UK Magnetic Fusion Research Programme

Lead Research Organisation: CCFE/UKAEA
Department Name: Culham Centre for Fusion Energy

Abstract

The purpose of international fusion research is to harness the process that heats the sun andother stars, to develop a new, large scale, carbon-free energy source without security ofsupply or major long-term waste problems. The most developed approach uses strongmagnetic fields to keep the very hot, ionised gas (plasma) away from material surfaces.The main challenges are to minimise energy losses from the plasma, keep it stable andhandle its high exhaust power, and to develop reliable materials and components that canwithstand years of high power fluxes of heat and the very hot neutrons created by fusionwhich will be the heat source for electricity generation.The 2010-2016 EPSRC-supported magnetic fusion research programme at CCFE (alsofunded by EURATOM) will respond to the findings of the 2009 RCUK review of UK fusionresearch strategy. This emphasised the need to shift gradually the balance of research fromphysics to technology, with the long-term aim to position UK industry to be a major playerwhen fusion power stations are built. The RCUK's Fusion Advisory Board has endorsed themain thrusts of this forward programme. The grant will cover UK funding for the JointEuropean Torus (JET) at CCFE, presently the world's leading fusion experiment. In the2010s, JET will be superseded by ITER, the international device under construction inFrance.The centrepiece of the UK programme is MAST. A major 30M upgrade will be implementedduring the grant period, to enable higher power, longer pulse experiments with even hotterplasmas (around 50 million degrees). MAST is a spherical tokamak, a concept pioneered atCCFE with a tighter design of magnetic bottle than conventional tokamaks like JET andITER. The main aims of MAST experiments are to (a) determine whether the ST would be asuitable basis for a compact device to test components for future fusion power stations, and(b) improve tokamak physics understanding to help optimise exploitation of ITER. Aside fromupgrading MAST, the main strands of the programme are as follows (all involve considerablecollaboration with UK universities and overseas organisations):1) Experiments on MAST, and related theory and modelling, on the stability, confinement,exhaust, start-up and sustainment aspects of tokamak plasmas2) Participation, with other European fusion scientists, in the JET programme, concentratingon assessing of the effect of JET's new metal plasma-facing wall on plasma performanceand the implications for ITER. In around 2015 there will be experiments using the fusion fuel(a mixture of deuterium and tritium) - JET is the only machine that can use tritium3) Improving structural and plasma-facing materials for fusion power stations through theoryand modelling (tested against experiments in UK universities) and assessments of theperformance of tungsten and beryllium in the new JET wall4) Designing specialist heating and measurement technologies for ITER, and facilitating theinvolvement of UK industry in the procurement of these and other ITER systems5) Gradually moving from ITER technologies to those needed for a demonstration fusionpower station to follow ITER, contributing to joint European design studies - some of thiswork will assist the less-developed laser-based inertial approach to fusion power stations,studied at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, which would need similar neutron-captureand high heat flux technologies6) To help all of the above, tapping relevant UK university expertise in plasma and materialssciences and technology, with student training in many disciplines.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description CCFE's mission is to harness the fusion process that powers the sun by using magnetic fields in order to develop a large-scale carbon-free energy source and position the UK to be a leading provider in the international fusion energy economy. CCFE is a major player in a global collaborative endeavour aimed at producing a commercial-scale fusion demonstration reactor (DEMO), which will be preceded by the demonstration of the first burning plasmas in ITER, the next-step international fusion experiment under construction in France; the UK has unique capabilities.

A key driver of the research has been to resolve (with partners) some key issues for ITER - there are numerous examples but two stand out: Firstly JET operation with the beryllium/tungsten wall confirmed that retention of hydrogen isotopes is reduced by orders of magnitude and the metal wall survives melting during transient events. ITER has now adopted this choice of wall materials - a critical decision. Secondly MAST has demonstrated the suppression of explosive edge localised modes by specially designed edge coils. When combined with results from other experiments and predictive models we have influenced the ITER design.
Exploitation Route The EU roadmap is to have the first fusion electricity produced 20 years after ITER reaches Q=10. However, the CCFE programme makes valuable near-term contributions to UK prosperity, in economic growth, the UK skills base and reducing cost and risk of nuclear power.

Economic Growth: ITER represents a continuing opportunity for the UK, and CCFE will assist UK industry win contracts. To date, €400M has been awarded to UK industry, most of which has been facilitated by our sector-specific world-leading expertise. In the future, DEMO represents a new opportunity for UK industry - at present the work is likely to be mainly in the form of grants and EPSRC funds are needed to establish the UK position in future fully-funded opportunities for industry. China has also announced its intention to develop an ITER-scale device called CFETR (Chinese Fusion Energy Test Reactor) rapidly. CCFE has established relations with key Chinese fusion labs who particularly value our expertise in robotics and materials. Our fusion connections with China provide a gateway to fission opportunities.

Skills: Our programme tackles key technology issues for the next steps in fusion which are relevant to fission new-build, including design opportunities for Small Modular Reactors and next generation fission reactors. Training is also a major focus, with strong links to several CDTs (notably in fusion led by York) contributing to training the next generation of fusion scientists and technologists. UKAEA itself also has an outstanding apprentice programme (winning many national awards) and a significant programme in training graduate engineers.
Sectors Other

URL http://www.ccfe.ac.uk/
 
Description As well as its long term task, developing fusion power, UKAEA has promoted industry involvement in fusion and technology transfer. ITER, MAST-Upgrade and other UKAEA faciliies are major opportunities for UK industry, both for direct financial benefit and for improving skills. UKAEA gas a full time industry liaison. Through major events, direct contacts and electronic media, assistance has been provided to UK companies to recognise and bid for ITER opportunities. To date UK companies have won almost €200M in ITER business. Technical support is also provided to start-up companies at the Culham Innovation Centre, and there are opportunities for spin-offs notably in materials and robotics. 2024 update For a long term programme such as fusion, the impacts emerge over time, and developments are often reported in later grants (see impacts reported under EP/T012250/1, Magnetic Research Fusion Programme 2019-2022, and in the case for support for the current grant starting in 2022). For example, there has been a substantial increase in the €200M contracts won from ITER reported above. The seeds were sown for an industrial partner approach to constructing new fusion facilities (H3AT and CHIMERA) at Culham and the new site at Rotherham, testing a new type of relationship with industry. The basis was laid for a large expansion of the apprentice facility (most users are non-fusion); further fusion related chairs and other posts at universities have been appointed bringing new classes of challenge into to academia which should broaden and strengthen university capabilities and relevance. The digital challenges for fusion are extreme, and this grant triggered the recognition of the power of fusion use cases in developing the nation's computing capability to new levels. Most of these required other funding sources, and winning that funding against competition provided some recognition of the benefit fusion research brings to the wider STEM ecosystem.
First Year Of Impact 2010
Sector Other
 
Title Finite element analysis results from simulation of fusion energy heat exchange component: hybrid CAD/IBSim model including a graphite foam interlayer 
Description Temperature profile data from a finite element analysis of a conceptual design for a fusion energy heat exchange component (monoblock). The mesh is a hybrid from a computer aided design (CAD) drawing for the pipe and armour and IBSim for the interlayer. The IBSim interlayer is generated directly from a 3D volumetric image of a graphite foam block (KFoam). The 3D image was generated with an X-ray tomography scan performed by Dr Llion Evans with Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility equipment, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (grants EP/F007906/1, EP/F001452/1 and EP/I02249X/1). Conversion of the data to FE mesh was achieved using ScanIP, part of the Simpleware suite of programmes, version 7 (Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA). The mesh used for the analysis is available as a separate dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3522319 This data was used originally for the following publications (please cite if re-using the data): Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Improving modelling of complex geometries in novel materials using 3D imaging", Proceedings of NEA International Workshop on Structural Materials for Innovative Nuclear Systems, Manchester, UK, July 2016. https://www.oecd-nea.org/science/smins4/documents/P1-18_LlME_SMINS4_paper_reviewed.pdf 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Finite element analysis results from simulation of fusion energy heat exchange component: hybrid CAD/IBSim model including a graphite foam interlayer 
Description Temperature profile data from a finite element analysis of a conceptual design for a fusion energy heat exchange component (monoblock). The mesh is a hybrid from a computer aided design (CAD) drawing for the pipe and armour and IBSim for the interlayer. The IBSim interlayer is generated directly from a 3D volumetric image of a graphite foam block (KFoam). The 3D image was generated with an X-ray tomography scan performed by Dr Llion Evans with Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility equipment, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (grants EP/F007906/1, EP/F001452/1 and EP/I02249X/1). Conversion of the data to FE mesh was achieved using ScanIP, part of the Simpleware suite of programmes, version 7 (Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA). The mesh used for the analysis is available as a separate dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3522319 This data was used originally for the following publications (please cite if re-using the data): Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Improving modelling of complex geometries in novel materials using 3D imaging", Proceedings of NEA International Workshop on Structural Materials for Innovative Nuclear Systems, Manchester, UK, July 2016. https://www.oecd-nea.org/science/smins4/documents/P1-18_LlME_SMINS4_paper_reviewed.pdf 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Finite element mesh of fusion energy heat exchange component: hybrid CAD/IBSim model including a graphite foam interlayer 
Description Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) mesh:
A finite element mesh of a conceptual design for a fusion energy heat exchange component (monoblock). The mesh is a hybrid from a computer aided design (CAD) drawing for the pipe and armour and IBSim for the interlayer. The IBSim interlayer is generated directly from a 3D volumetric image of a graphite foam block (KFoam). The 3D image was generated with an X-ray tomography scan performed by Dr Llion Evans with Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility equipment, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (grants EP/F007906/1, EP/F001452/1 and EP/I02249X/1). Conversion of the data to FE mesh was achieved using ScanIP, part of the Simpleware suite of programmes, version 7 (Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA). The FE mesh data uses the EnSight Gold file format and may be visualised using Paraview (https://www. paraview.org). The CT data used for the mesh is available as a separate dataset: This data was used originally for the following publications (please cite if re-using the data):
Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Improving modelling of complex geometries in novel materials using 3D imaging", Proceedings of NEA International Workshop on Structural Materials for Innovative Nuclear Systems, Manchester, UK, July 2016. https://www.oecd-nea.org/science/smins4/documents/P1-18_LlME_SMINS4_paper_reviewed.pdf 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Finite element mesh of fusion energy heat exchange component: hybrid CAD/IBSim model including a graphite foam interlayer 
Description Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) mesh:
A finite element mesh of a conceptual design for a fusion energy heat exchange component (monoblock). The mesh is a hybrid from a computer aided design (CAD) drawing for the pipe and armour and IBSim for the interlayer. The IBSim interlayer is generated directly from a 3D volumetric image of a graphite foam block (KFoam). The 3D image was generated with an X-ray tomography scan performed by Dr Llion Evans with Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility equipment, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (grants EP/F007906/1, EP/F001452/1 and EP/I02249X/1). Conversion of the data to FE mesh was achieved using ScanIP, part of the Simpleware suite of programmes, version 7 (Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA). The FE mesh data uses the EnSight Gold file format and may be visualised using Paraview (https://www. paraview.org). The CT data used for the mesh is available as a separate dataset: This data was used originally for the following publications (please cite if re-using the data):
Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Improving modelling of complex geometries in novel materials using 3D imaging", Proceedings of NEA International Workshop on Structural Materials for Innovative Nuclear Systems, Manchester, UK, July 2016. https://www.oecd-nea.org/science/smins4/documents/P1-18_LlME_SMINS4_paper_reviewed.pdf 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Finite element meshes of conceptual designs for a fusion energy heat exchange component (monoblock) for Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) of in-service conditions 
Description Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) mesh and temperature analysis results:
Finite element meshes of conceptual designs for a fusion energy heat exchange component (monoblock). The dataset includes three meshes:
- CCFE_ThBr_CAD (mesh created by with a computer aided design (CAD) package)
- CCFE_ThBr_IBFEM (hybrid CAD and IBSim mesh, manufactured version of CCFE_ThBr_CAD)
- IPP_WfCu_IBFEM_3MB (hybrid CAD and IBSim mesh, tungsten fibre-copper matrix composite pipe with tungsten armour) For the the hybrid meshes, the IBSim part is generated directly from a 3D volumetric images of the real manufactured parts and as such includes microscale features introduced during the manufacturing stage. The 3D images were generated with X-ray and neutron tomography, the datasets are available at the links below. Conversion of the data to FE mesh was achieved using ScanIP, part of the Simpleware suite of programmes, version 7 (Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA).
X-ray CT data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533420
Neutron CT data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533418 The FE mesh data uses the EnSight Gold file format and may be visualised using Paraview (https://www.paraview.org). Results for a thermal analysis performed with ParaFEM (https://github.com/leemargetts/parafem) are included. This data was used originally for the following publication (please cite if re-using the data):
Ll.M. Evans, T. Minniti, T. Barrett, A. v. Müller, L. Margetts, "Virtual qualification of novel heat exchanger components with the image-based finite element method", e-Journal of Nondestructive Testing (NDT) ISSN 1435-4934, Issue: 2019-03, No. 23660. https://www.ndt.net/search/docs.php3?id=23660 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Finite element meshes of conceptual designs for a fusion energy heat exchange component (monoblock) for Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) of in-service conditions 
Description Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) mesh and temperature analysis results:
Finite element meshes of conceptual designs for a fusion energy heat exchange component (monoblock). The dataset includes three meshes:
- CCFE_ThBr_CAD (mesh created by with a computer aided design (CAD) package)
- CCFE_ThBr_IBFEM (hybrid CAD and IBSim mesh, manufactured version of CCFE_ThBr_CAD)
- IPP_WfCu_IBFEM_3MB (hybrid CAD and IBSim mesh, tungsten fibre-copper matrix composite pipe with tungsten armour) For the the hybrid meshes, the IBSim part is generated directly from a 3D volumetric images of the real manufactured parts and as such includes microscale features introduced during the manufacturing stage. The 3D images were generated with X-ray and neutron tomography, the datasets are available at the links below. Conversion of the data to FE mesh was achieved using ScanIP, part of the Simpleware suite of programmes, version 7 (Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA).
X-ray CT data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533420
Neutron CT data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533418 The FE mesh data uses the EnSight Gold file format and may be visualised using Paraview (https://www.paraview.org). Results for a thermal analysis performed with ParaFEM (https://github.com/leemargetts/parafem) are included. This data was used originally for the following publication (please cite if re-using the data):
Ll.M. Evans, T. Minniti, T. Barrett, A. v. Müller, L. Margetts, "Virtual qualification of novel heat exchanger components with the image-based finite element method", e-Journal of Nondestructive Testing (NDT) ISSN 1435-4934, Issue: 2019-03, No. 23660. https://www.ndt.net/search/docs.php3?id=23660 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Finite element meshes of graphite foam samples for Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) of experimental laser flash analysis 
Description Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) meshes:
Finite element mesh of laser flash analysis (LFA) disc samples made of a graphite foam material (KFoam). The IBSim meshes are generated directly from a 3D volumetric image of a graphite foam block. The 3D image was generated with an X-ray tomography scan performed by Dr Llion Evans with Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility equipment, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (grants EP/F007906/1, EP/F001452/1 and EP/I02249X/1). Segmentation of the data into a binarized image was achieved with ImageJ. Conversion of the segmented data to FE mesh was achieved using ScanIP, part of the Simpleware suite of programmes, version 7 (Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA). The graphite foam has anisotropic properties partly due to its microstructure. This dataset contains three meshes, one for each alignment along cartesian axes. The FE meshes use the EnSight Gold file format and may be visualised using Paraview (https://www.paraview.org). The CT data used for the mesh is available as a separate dataset: This data was used originally for the following publications (please cite if re-using the data):
Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Finite element meshes of graphite foam samples for Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) of experimental laser flash analysis 
Description Image-Based Simulation (IBSim) meshes:
Finite element mesh of laser flash analysis (LFA) disc samples made of a graphite foam material (KFoam). The IBSim meshes are generated directly from a 3D volumetric image of a graphite foam block. The 3D image was generated with an X-ray tomography scan performed by Dr Llion Evans with Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility equipment, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (grants EP/F007906/1, EP/F001452/1 and EP/I02249X/1). Segmentation of the data into a binarized image was achieved with ImageJ. Conversion of the segmented data to FE mesh was achieved using ScanIP, part of the Simpleware suite of programmes, version 7 (Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA). The graphite foam has anisotropic properties partly due to its microstructure. This dataset contains three meshes, one for each alignment along cartesian axes. The FE meshes use the EnSight Gold file format and may be visualised using Paraview (https://www.paraview.org). The CT data used for the mesh is available as a separate dataset: This data was used originally for the following publications (please cite if re-using the data):
Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Neutron tomography (CT) image data of tungsten fusion energy heat exchange components 
Description Neutron tomography (CT) image data of tungsten fusion energy heat exchange components. The dataset includes three sets of images: ITER_171T-WA-0002_MB (ITER reference monoblock) CCFE_ThBr_MB (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy thermal break concept monoblock) ROIsamples_Stack (A stack of four region of interest samples*) The region of interest samples within the stack are as below: CCFE_ThBr_ROI (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy thermal break concept monoblock) IPP_Wf-Cu_p5_s1 (Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik tungsten fibre / copper matrix coolant pipe) ITER_HHFT_ROI (ITER reference monoblock which has undergone high heat flux testing) ITER_17IT-WA-0002_ROI (ITER reference monoblock) This data was used originally for the following publication (please cite if re-using the data) where further details on the data may be obtained: Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Each of the sample directories include reconstructed slices in Tiff format. To visualise the 3D volume use software such as ImageJ (https://imagej.net/Fiji/Downloads). CCFE_ThBr_ROI and ROIsamples_Stack include raw radiographs; dark and flat field images; scan & reconstruction parameter settings file. ITER_171T-WA-0002_MB includes data relating to the modulation transfer function (MTF) measurement. An X-Ray CT version of the ROI data is available for comparison: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533420 Image-based simulation (IBSim) meshes were generated directly from these datasets: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533422 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Neutron tomography (CT) image data of tungsten fusion energy heat exchange components 
Description Neutron tomography (CT) image data of tungsten fusion energy heat exchange components. The dataset includes three sets of images: ITER_171T-WA-0002_MB (ITER reference monoblock) CCFE_ThBr_MB (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy thermal break concept monoblock) ROIsamples_Stack (A stack of four region of interest samples*) The region of interest samples within the stack are as below: CCFE_ThBr_ROI (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy thermal break concept monoblock) IPP_Wf-Cu_p5_s1 (Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik tungsten fibre / copper matrix coolant pipe) ITER_HHFT_ROI (ITER reference monoblock which has undergone high heat flux testing) ITER_17IT-WA-0002_ROI (ITER reference monoblock) This data was used originally for the following publication (please cite if re-using the data) where further details on the data may be obtained: Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Each of the sample directories include reconstructed slices in Tiff format. To visualise the 3D volume use software such as ImageJ (https://imagej.net/Fiji/Downloads). CCFE_ThBr_ROI and ROIsamples_Stack include raw radiographs; dark and flat field images; scan & reconstruction parameter settings file. ITER_171T-WA-0002_MB includes data relating to the modulation transfer function (MTF) measurement. An X-Ray CT version of the ROI data is available for comparison: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533420 Image-based simulation (IBSim) meshes were generated directly from these datasets: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533422 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title X-ray tomography (CT) image data of tungsten fusion energy heat exchange components 
Description X-ray tomography (CT) image data of tungsten fusion energy heat exchange components. The dataset includes images of four samples: CCFE_MB_ROI (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy thermal break concept monoblock, region of interest sample) IPP_Wf-Cu (Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik tungsten fibre / copper matrix coolant pipe) ITER_HHFT_ROI (ITER reference monoblock which has undergone high heat flux testing, region of interest sample) ITER_MB_ROI (ITER reference monoblock, region of interest sample) This data was used originally for the following publication (please cite if re-using the data) where further details on the data may be obtained: Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Each of the sample directories include reconstructed slices in Tiff format. To visualise the 3D volume use software such as ImageJ (https://imagej.net/Fiji/Downloads). CCFE_MB_ROI also includes raw radiographs; scan & reconstruction parameter settings file. A Neutron CT version of this data is available for comparison: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533418 Image-based simulation (IBSim) meshes were generated directly from these datasets: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533422 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title X-ray tomography (CT) image data of tungsten fusion energy heat exchange components 
Description X-ray tomography (CT) image data of tungsten fusion energy heat exchange components. The dataset includes images of four samples: CCFE_MB_ROI (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy thermal break concept monoblock, region of interest sample) IPP_Wf-Cu (Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik tungsten fibre / copper matrix coolant pipe) ITER_HHFT_ROI (ITER reference monoblock which has undergone high heat flux testing, region of interest sample) ITER_MB_ROI (ITER reference monoblock, region of interest sample) This data was used originally for the following publication (please cite if re-using the data) where further details on the data may be obtained: Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Each of the sample directories include reconstructed slices in Tiff format. To visualise the 3D volume use software such as ImageJ (https://imagej.net/Fiji/Downloads). CCFE_MB_ROI also includes raw radiographs; scan & reconstruction parameter settings file. A Neutron CT version of this data is available for comparison: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533418 Image-based simulation (IBSim) meshes were generated directly from these datasets: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533422 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title X-ray tomography image data of a graphite foam block (KFoam) and tortuosity analysis 
Description X-ray tomography (CT) image data of a graphite foam block (KFoam). The 3D image was generated with an X-ray tomography scan performed by Dr Llion Evans with Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility equipment, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (grants EP/F007906/1, EP/F001452/1 and EP/I02249X/1). The dataset includes: raw radiographs; scan & reconstruction parameter settings file; reconstructed 3D volume. To visualise the 3D volume use software such as ImageJ (https://imagej.net/Fiji/Downloads). The volume image data (NMT_15_229_LLME_DivInterlayer.raw) is in binary format and has the following characteristics: 1586 x 1567 x 1588; 8-bit; little-endian byte order. The second .zip file is a 200 x 200 x 200 subset of this dataset. This was used to perform a tortuosity analysis on the foam. This dataset includes three sets of tiff images; tomographic slices; binarised slices; skeletonised slices. It also includes an excel file with the results of the tortuosity analysis performed with ImageJ. This data was used originally for the following publications (please cite if re-using the data): Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Improving modelling of complex geometries in novel materials using 3D imaging", Proceedings of NEA International Workshop on Structural Materials for Innovative Nuclear Systems, Manchester, UK, July 2016. https://www.oecd-nea.org/science/smins4/documents/P1-18_LlME_SMINS4_paper_reviewed.pdf 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title X-ray tomography image data of a graphite foam block (KFoam) and tortuosity analysis 
Description X-ray tomography (CT) image data of a graphite foam block (KFoam). The 3D image was generated with an X-ray tomography scan performed by Dr Llion Evans with Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility equipment, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (grants EP/F007906/1, EP/F001452/1 and EP/I02249X/1). The dataset includes: raw radiographs; scan & reconstruction parameter settings file; reconstructed 3D volume. To visualise the 3D volume use software such as ImageJ (https://imagej.net/Fiji/Downloads). The volume image data (NMT_15_229_LLME_DivInterlayer.raw) is in binary format and has the following characteristics: 1586 x 1567 x 1588; 8-bit; little-endian byte order. The second .zip file is a 200 x 200 x 200 subset of this dataset. This was used to perform a tortuosity analysis on the foam. This dataset includes three sets of tiff images; tomographic slices; binarised slices; skeletonised slices. It also includes an excel file with the results of the tortuosity analysis performed with ImageJ. This data was used originally for the following publications (please cite if re-using the data): Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Image based in silico characterisation of the effective thermal properties of a graphite foam", Carbon, Vol. 143, pp. 542-558, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.031 Ll.M. Evans, L. Margetts, P.D. Lee, C.A.M. Butler, E. Surrey, "Improving modelling of complex geometries in novel materials using 3D imaging", Proceedings of NEA International Workshop on Structural Materials for Innovative Nuclear Systems, Manchester, UK, July 2016. https://www.oecd-nea.org/science/smins4/documents/P1-18_LlME_SMINS4_paper_reviewed.pdf 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Description 'Imaging and location of fast neutron emissions by real-time time-of-flight 
Organisation Lancaster University
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Interim report - S. C. Bradnam et al., 'Imaging and location of fast neutron emissions by real-time time-of-flight methods: simulations of multi-detector element EJ-309 systems', UKAEA preliminary report, January 2018. The collaboration team are expecting to present results at the ANNIMA2019 conference in June. A further paper is currently being written for submission following the preliminary report.
Collaborator Contribution See above
Impact Collaboration still ongoing
Start Year 2016