Nuclear fusion is no longer a physics dream, but an engineering reality. There are 55+ private companies racing to build the first commercial fusion power plant. OpenStar Fusion, in New Zealand, are the leading company using levitated dipole reactor designs. For them, a key challenge to commercialization is the development of radiation shields that protect sensitive and cryogenic equipment (superconducting magnets) from the harsh environment of a fusion reactor (1,000,000º C hot plasma and a fast neutron flux). At UNSW, we have pioneered new methods for optimizing shielding, and this project sets out to leverage these to help produce the thinnest possible shield that meets the unique challenge of OpenStar fusion reactor design.
School
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Research Area
Nuclear fusion | Materials selection | Radiation transport through matter
Suitable for recognition of Work Integrated Learning (industrial training)?
Yes
- Research environment
- Expected outcomes
- Supervisory team
- Reference material/links
You’ll be joining the UNSW Nuclear Innovation Centre. You’ll be embedded in a vibrant and diverse group of ~10 students, a few postdocs, four academics and two admin staff.
A set of materials, and material configurations, for each part of the levitated dipole that leads to the thinnest possible shield with acceptable radiation dose to the superconductors.
A prediction of temperature, heat flux and thermo-mechanical stresses across the thickness and circumference of the shield.
