STAC committee endorses ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ research plans
At its 32nd meeting in May, the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Council Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) reviewed the fully detailed version of the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Research Plan as well as associated blueprints for magnet coil testing and the development of ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ’s neutral beam injection heating system.
Two documents outline how the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ project plans to achieve its mission and goals—the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Baseline, which details the scope, schedule, cost and risk of the project, and the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Research Plan, which is the document that guides the commissioning and experimental exploitation of the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ device once construction is complete. The documents are closely linked, meaning that changes to one must be reflected in the other.
For three days in May, the participants to STAC-32 reviewed the latest comprehensive version of the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Research Plan, which reflects the commissioning and operation plans of Baseline 2024. They congratulated the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Organization and the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Members for developing the plan down to a considerable level of detail that also includes, as annexes, plans for the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Neutral Beam Test Facility, where ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ neutral beam injection is being tested in advance of operation, and plans for research in the Test Blanket Module Program, where ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ will experiment with tritium production inside the vacuum vessel. Following its review, STAC endorsed the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Research Plan and noted that the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Organization and the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Members’ experimental, theory and modelling programs have made considerable progress in helping the research plan to mature.
STAC-32 also reviewed the plans for the cold testing of ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ magnets on the Magnet Cold Test Facility test bench, whose assembly is progressing well at ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. Integrated commissioning is expected to start in September 2025, with the facility ready for testing by December 2025.
The last topic reviewed by STAC members was the plan for neutral beam injection at ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ, including the research plan of the Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF). To facilitate their review and to inform STAC members on the latest progress, a group had visited the test facility in Padua, Italy, on 12 May before the start of the STAC-32 meeting at ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. During in-depth discussions with members of the team there, they learned about the latest successful tests and visited the test stands that are part of the facility. The NBTF Research Plan was formally endorsed by STAC-32.
A report from the STAC committee will now be made to the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Council, which meets later this month on 18 and 19 June.