Projects - Fusion CDT

Economics, sustainability and governance approaches to national (or international) fusion energy programmes (Social Sciences Project)

Supervisors: Dr Eva Heims (University of York, Department of Politics) & Dr Marco Sakai (University of York, Department of Environment & Geography). Application deadline: 27th August 2021. Funding will be…

The political economy of energy transitions: the role of fusion on the climate change debate (Social Sciences Project)

Supervisors: Dr Julia Touza (University of York, Department of Environment & Geography) & Dr Jappe Eckhardt (University of York, Department of Politics). Application deadline: 27th August 2021. Funding will be…

Unravelling the dynamics and chemical kinetics of non-equilibrium, mixed-gas hydrogen plasmas (plasma strand project)

Supervisors: James Dedrick (University of York) & Erik Wagenaars (University of York). Plasma facing components in the divertor of tokamak-based fusion reactors are subject to extreme thermal loads. An established…

Edge-SOL coupling and turbulence in confinement transitions (plasma strand project) – accepting applications

Supervisor/s: Istvan Cziegler (University of York), Simon Freethy (CCFE) Plasmas in a tokamak magnetic fusion device undergo a transition (L-H transition) from a low-confinement state (L mode) to high confinement…

TURBULENT MIX AND DESTRUCTION OF INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS (plasma strand project)

Supervisor: Nigel Woolsey (University of York) Turbulence results in the mixing of materials, and turbulence driven by strong shear flows following the passage of a shock or blast wave occurs…

Modelling Dust Formation in a Fusion Device (Materials strand project)

Supervisors: Prof. Ed Tarleton (University of Oxford), Dr. Yevhen Zayachuk (UKAEA) & Dr Anna Widdowson (UKAEA) The student undertaking this project will be based at the Culham Centre for Fusion…

Microwave current drive in prototype spherical tokamak reactors (plasma strand project)

Supervisors/s: Roddy Vann (University of York), Vladimir Shevchenko (Tokamak Energy), Simon Freethy (UKAEA) Tokamaks require an electrical current in the toroidal direction (the “long way” around the doughnut) for both…

Understanding the ablation of plasma facing components in Tokamak devices using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (plasma strand project)

Supervisor/s: Dr Steven Lind (University of Manchester), Dr Ben Rogers (University of Manchester), Dr Jack King (University of Manchester) Divertor components in Tokamak devices are subjected to significant thermal loads,…

High-Field Superconductors under Strain that Enable Spherical Tokamaks for Fusion Power Generation (Materials Strand – Experimental PhD).

Supervisor/s: Prof. D. P Hampshire (Durham University) Background to the PhD Research Project: The ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) Tokomak that is being built in Cadarache in France is one…

Modular High-Field Superconducting Magnets with Remountable Joints for Fusion Energy Applications (Materials strand project – experimental PhD).

Supervisor/s: Prof. D. P Hampshire (Durham University) Background to the PhD Research Project: Modular magnets with demountable superconducting joints will be required for commercialisation of fusion energy. They will operate…

Exotic plasma instabilities in strongly rotating tokamak plasmas (plasma strand project)

Supervisor/s: Howard Wilson (University of York), Jonathan Graves (EPFL, Lausanne) Neutral beam injection is often used as a heating system to bring a tokamak plasma to fusion conditions. As the…

Innovative Fusion Tokamak System Designs using High-Field Superconductors (Materials Strand project – Computational PhD).

Supervisor/s: Prof. D. P Hampshire (Durham University) Background to the PhD Research Project: The ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) Tokomak that is being built in Cadarache in France is one…

Novel materials synthesis via laser-driven dynamic compression (plasma strand project)

Supervisor/s: Dr Andy Higginbotham (The University of York) One of the most important materials available to society is diamond. For example, its remarkable strength properties make it a key component…

Atomic level characterisation and mechanical testing of irradiated tungsten alloys (materials strand project)

Supervisor/s: Professor David Armstrong (University Of Oxford), Dr Paul Bagot (University of Oxford), Professor Michael Moody (University of Oxford), Dr Andrew London (CCFE) Materials suitable for use in the divertor…

Using multi-spectral imaging and advanced data analysis to improve the tokamak fusion concept (plasma strand project)

Supervisor/s: Bruce Lipschultz (University of York), Kieran Gibson (University of York), James Harrison (CCFE) A magnetically confined fusion tokamak reactor does not operate in isolation: Power escaping from the hot…

Computational Time-Dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) Theory for High-Field Superconductors in Compact Fusion Energy Tokamaks (Materials Strand project – Computational PhD).

Supervisor/s: Prof. D. P Hampshire (Durham Universty) Background: The ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) Tokomak that is being built in Cadarache in France is one of the most exciting scientific…

Utilising advanced optimisation techniques to make a quantum improvement in the analysis of divertor plasmas (plasma strand project)

Supervisor/s: Bruce Lipschultz (University of York), Kieran Gibson (University of York), James Harrison (CCFE) A magnetically confined fusion tokamak reactor does not operate in isolation: Power escaping from the hot…

Hydrogen effect in fusion materials across length scales (Materials strand project)

Supervisor/s: Professor Angus Wilkinson (University of Oxford), Professor David Armstrong (University of Oxford) Development of sustainable power sources enabling the move to zero Carbon for next 10-100 years is a…

Hydrogen isotope separation across atomically thin membranes (materials strand project)

Supervisor: Marcelo Lozada-Hidalgo (University of Manchester) Abstract: Thousands of tons of hydrogen isotope mixtures are processed annually for heavy-water production and tritium decontamination [1-3]. The existing technologies remain extremely energy…

Development of a Tungsten-Diamond Composite for High Heat-Flux Plasma Facing Components (materials Strand Project)

Supervisor/s: Aneeqa Khan (University of Manchester), Ed Pickering (University of Manchester), Paul Mummery (University of Manchester), Yiqiang Wang (UKAEA), David Bowden (UKAEA), Steve Lisgo (Independent) Laboratory production and testing of…

Impact of simultaneous W deposition and He plasma exposure on mechanical properties of tungsten (materials strand project)

Supervisor/s: Aneeqa Khan (University of Manchester), Ed Pickering (University of Manchester), Anastasia Vasileiou (University of Manchester), Paul Mummery (University of Manchester), Yiqiang Wang (UKAEA), Cormac Corr (Australian National University) Tungsten…

Advanced inertial confinement fusion schemes (plasma strand project)

Supervisor: Dr. John Pasley (University of York) The inertial confinement approach to fusion involves assembling small quantities of deuterium-tritium fuel to high densities and temperatures such that thermonuclear ignition and…

Extreme laser-driven hydrodynamics (plasma strand project)

Supervisor: Dr. John Pasley (University of York) When a high-intensity laser interacts with a dense plasma, steep temperature gradients are produced which in-turn drive hydrodynamic motion. In the inertial confinement…

Probing the Ductile-to-Brittle Transition in BCC Blanket Alloys (materials strand project)

Supervisor/s: Dr Ed Pickering (University of Manchester), Prof Joao Fonseca (University of Manchester) Conditions inside fusion reactors are exceptionally hostile, involving both high temperatures and severe levels of neutron irradiation….

Understanding the role of chemical interactions on detached divertors in MAST Upgrade (plasma strand project)

Supervisor/s: Dr James Harrison (CCFE), Dr Kirsty McKay (University of Liverpool) The MAST Upgrade tokamak in Culham will be a world-leading facility to study the physics of divertor detachment, a…

Functionally graded additive manufacture of nuclear fusion-relevant components (materials strand project)

Supervisors: Professor Lin Li (Department of MACE-The University of Manchester), Dr. Zhu Liu (Department of Materials-The University of Manchester), Dr. David Bowden ( UKAEA-UK Atomic Energy Authority) Functional graded (FG)…

ICF-relevant Laser Plasma Interaction Studies with Exotic Pulses (plasma strand project)

Supervisor: Dr Chris Murphy (University of York) Conventional laser-driven fusion relies on the interaction of high-intensity lasers (above 10^14 W/cm^2) with plasmas. Novel schemes quite often involve the use of…