News Release
General Atomics-sponsored senior project advances fusion target autoloader systems
A team of undergraduate mechanical engineering students at Â鶹´«Ã½ developed a prototype of a fusion target autoloader system for their
The project was sponsored by San Diego-based General Atomics, an international leader in fusion energy research and development. It’s a first step in designing a system to increase the frequency at which small targets full of fusion fuel can be imploded by lasers to generate clean, affordable fusion energy.
Currently, single targets are individually placed in a fusion reactor for individual experiments. In order to reach reactor relevant frequencies and bring the promise of fusion energy to a commercial scale, these tiny, delicate spheres of fuel need to be fed into a reactor at a frequency of several times a second or more.
The mechanical engineering undergraduates designed a rotating fueling disk system with slots in an Archimedean spiral shape. Fusion targets are fed from a funnel into a gate, where they are then sent individually into a slot on the fueling disk. The goal is that the targets would be fueled and inspected once in their slot, and then scooped out by a lifting arm into an injector for launching into the reactor. In future this all has to be done at liquid hydrogen isotope temperatures, about 20 degrees Celsius above absolute zero
“GA’s collaboration with Â鶹´«Ã½ continues to be a source of innovation and inspiration,” said Neil Alexander, director of Inertial Fusion Energy at General Atomics. “It’s exciting to see such talented and motivated engineering students applying their skills to real fusion challenges. These kinds of hands-on experiences are essential for building the next-generation workforce that will help make fusion energy a reality.”
This is just one example of the many engineering challenges that need to be solved to bring fusion energy to commercial viability.
“We are seeing incredible advances in both inertial confinement and magnetic confinement fusion capabilities,” said Javier Garay, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the at Â鶹´«Ã½. “Students sometimes think of fusion as a problem that is too difficult to solve, but the reality is there are many, many places where engineering, computer science, and materials science skills are needed to actually make fusion energy a reality. This autoloader project is one example of Â鶹´«Ã½ engineering students - undergraduates!- making real contributions to this growing field.”
Media Contacts
Katherine Connor
Jacobs School of Engineering
858-534-8374
khconnor@ucsd.edu