The changing seasons, the ebb and flow, the twinkling of an eye, the source of energy upon which life on Earth depends, is the glowing fusion of 150 million kilometers away from her.
Yes, the sun is a super-huge fusion whose internal fusion reaction converts 700 million tons of hydrogen into helium every second. During this process, about five million tons of net energy is released, roughly equivalent to 3.86X1026 Joules, slowly number it ~ ~
Giant energy has been released for billions of years and provided a steady flow of light and heat to the earth, so that it was sung by singing children: Everything grew up by the sun!
Nuclear fusion energy with rich resources, high inherent safety, environmental acceptability and other characteristics, is the man's dream energy form.
In the 1980s, China enacted a nuclear energy development strategy of 'hot reactor - fast reactor - fusion reactor' and 'three-step', and then further promoted the study of fusion energy in our country into the international camp by participating in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) .
After decades of development, what is the strength of China's nuclear fusion research?
Liu Yong, director of the nuclear fusion and plasma branch of the Chinese Nuclear Society and president of the Southwest Institute of Physics of the nuclear industry (hereinafter referred to as the "Western Academy of Natural Sciences"), disclosed at the Annual Conference of the Chinese Society of Nuclear Sciences at the 2017 Annual Meeting that in the fusion engineering And scientific research, has been run from the past, and run to some areas now lead the development.Moreover, China's commitment to the ITER package procurement package has made significant progress.
Station fusion research advanced platform
On November 21, 2006, China, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States signed the ITER Joint Implementation Agreement and related documents to jointly build a superconducting Tokamak fusion reactor and explore peace It is understood that ITER will become the world's first power plant-level fusion reactor, which is an essential step towards the commercialization of magnetic confinement fusion. This is the first time that China has adopted equal Partner as the largest international cooperation project.
Fusion reactor model at 'Green Nuclear Science Popularization Expo'
It is learned that at present, the units engaged in research on controlled nuclear fusion of magnetic confinement include the Western Institute of Physics, the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics and other scientific research institutes as well as some colleges and universities, of which the Western Institute of Physics and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Plasma Physics The institute is the main undertaking unit for China to participate in the ITER project. Enterprises such as Guizhou Aerospace Sony, West Superconductor, Ningxia Dongfang, Hefei Ke Ye participated in the research, development and processing of relevant components, materials and processes of the ITER program.
'Nuclear fusion research is one of the most challenging topics in human history, and its basic principle is to slow down the process of nuclear fusion reaction to release energy and use it peacefully.' Liu Yong said, 'This project is extremely large The technical challenge we studied for 50 years was mainly due to its harsh conditions of implementation, the need for high temperatures above 100 million degrees, long time confinement in confined spaces, and the need for high enough densities. For decades, we The main idea is to solve the problem of how to limit the high temperature plasma of hundreds of millions of degrees for a long time so that it can fully respond and solve the problem of fusion self - sustaining combustion.
Despite the difficult process, significant progress has been made in the R & D and experiment of fusion devices in our country.
At present, there are EAST, HL-2A, HL-2M, etc. in the main research facilities (active / under construction) of controlled nuclear fusion with certain international influence. Among them, ) Device for the first time successfully achieved the divertor shaped Tokamak operation and high confinement mode (H-mode) discharge.This is a major scientific research achievement that made our country stand on the advanced research of nuclear fusion after the EU, the United States and Japan platform.
As a significant milestone in the history of magnetic confinement fusion experiments in China, this achievement also marks that China's magnetic confinement fusion science and plasma physics experiments have entered a completely new stage close to the international forefront. In the 2016 experiment, HL -2A is the first to realize low-noise coupling under the H-mode by using a passive-spaced waveguide array (PAM) antenna, which provides important data for ITER low-noise current-driven antenna design.
In addition, on July 3 this year, Eastern Super Ring EAST achieved stable 101.2 sec steady-state long-pulse high-confinement plasma operation and became the first one in the world to achieve a steady-state high-confinement mode with a duration of up to hundred seconds Tokamak nuclear fusion test facility. "EAST has been steadily upgrading device capabilities in the last two years and has played an important role in the discovery of advanced steady-state modes of operation." EAST experiments have made new headway and have achieved non-inductive steady-state H-mode operation Of the new record (about 50 seconds), all non-inductive steady-state operation of the core constraints increased, long pulse operation of high electron temperature greater than 100 seconds.
Excellent ITER procurement package to complete the task
"China is able to participate in ITER because we have laid a good foundation for the past 50 years and progress has been even greater in recent years," said Liu Yong.
It is understood that under the leadership and coordination of the ITER Center under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences give full play to the research advantages in the development of fusion devices and even fusion reactors and their components. With the full recognition and good ITER organization Communication and related advantages of the United Nations launched technical research, China's commitment to ITER procurement package progress smoothly, made a series of technological breakthroughs, fruitful.
For example, can I provide superconducting materials used by ITER?
The answer is yes. "Through this project, we are completely in the forefront of superconducting materials in the world.In addition, the correction of field coils and other materials are also borne by China." Liu Yong said.
As another example, among the many procurement packages, the "First Wall" undertaken by the West Courtyard has passed the test of many rounds of module production and high heat load test. The key processes such as laser welding technology have passed the certification of IO (ITER International Organization); the ITER neutron Shielded module procurement package (SB) has now entered the domestic supplier processing and manufacturing phase, West Institute is responsible for cladding shielding module technology; West Institute also bear all ITER magnet support mission, ITER GS support structure based on the optimal design and analysis of the proposed The new design, ITER recognized.
'The implementation of the ITER Program has driven the development of related disciplines and industries in China and its scientific and engineering goals are fully expected.'
According to the schedule of the ITER project, initial plasma will be generated in 2025 and deuterium and tritium will be discharged in 2035. 'At present, we are working hard to make the process of fusion reactor a little faster.' 'Liu Yong said that China's fusion energy development The road map has begun to take shape, and China will make unremitting efforts to strive for early completion of the fusion reactor and take the lead in achieving nuclear fusion. From 2035 to 2040, China will construct the CFETR for China's fusion test reactor and start the design of the DAMO for the fusion demonstration reactor. In the middle of the century, a solid foundation of science and technology was established in our country on a large scale for the independent construction of a fusion power station.
Liu Yong said that the fusion reactor is still facing key technical challenges. "The fusion reactor will operate under high quality and high parameters (high plasma temperature and density), resulting in a continuous and steady fusion of deuterium, tritium and fusion energy output Has been one of the core components of fusion research.A number of key physical and technological challenges are still faced in terms of the operating modes and operating parameters adopted, how to maintain a stable combustion plasma, compatibility with peripheral engineering components, and ensure plant safety For further study.