GLOBAL NUCLEAR |
boundless quantities, the supply of available tritium is limited. Fortunately, however, it can be produced within the tokamak when neutrons escaping the plasma interact with a specific element—lithium—contained in the blanket. This concept of ‘breeding’ tritium during the fusion reaction is an important one for the future needs of a large-scale fusion power plant. ITER will provide a unique opportunity to test mock-ups of breeding blankets, or test blanket modules, in a real fusion environment. Within these test blankets, viable techniques for ensuring tritium breeding self-sufficiency will be explored. The extremely complex analysis and development of
safety case for test blanket modules draws directly on innovative digital technology which Jacobs has been developing for almost a decade. First-of-a-kind ‘big science’ projects are made for
Jacobs, a company which combines deep technological understanding with experience of managing the world’s most challenging programs – and has the ability to integrate those two skills seamlessly. Jacobs’ support to ITER, based in Provence, France, goes
back decades to the earliest days of fusion research. The company was involved from the outset in the design of the Joint European Torus in Oxfordshire, England, and is designing components and facilities for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority’s latest projects including the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP). “For ITER, we designed first wall panels, which protect the
tokamak from the heat of the plasma, and also test blanket modules, a separate component to produce tritium for the fusion reaction,” says Jacobs Technology and Consultancy Vice President Greg Willetts. “For STEP, we are doing concept design for first wall
panels which have breeder blankets built into them. This shows how fusion technology moves on as more and more research is done. “We’re at the forefront in a number of areas, including tritium, remote engineering, waste management, confinement, diagnostics and plasma facing technology.”
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Left: An impression of the CHIMERA facility
Helping to advance this research, Jacobs is systems
integrator for the Combined Heating and Magnetic Research Apparatus (CHIMERA) facility in Rotherham, England, whose role is to carry out testing and qualification under fusion conditions, helping engineers to design components that can survive extreme temperature, heat flux and magnetic fields. Tom Barrett, CHIMERA Technical Lead at the UKAEA,
said: “Jacobs has a tremendous team who have already done impressive work and I have no doubt that they will successfully deliver a world-class testing facility. In CHIMERA we are building a truly unique facility which will benefit the U.K. but also promises to boost worldwide efforts for fusion technology.” ■
To learn more:
stuart.codling@
jacobs.com
Above: Jacobs Construction Management-as-Agent team at ITER
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