Present status of START

Experiments ceased at midnight on 31 March 1998: the previous day the plasma current had been increased to 310kA, the highest ever achieved on START (see figure, right: the sharp edge indicates improved confinement). The START team are now contributing to START’s successor experiment, MAST, which is now operating at Culham. The START vessel itself was used as a test-bed for the upgrading of Neutral Beam Injectors to the higher energies and longer pulse lengths required for MAST.

June 2004: The START machine has been transfered to the ENEA research laboratory at Frascati, Italy, where it will will begin a new life as an experimental device in the Italian research programme, based on a new Multi-Pinch design. See news item.

October 2004: START arrived in Frascati in its original fully-assembled state, so the first task was disassembly back to component level. Nigel Fawlk from Culham travelled to Frascati to assist ENEA with this process. This included the removal of:

• External Toroidal Field coil structure
• Centre Toroidal Field rod with solenoid.
• Vessel lid
• Internal Poloidal Field coils.
• Graphite limiters
• Centre support tube
• Various diagnostic
• Vessel sections as required.
• Identification of all flanges and associated seals

This was all completed efficiently - see photos.

We wish the Frascati team good luck with their new project.

Nigel Fawlk with two members of the Frascati team, Tony and Mimmo.

One of the final deuterium plasmas in START:
Shot 36503     30 March 1998

START disassembly in Frascati

Removal of upper TF spider

Lifting the PF structure out of the vessel

Disassembly of PF coils and structure