Recent Publications

Neutronics Analysis of Shielding Performance for VNS Inboard Toroidal Field Coil with Various Material Options

Jin Hun Park, Pavel Pereslavtsev, Roman Afanasenko, Dieter Leichtle

Overview of Achievements and Outlook of the IFMIF/EVEDA Project

Kazuo Hasegawa, Atsushi Kasugai, Keitaro Kondo, Kai Masuda, Satoshi Sato, Kentaro Ochiai, Hervé Dzitko, Fabio Cismondi, Yann Carin, Dominique Gex, et al.

The Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities for the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF/EVEDA) project have been conducted as one of the three projects (IFMIF/EVEDA, IFERC and JT60SA) within the Broader Approach (BA) agreement between EURATOM and the Japanese government since 2007. The IFMIF is intended to deliver accelerator-based deuterium-lithium (D-Li) neutrons at energies and intensities to sufficient to enable the qualification of candidate materials for future fusion energy reactors, such as DEMO. The primary objective of the IFMIF/EVEDA project is twofold: (i) to develop a detailed engineering design of the IFMIF and (ii) to validate its major components, namely the Accelerator Facility, the Lithium Target Facility and the Test Facility. During Phase I of the BA, which concluded in March 2020, the Engineering Validation Activity (EVA) for the Lithium Target Facility and the Test Facility were successfully completed through the construction and testing of prototypes. In contrast, the EVA for the Accelerator Facility, implemented through the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc), remains on-going. The current phase (Phase II) focuses on the continued commissioning of the LIPAc and the enhancement of some sub-systems to support the development of the Fusion Neutron Source Design (FNSD). This article presents an overview of the progress achieved in the LIPAc commissioning and FNSD activities and outlines the future directions of the activities.

A structural beam-based approach for preliminary structural sizing of toroidal coil system: A supplementary module to MADE algorithm

Lorenzo Giannini, Laura Pittaluga, Giuseppe Ruta

An Inverse Grad-Shafranov Neural Network Approach to Tokamak Magnetic Control

Allen M. Wang, Adriano Mele, Cosmas Heiß, Cristian Galperti, Zander Keith, Alessandro Pau, Antoine Merle, Olivier Sauter, Daniel Gonzalez Castiñeiras, Francesco Carpanese, et al.

A new approach to tokamak magnetic control enabling high-precision plasma shaping and novel real-time adaptability is experimentally demonstrated on the Tokamak a Configuration Variable (TCV). The method is motivated by the insight that, under appropriate assumptions, a real-time inverse Grad-Shafranov solver approximates an optimal control policy for plasma boundary regulation. Building on this, a control architecture is developed in which classical controllers enforce operational constraints while a fast surrogate model provides a real-time inverse mapping from the desired plasma boundary to Poloidal Field Coil currents. Experimental results on TCV demonstrate improved plasma shaping with respect to the standard discharge preparation procedure --- albeit without explicit real-time shape feedback --- while enabling flexible response to asynchronous events. It is shown that a single network provides satisfactory performance across a range of plasma magnetic configurations. Real-time adaptivity is demonstrated in simulation, and partially in experiment, through adaptive strike point motion and early termination in response to a real-time trigger. These results suggest a viable path toward magnetic control architectures that reduce reliance on dense diagnostic coverage while maintaining high-accuracy plasma shaping, with potential relevance for future fusion power plant operation.

Activation analysis on diagnostic windows and coating materials for HCPB and WCLL blankets in EU DEMO

Sabahattin Akbas, Barbara Bieńkowska, Ewa Łaszyńska, Jakub Piotr Włodarczyk, Matthew Lukacs, Sandrine Rosanvallon, Joelle Elbez-Uzan

Plasma diagnostics and reactor control systems in future fusion power plants, such as DEMO, will rely on optical windows to monitor key plasma characteristics under intense irradiation conditions. Selecting suitable window and coating materials such as quartz, fused silica, sapphire, HfO₂, and MgF₂ is therefore critical to ensuring component reliability and safety. This study investigates these candidate materials’ activation calculations in the DEMO environment. Using the MCNP code, neutron spectra have been calculated at window-relevant locations in the outboard equatorial port and upper port limiters, considering both Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed and Water-Cooled Lithium Lead breeding blankets. Activation analyses have been subsequently performed with the FISPACT-II inventory code to evaluate the activity, decay heat, contact dose rates, and dominant contributing nuclides under the initial DEMO irradiation scenario. The results provide insights into neutron irradiation effects relevant to the activation performance of window materials and coatings, and contribute valuable input to component design and safety evaluations within the EUROfusion Safety & Environment Work Package framework.

The roles of different nuclear facilities for the qualification of the breeding blanket

Giacomo Aiello, Salvatore D’Amico, Francisco A. Hernandez, K. Hesch, David Rapisarda, Dmitry Terentyev

Multibody dynamics with joint modeling and trajectory optimization for the breeding blanket vertical transporter robot

Hjalte Durocher, Christian Bachmann, Rocco Mozzillo, Günter Janeschitz, Xuping Zhang

Impact of neutronics analyses on the lower port configuration of 2024 Volumetric Neutron Source

Aljaž Čufar, Christian Bachmann, Jean Boscary, Paolo Gallina, Curt Gliss, Primož Lesjak, Domenico Marzullo, Pavel Pereslavtsev, Sebastien Renard, Pietro Vinoni

Activation analysis and waste assessment of the electron cyclotron in EU-DEMO

S. Akbas, B. Bienkowska, E. Laszynska, J. Wlodarczyk, S. Rosanvallon, J. Elbez-Uzan

Integrated numerical analysis of impurity transport and sources for high current—high power baseline pulses with T in JET-ILW

I. Ivanova-Stanik, A. Chomiczewska, G. Telesca, E. Kowalska-Strzęciwilk, L. Garzotti, G. Pucella, D. Van Eester, R. Zagorski, V.K. Zotta

This work consists of integrated numerical modelling applied to JET high-current, high-power baseline pulses with 92% tritium + 8% hydrogen with tungsten divertor and beryllium wall in corner configuration. These simulations are performed using the COREDIV code, which self-consistently solves one-dimensional radial transport equations for the plasma and impurities in the core region, coupled with two-dimensional multi-fluid transport in the scrape-off layer. It should be noted that the simulations are ‘semi-interpretative’, in the sense that transport coefficients are tuned in order to match experimental data: profile of the radiation, Ni concentration, radiation in SOL and Z eff . The simulations suggest that, within the assumptions of the COREDIV model and the available experimental constraints, the observed increase in core plasma radiation can be most consistently reproduced by changes in impurity transport rather than by an increase in the impurity source. The simulations show that sputtering of tungsten due to tritium is negligible. The Be is the main source of sputtering and the dominant contribution to tungsten sputtering comes from Be 2+ .

Control logic of a batch operation process using Zeolite Molecular Sieve beds

G. Grapow, M. Molinari, V. Narcisi, A. Santucci, M. D'Onorio

Advancement in the development of remote handling tools for the volumetric neutron source blanket

Rocco Mozzillo, Vincenzo Claps, Curt Gliss, Piotr Marek, Guenter Janeschitz, Christian Bachmann