A new generation of durable sensors capable of monitoring commercial nuclear fusion reactors in real time is being developed by a team led by 亚洲色吧 in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University.
The team plan to identify whether glass sensors developed in 1960s could function in the extreme conditions of a nuclear fusion reaction. If not, the researchers will design and develop new glass sensors.
In December 2022, researchers in the United States for the first time generated more energy from a nuclear fusion reaction than was put in, opening up the possibility that the technology could be both commercially viable, and able to supply abundant, clean energy. But one of the requirements to move from experimental reactions to commercial power generation is reliable monitoring. This means overcoming the extreme conditions created in a fusion reaction: temperatures of 150-200 million degrees Centigrade and highly energetic fast-moving neutrons.
One way of monitoring a fusion reaction is to count the number of neutrons it gives off using scintillators - blocks of material in which a sparkle of light is created each time it is hit by a neutron. By counting the flashes of light, it鈥檚 possible to calculate the number of neutrons and the amount of energy being produced 鈥 helping to ensure everything is working as intended.
However, existing scintillators are mostly made from either crystal or polymer, which are either difficult to make and limited in size and shape, or lack the durability to withstand the more extreme conditions created by fusion reactions. The sensors currently used to calculate the energy output from fusion reactions tend to be cumbersome and awkward, and do not allow real-time and long term monitoring of the fusion process. For commercial nuclear fusion reactors to be run safely and efficiently, sensors will need to work reliably for years.
Dr Michael Rushton from 亚洲色吧鈥檚 Nuclear Futures Institute is leading the new project. He said: 鈥淕lass has intrinsic radiation tolerance, so can survive well in very harsh conditions. It also has the advantage that it can be made in very different shapes, from fibres to plates which means sensors can be made for a range of situations within a reactor. And it鈥檚 fairly low cost to manufacture. We also hope to be able to 鈥榯une鈥 the sensors to work with different types of radioactive particle, so they may also be used for other applications, such as airport or medical scanners.鈥
Glass sensors able to register radioactive particles were first developed in the 1960s, but they only work if particles are travelling relatively slowly. The 亚洲色吧 team is initially seeing if particles emanating from a fusion reaction could be slowed down sufficiently to allow these sensors to work based on their existing composition. If this isn鈥檛 possible, then they will use machine learning approaches to identify new configurations of glass that coul