Protecting Fusion Reactors from Extreme Heat
Résumé
Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun, has the potential to generate virtually unlimited amounts of greenhouse-gas-free and safe energy on earth. Although fusion power has long been pursued, the benefits of developing a reliable system to generate this energy is well worth the effort. French Atomic Energy Commission engineers are using ANSYS software to overcome the difficult challenges involved in designing and protecting fusion reactor components which must face plasma temperatures that reach 150 million degrees. ANSYS electromagnetic and structural simulations are leveraged to design components to withstand enormous thermal loads; ANSYS fluid dynamics software is applied to cooling system design; and optical simulation is used to calibrate infrared temperature measurement systems so that engineers can accurately distinguish bright spots caused by direct heat flux from heat flux merely caused by reflections.