Probing Plasma Instabilities with high performance simluations

The fusion performance of tokamaks is strongly influenced by the effectiveness of the background magnetic field in holding particles and energy inside the central plasma volume and away from the tokamak's walls. Fluctuations in the electromagnetic potentials, resulting from a multitude of small scale plasma instabilities, can limit the confinement that can be achieved in these tokamak plasmas. The study of these instabilities and the associated turbulent fluctuations is therefore vital in order to better understand the physics processes leading to enhanced losses and hence fusion performance degradation. The small scale and turbulent nature of the fluctuations can pose a challenge to experimental measurements of instability properties and data interpretation. Both theoretical and numerical studies of instabilities are therefore extremely useful approaches which can aid interpretation of the experimental data as well as allowing more flexibility in probing the underlying physics in detail.
In this project the researcher will develop experience with using leading edge gyrokinetic simulations to investigate the properties of instabilities in experimentally relevant scenarios. As a part of this work, a novel approach to capturing important effects arising from the slow spatial variation of the background equilibrium will be exploited to study the impact of equilibrium properties on the instability structure and the knock on effect for diagnostic measurements and interpretation. A key motivation of this project, alongside improving our fundamental understanding of plasma instabilities and associated turbulence, will be to explore the consequences of instability character for experimental diagnostics such as the Doppler Back Scattering (DBS) and Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) system. This will also aid efforts to validate the gyrokinetic tools through comparison of measured and predicted fluctuation signals and the researcher will be encouraged to exploit their gyrokinetic simulation skills to provide interpretive support in the diagnosis of experimental data. This project aligns closely with the goals of a wider collaborative project involving the universities of York and Oxford and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), providing the researcher with the opportunity to work closely with experimentally focussed PhD students as well as with experimental and theoretical experts within the international fusion community on these areas.

Identifying a solution to the energy problem is crucial to the UK economy and quality of life. In the near term a range of renewable options must be developed, eg wind and solar, but it is unlikely that these will provide the base-load supply required. Nuclear is an option for a carbon-free base-load and, in particular, fusion energy is safe and relatively clean. If it can be achieved, fusion would bring the largest economic benefits to those countries that lead the way to build the first fusion power plants, but ultimately most people in the world will benefit from fusion in some way.
ITER, the largest international science project on Earth, will operate from 2020 to answer the final physics questions and most technology questions required to construct the first demonstration magnetic fusion energy (MFE) power plant, DEMO. We will train the ITER generation of UK fusion scientists who will have the expertise to win time on this key facility against international competition. This is crucial to build experience that will feed into the design of DEMO, ensuring the UK remains at the forefront. EU design studies for DEMO are already under way, with manufacture of prototype components likely to follow soon. There are a number of beneficiaries from this training: (1) it will benefit Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), providing well-trained new staff to replace those retiring, keeping the UK at the forefront of fusion energy research, competitive for ITER time and leading elements of DEMO design/prototype development; (2) it will provide expertise for the growing UK industry involvement in fusion, helping to win contracts for ITER and DEMO prototype components; (3) it will ensure the UK has a cadre of fusion experts to advise Government on future directions. We expect to train 60 students in MFE, approximately balanced across plasmas, materials (relevant for IFE also, see below) and related fusion technologies.
For inertial fusion energy (IFE), NIF in the US is the most advanced device in the world, and some expected it would achieve fusion conditions, i.e. ignition. In its 2012 ignition experiments, this did not happen, but the reason why is still uncertain. The immediate need is to understand this, which requires experts to win time on international facilities (including NIF), understand why ignition did not occur and so develop a roadmap to IFE based on the new knowledge. This will benefit the UK Government by providing experts to advise on an appropriate strategy, able to compare the relative merits of IFE and MFE because of our training across both areas. If IFE proves viable, then it will need to integrate fusion technologies in a similar way to ITER and DEMO, bringing benefits to industry. We expect to train 15 students in high energy density physics (HEDP), spanning IFE and lab astrophysics; the MFE materials students' expertise is also relevant for IFE reactor design.
Expertise in HEDP is required by AWE for its science-based approach to underpinning the UK's nuclear deterrent, and is a key element of the UK's strategy to comply with the Test Ban Treaty. The new Orion laser facility at AWE can replicate the conditions in a nuclear warhead, enabling advanced computer codes to be tested. Our students will have the expertise to work with Orion, which requires skilled scientists as it establishes its programme. Also the materials and computational scientists amongst the ~60 MFE students will be of value to AWE.
We will train students in the cooler exhaust plasma of a tokamak. Similar plasma conditions are used in manufacturing industries (coatings, computer chips, etc) so we will develop a skill base that will benefit a number of such companies. Materials research for fusion is also relevant for fission. The popularity of fusion amongst students is a good way to bring outstanding students into the field, providing expertise that benefits the growing nuclear industries and supporting the Government's nuclear policy.