How does a Tokamak reactor works? What is ITER? What is the future of fusion energy?

2. What is Fusion?

7. The Tokamak Reactor

8. What is a Tokamak Reactor ?

9. The main parts of a tokamak
reactor are:
 Vacuum vessel - holds the plasma and keeps
the reaction chamber in a vacuum
 Neutral beam injector (ion cyclotron system) -
injects particle beams from the accelerator into
the plasma to help heat the plasma to critical
temperature
 Magnetic field coils (poloidal, toroidal) - super-
conducting magnets that confine, shape and
contain the plasma using magnetic fields

10.  Transformers/Central solenoid - supply
electricity to the magnetic field coils
 Cooling equipment (crostat, cryopump) -
cool the magnets
 Blanket modules - made of lithium; absorb
heat and high-energy neutrons from the fusion
reaction
 Divertors - exhaust the helium products of
the fusion reaction

12. How does it work ?

14. WHAT IS ITER?
 ITER ("The Way" in Latin) is one of the most
ambitious energy projects in the world today.
 In southern France, 35 nations are collaborating to
build the world's largest tokamak, as a large-scale
and carbon-free source of energy based on the
same principle that powers our Sun and stars.

15. WHAT WILL ITER DO?
 Produce 500 MW of fusion power
 Demonstrate the integrated operation of
technologies for a fusion power plant
 Achieve a deuterium-tritium plasma in which the
reaction is sustained through internal heating
 Demonstrate the safety characteristics of a fusion
device
 Test tritium breeding

16. Drawing of the ITER tokamak
and integrated plant systems

19. So how do we combat radiation
damage?
Example of radiation induced swelling

21. What’s the future of fusion?

24. References
 https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energ
y/a8914/why-dont-we-have-fusion-power-
15480435/
 https://www.iter.org/mach/Tokamak
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokamak
 https://www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/content/materia
ls-nuclear-fusion-how-do-you-confine-sun-box
 https://science.howstuffworks.com/fusion-
reactor4.htm