Heating and Current Drive

Fusion plasmas need to be heated to high temperatures - 100 million °C. There is also for source of non-inductive current drive, particularly if more economically viable non-pulsed steady state plasma are to be developed for fusion power. Heating and current drive is achieved with a range of systems all of which are explored at Culham:

• neutral particle beams
• ion cyclotron resonance heating/current drive
• electron cyclotron resonance heating/current drive
• lower hybrid current drive

The development of these systems to identify workable techniques for a fusion power plant, is a critical area of tokamak research, involving cutting edge experimental and theoretical development, together with detailed modelling. Increasingly the integration of heating and current drive systems into control strategies is also becoming important, as we seek to optimise performance, exceed stability limits and control the detailed plasma properties in response to real time measurements.

For more details of the underlying techniques and issues click here.

Typically experts in this field may be involved in a range of areas. This may include development of experimental techniques and working with new systems or techniques experimentally; detailed modelling of heating systems for present or future devices; development of theory and new models for new heating processes and techniques. The field covers a range of physics areas, appropriate to the type of heating.

Candidates should have a good experimental background. Grounding in specifically relevant physics is welcome, but not essential as there are opportunities at Culham to develop this. However, a good understanding of the physics fundamentals behind a given area of interest is useful, together with experience of practicalities of experimental work and modelling techniques.