Reassessing the Research Plan
30 Sep 2013
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Sabina Griffith
Last week, 21 of the world-leading plasma scientists plus key engineers and scientists from the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ came together at the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Headquarters for two days to reassess the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Research Plan.
Leading plasma scientists, plus key engineers and scientists from the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ, met at Headquarters last week to reassess the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Research Plan.
Since its implementation as one of the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Baseline documents in 2010, the boundary conditions for the installation of certain components have changed. Accordingly, an update was necessary to the Research Plan that defines and coordinates the project's research activities on the path towards deuterium-tritium fusion power.
The ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Research Plan is one of the major ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Baseline documents. It describes the principal physics research activities to be carried out during ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ construction, together with an initial definition of the experimental program planned for the first ten years of ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ operation leading to the production of several hundred MW of fusion power.
However, since the schedule for the installation of some of the critical components has changed, the physics community sees itself confronted with some essential uncertainties. "For example, cost pressures have necessitated a rescheduling of the installation date of some of the key ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ measurement systems and elements of the heating and current drive systems," says David Campbell, Head of ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ's Plasma Operation Directorate. "It is therefore up to us to define the requirements from the physics side to ensure that we can achieve ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ's ambitious scientific goals within the foreseen timeframe."
The conclusions of the workshop on the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Research Plan, including recommendations on installation sequencing for some key plasma heating and measurement systems, will be presented to the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) which will convene at ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Headquarters on 14-16 October.