Tag: Fusion Energy Science

Controller with Integrated Machine Learning Tweaks Fusion Plasmas in Real Time

sarah JonasResearch Results

The conditions for high fusion performance in fusion devices can result in damaging energy bursts called edge-localized modes (ELMs). ELMs can be stabilized through small adjustments to the magnetic confinement field, but this approach is usually limited to manual, preprogrammed responses. In this research, scientists integrated machine learning with adaptive control to achieve real-time adjustment capable of responding to the dynamic conditions of a fusion plasma in the DIII-D National Fusion Facility and Korea Institute of Fusion Energy KSTAR tokamaks.

Ground-Breaking Efforts Overcome an Operational Limit of Tokamaks, Advancing Efforts to Achieve Fusion Energy

sarah JonasResearch Results

Fuel density in fusion tokamak devices has historically been constrained by limits in device design. Now, however, researchers at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility have for the first time gone beyond these density limits while simultaneously maintaining high confinement quality. These conditions have in the past been mutually exclusive. The result points to a possible solution for a common challenge for tokamak devices.

Department of Energy Announces $47 Million for Research at Tokamak and Spherical Tokamak Facilities

sarah JonasAnnouncement

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $47 million to U.S. scientists conducting experimental research in fusion energy science at tokamak and spherical tokamak facilities in the U.S. and around the globe. The awards support research that aims to close gaps in the science and technology basis for the tokamak approach to fusion energy. These awards will help support the Biden Administration’s decadal vision to accelerate fusion as a clean energy technology.