22.62 Fusion Energy

22.62 Fusion Energy. Spring 2020

Staff

Prof Ian Hutchinson (ihutch@mit.edu) NW17-135, 3-8760
Grader: TBA
Admin: Valerie Censabella (censabella@psfc.mit.edu) NW17-133, 3-5456

Approximate weekly schedule. Subject to adjustment

Feb 3 5 Nuclear Energy. Fusion Reactions, Rates, Power density.
10 12 Confinement Requirements. Ignition. Breakeven.
18 19 Magnetic and Inertial approaches.
24 26 Tokamak components. MHD Force Balance. Instabilities
Mar 2 4 Sawteeth. Disruptions. β, ne limits.
9 11 Transport and Confinement.
16 18 Scaling.        Mid Term.
- - Spring Vacation.
Apr 30 1 Performance. Fueling. Heating.
6 8 Neutral beams. Penetration. Thermalization.
13 15 RF heating. Cyclotron damping.
- 22 Current drive.
27 29 Integrated performance. Popcon.
May 4 6 Power and Particle Handling. Stellarators
11 - Alternates. Revision.

Course Educational Objectives

  1. Understand the physical processes involved in fusion reactions and their consequences for fusion energy.
  2. Understand the challenges, fundamental limitations, and necessary characteristics of human-scale fusion energy, including inertial and magnetic confinement approaches.
  3. Explore in detail the physics of magnetic confinement, heating, and control of plasmas, and be aware of the main known physics limitations and challenges, and how they arise.
  4. Become familiar with the engineering and technology needs for making fusion energy practical, what the consequences for feasibility are, and where the future engineering challenges lie.
  5. Explore the basis for current, upcoming and future fusion experiments and reactors.

Grade Basis

%
Homework (problem sets)27
Mid-term (1.5hr closed book)30
Final (3 hr probably open book) 40
Class (interactions) 3

Reading List

I. Hutchinson. Fusion Energy. Lecture notes
I will make available from the lectures. They will often be hand written.


The only book required for this course is access to
J P Freidberg Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
It is based on this course as it has been taught at MIT for a long time. In Freidberg rather than Hutchinson style! Covers most of the material of this course and a lot more.


The following will give you some starting points for additional background reading.

M Kikuchi, K Lackner, and M Q Tran Fusion Physics IAEA, 2012.
A compendium of authoritative reviews of fusion topics.

T J Dolan Fusion Research Pergamon.
Still useful. Based on Dolan's teaching from long ago.

J Raeder et al Controlled Nuclear Fusion Wiley 1986.
More focussed on engineering and technology.

J Wesson Tokamaks, Oxford University Press (3rd edition or later).
A handbook that covers in quite accessible fashion many topics in an authoritative way.

I H Hutchinson Introduction to plasma physics http://silas.psfc.mit.edu/introplasma/
These 22.611 notes prescribe roughly what the prerequisites of the course are. If you have not taken 22.611j (or the Physics equivalent) you might have to do some private study.

Academic Expectations for Homework

1.  You are encouraged to do as much as possible of the problem sets on your own. This is the most effective way to learn, provided that you are not just spending hours and hours stuck.
2.  You are permitted to consult with other students in the course concerning points that you don't understand or when you are stuck. However, it is recommended that you do not develop a collaborative solution to problems. Also it is required that your solutions be written out separately and submitted in your own words.
3.  No collaboration or consultation will be permitted on the exams. One good reason to get into the habit of doing the work yourself!
4.  You may consult books or journal articles to assist if needed. If you do significantly use such materials, you should give the reference.
5.  There may, in some cases, be solutions from previous years to problems in the homeworks or ones very like them, available from the reading room or from more senior students. It is not permitted to use or consult these solutions. To do so would invalidate the process of using the homework marks as part of the course grade, and disadvantage those who avoided such use. Please regard this as a point of academic honour, and avoid the practice.


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 4.13.
On 16 Jan 2020, 14:36.