Events on Monday, November 11th, 2024
- The Physics of SPARC and ARC: Predictive Results and Open Questions
- Time: 12:05 pm - 1:00 pm
- Place: 1610 Engineering Hall
- Speaker: Alex Creely, Common Wealth Fusion Systems
- Abstract: Commonwealth Fusion Systems and its partners are in the late stages of building the SPARC tokamak, aiming for operation by the end of 2026, and are in the early stages of designing the ARC fusion power plant, aiming for operation in the early 2030s. As part of designing SPARC and preparing for operations, a large body of computational and empirical predictive work has been completed. This work, combined with SPARC’s new parameter space and robust early diagnostic set mean that early operation of SPARC will provide a wellspring of opportunity to validate predictions, both computational and empirical, ranging from gyrokinetic predictions of core performance, to H-mode power thresholds, to alpha particle dynamics, and many more. This talk will present some of the most impactful predictive work for SPARC and summarize the unique opportunities for validation. Simultaneously, CFS and its partners have begun predictive physics work as part of the ARC power plant design process, with the understanding that there remain significant uncertainties in these predictions. This talk will summarize a number of early results of the physics analysis of ARC, including core turbulence, vertical stability, and heat exhaust. In addition, the strategy for incorporating both confirmatory and exploratory physics results from SPARC into the ARC design will be presented.
- Host: John Sarff