactor (PFM). At present, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) divertor uses the tungsten / copper structure. Large Tokamak, such as JET, ASDEX-U and WEST, did material research and application based on W-PFM.
 
As a first barrier of high temperature plasma periphery, its power of low energy plasma with high beam resistance (including D/T/He particles), steady warm current (~ 10 MW/m2) and transient thermal shock (~ GW/m2), Neutron irradiation capacity of high energy 14 MeV fusion is the guarantee of steady running for plasma high parameter.

 

 

 

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