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At Durham University we have world class activities involved in critical technologies for fusion. The Durham contribution to completing the road-map for fusion energy is focused on confining, understanding and controlling the plasma using large superconducting magnets and in diagnosing the physical state of the plasma using multiple real-time experimental diagnostics in order to achieve a stable source of fusion energy generation.
Durham is one of the founding institutes of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Fusion Science and Technology. The CDT is led from York, with partners at Durham, Liverpool, Manchester and Oxford. It has hosted over 20 Durham PhD students working mainly in the areas of fusion diagnostics and superconductivity.
Durham also has provided comprehensive characterisation measurements on the superconducting strands being used in the ITER magnet system and is conducting experimental and theoretical research into superconducting joints for fusion energy applications. Durham is also the UK representative of the European magnet technology experts reporting to ITER and is investigating the properties of fusion plasma for the ITER tokamak.
Find out more about the types of measurements provided by Durham for ITER.
Key Areas of Research
- High magnetic field measurements on low and high temperature superconductors.
- Fabricating high-field superconductors.
- Computational and theoretical understanding of superconductors.
- Optimization of high-field superconductors.
- Development of advanced instrumentation diagnostics of magnetically confined fusion plasmas.
- Efficient handling, control and feedback of large volumes of real-time data.
- Diagnostics for MAST-U at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy
- Systems design for toroidal magnet field systems for cost-effective fusion energy.
Facilities
- Superconductivity Groupheaded by Prof. D Hampshire
- Superconductor Characterisation High-field Laboratories (formerly Fusion Energy Reference Laboratory) managed by Dr. M. J. Raine and hosted at Durham University under the directorship of Prof. D. Hampshire.
- Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Fusion Science & Technology with the Universities of Durham, York, Liverpool, Manchester and Oxford.
- Fusion Diagnostics in Centre for Advanced Instrumentation
- Centre for Materials Physics (CMP)
- Centre for Advanced Instrumentation (CfAI)
- Split-pair Helmholtz 15 Tesla magnet system with probes for making critical current measurements as a function of field, temperature and strain [see full list of Facilities in Centre for Materials Physics]
- Superconductivity Facilities in Centre for Advanced Instrumentation (CfAI)
Key Researchers
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Head of the Superconductivity Research Group and the Superconductor Characterisation High-field Laboratories for measurements on technological materials for fusion energy, medical devices and other large-scale applications. |
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Advanced instrumentation for fusion plasma diagnostics. |
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Research Fellow and Manager of the Superconductor Characterisation High-field Laboratories. |
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Featured Projects
- Transport, magnetic and thermal measurements in high magnetic fields on materials that will be used in the toroidal and poloidal field coils of a fusion tokamak
- Strain dependency of the critical current density of 2D-generation high temperature superconducting tapes. See current PhD project https://fusion-cdt.ac.uk/student/charles-gurnham/
- Computational studies on high temperature superconductors. See current PhD project https://fusion-cdt.ac.uk/student/bradley-din/
- Fast-Ion Deuterium-Alpha (FIDA) diagnostic for the MAST-U tokamak. See current PhD project https://fusion-cdt.ac.uk/student/andrew-jackson/
- The influence of magnetic geometry on the plasma edge region of future fusion reactors (EPSRC) - Developing a new plasma diagnostic for MAST-U known as the Multi-Wavelength Imager.
- Bolometry for the MAST-Upgrade Super-X Divertor
- Plasma-wall interaction studies
- Studies of power exhaust in hot magnetic fusion plasmas
Key Partners
Fusion for Energy, https://fusionforenergy.europa.eu/
UKAEA, https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-atomic-energy-authority
Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, https://ccfe.ukaea.uk/
University of York, https://www.york.ac.uk/
Jefferson laboratory, https://www.jlab.org/
Oak Ridge laboratory, https://www.ornl.gov/
Siemens, https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/en-uk/medical-imaging
Oxford Instruments, https://www.oxinst.com/
Luvata, https://www.luvata.com/
Tokamak Energy, https://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk/