EAST
Encyclopedia
The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST, internal designation HT-7U) is an experimental superconducting tokamak
magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei
, the capital city of Anhui Province, in eastern China
. The experiment is being conducted by the Hefei-based Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences
. The project was proposed in 1996 and approved in 1998. According to a 2003 schedule, buildings and site facilities were to be constructed by 2003, and tokamak assembly to take place from 2003 through 2005.
Construction was completed in March 2006 and on September 28, 2006, "first plasma" was achieved.
In February 2007 the reactor sustained an electrical current of 250 kA for five seconds.
The reactor is an improvement over China's first superconducting tokamak device, dubbed HT-7
, also built by the Institute of Plasma Physics in partnership with Russia
in the early 1990s.
According to official reports, the project's budget is a relatively small CNY
¥300 million (approx. USD
$37 million), some 1/15 to 1/20 the cost of a comparable reactor built in other countries.
consortium, and EAST will be a testbed for technologies proposed for the ITER project.
EAST will test:
Tokamak
A tokamak is a device using a magnetic field to confine a plasma in the shape of a torus . Achieving a stable plasma equilibrium requires magnetic field lines that move around the torus in a helical shape...
magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei
Hefei
Hefei is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province in Eastern China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural centre of Anhui...
, the capital city of Anhui Province, in eastern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The experiment is being conducted by the Hefei-based Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences , formerly known as Academia Sinica, is the national academy for the natural sciences of the People's Republic of China. It is an institution of the State Council of China. It is headquartered in Beijing, with institutes all over the People's Republic of China...
. The project was proposed in 1996 and approved in 1998. According to a 2003 schedule, buildings and site facilities were to be constructed by 2003, and tokamak assembly to take place from 2003 through 2005.
Construction was completed in March 2006 and on September 28, 2006, "first plasma" was achieved.
In February 2007 the reactor sustained an electrical current of 250 kA for five seconds.
The reactor is an improvement over China's first superconducting tokamak device, dubbed HT-7
HT-7
HT-7, or Hefei Tokamak-7, is an experimental superconducting tokamak nuclear fusion reactor built in Hefei, China, to investigate the process of developing fusion power. The HT-7 was developed with the assistance of Russia, and was based on the earlier T-7 tokamak reactor...
, also built by the Institute of Plasma Physics in partnership with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in the early 1990s.
According to official reports, the project's budget is a relatively small CNY
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
¥300 million (approx. USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$37 million), some 1/15 to 1/20 the cost of a comparable reactor built in other countries.
Physics objectives
China is a member of the ITERITER
ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering project, which is currently building the world's largest and most advanced experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor at Cadarache in the south of France...
consortium, and EAST will be a testbed for technologies proposed for the ITER project.
EAST will test:
- SuperconductingSuperconductivitySuperconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
NbTi poloidal field magnets, making it the first tokamak with superconducting toroidal and poloidal magnets - Non-inductive current drive
- Pulses of up to 1000 seconds with 0.5 MA plasma current
- Schemes for controlling plasma instabilities through real-time diagnostics
- Materials for divertors and plasma facing components
- Operation with βN = 2 and H89 > 2
Tokamak parameters
| Toroidal field, Bθ | 3.5 T |
| Plasma current, IP | 0.5 MA |
| Major radius, R0 | 1.7 m |
| Minor radius, a | 0.4 m |
| Aspect ratio, R/a | 4.25 |
| Elongation, κ | 1.6–2 |
| Triangularity, δ | 0.6–0.8 |
| Ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) | 3 MW |
| Lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) | 4 MW |
| Electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) | None currently (0.5 MW planned) |
| Neutral beam injection (NBI) | None currently |
| Pulse length | 1–1000 s |
| Configuration | Double-null divertor Pump limiter Single null divertor |
External links
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Plasma Physics - EAST
- People's Daily article
- Xinhua article Mar 1 2006 - Note that EAST is not the "world's first experimental nuclear fusion device".
- Xinhua article Mar 24, 2006 Nuke fusion reactor completes test
- Mainichi Daily News article Jun 2, 2006
- Xinhua article Jan 15, 2007 Chinese scientists conduct more tests on thermonuclear fusion reactor