Superconducting Magnets Delivered for Experiments at Fusion Plant
The Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has delivered two high-tech superconducting magnets to a University of Wisconsin experiment called WHAM (Wisconsin HTS Axisymmetric Mirror). The purpose of the experiment is to develop a fusion energy approach called magnetic mirror fusion.
The design of WHAM fusion plant is completely different from tokamak design. Strong magnetic fields generate plasma tube instead of doughnut-like shape that can be seen in a tokamak.
WHAM plant is an improved magnetic mirror with a large number of magnetic coils, the physics of which is in parallel location of magnets. At their two ends, the density of electromagnetic lines increases and particles approaching the ends are captured with increasing force, which returns them to the volume inside the reactor, where the field is weaker.
The University addressed the startup to develop and optimize the magnet technology for a new generation of mirrors. This led to the creation of a system of two identical flat and thin magnets that can reach a magnetic field of 17 tesla in the bore and over 20 tesla on the magnets themselves – about 400,000 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field.
The proprietary magnet technology, based on thin and flexible HTS tape, accommodates very high electrical currents that generate very high magnetic fields. The magnets are self-contained systems that have all the needed functions including cryogenic refrigeration, vacuum pumping, control and monitoring.
It is expected that WHAM will generate the highest magnetic field in the world for mirror plasma. The experiment will help to check computer models to design more powerful reactors with magnetic mirrors, which once can become fusion power plants.