Demo Project Research Articles

Analisis Literatur Fisika Nuklir Dan Pengembangan Reaktor Fusi

This study presents a literature analysis on nuclear technology, focusing on the development of fusion reactors as a potential future energy source. Fusion reactors offer sustainable, safe, and environmentally friendly energy advantages over conventional fission reactors. However, the development of fusion reactors faces significant challenges, including plasma stability, high-temperature-resistant materials, and the need for strong magnetic fields to sustain fusion reactions. This literature review examines various approaches to addressing these challenges, including Tokamak and Stellarator technologies, the role of superconducting materials, and advancements in cooling systems and radioactive waste management. The study also highlights international efforts such as the ITER and DEMO projects as critical steps toward developing commercial fusion reactors. The analysis concludes that, despite technical and financial obstacles, technological advancements and global collaboration in fusion projects show promising potential for establishing fusion reactors as a reliable energy source in the future.

Generic FPGA Pre-Processing Image Library for Industrial Vision Systems.

Currently, there is a demand for an increase in the diversity and quality of new products reaching the consumer market. This fact imposes new challenges for different industrial sectors, including processes that integrate machine vision. Hardware acceleration and improvements in processing efficiency are becoming crucial for vision-based algorithms to follow the complexity growth of future industrial systems. This article presents a generic library of pre-processing filters for execution in field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to reduce the overall image processing time in vision systems. An experimental setup based on the Zybo Z7 Pcam 5C Demo project was developed and used to validate the filters described in VHDL (VHSIC hardware description language). Finally, a comparison of the execution times using GPU and CPU platforms was performed as well as an evaluation of the integration of the current work in an industrial application. The results showed a decrease in the pre-processing time from milliseconds to nanoseconds when using FPGAs.

Technique of Reactor Experiments of Tin-Lithium Alloy Interaction with Hydrogen Isotopes Under Neutron Irradiation Conditions

The implementation of the ITER and DEMO projects currently includes the investigation of the structural and functional material properties of fusion reactors (FRs). Research to support the use of liquid metals and alloys as plasma-facing materials (PFMs) is a crucial area of work during the development of new FRs. Recent studies indicate the prospects of the tin-lithium (Sn-Li) alloy as a new liquid metal for protecting the in-vessel elements of a FR from the energy flows and high-density particles. Sn-Li alloy has been widely explored for utilization as PFM; however, there is a shortage of investigations being performed at nuclear reactors. The utilization of Sn-Li alloy as PFM in a FR must be fully justified by validated experimental results on tests under extremely high heat, plasma, and radiation loads. The paper presents the methodology of in-pile experiments performed at the IVG.1M research reactor (Kurchatov, Kazakhstan) to study the interaction of hydrogen isotopes with Sn-Li alloy under neutron irradiation conditions. A Sn-Li sample with 73 at. % tin and 27 at. % lithium was manufactured. A unique experimental ampoule device (AD) with a Sn-Li sample had been developed and manufactured for in-pile tests. The results of neutron-physical and thermophysical calculations of designs of the experimental device with Sn-Li alloy under irradiation conditions of the IVG.1M reactor were performed to justify the AD design. Methodical experiments were performed to determine the temperature dependence of the change in the composition of the gas phase in the chamber with Sn-Li alloy. The time dependence of the partial pressure of hydrogen, tritium, and tritium-containing molecules in the AD volume with the Sn-Li alloy on its temperature under reactor irradiation conditions at a power of 3 MW has been studied. Key findings include the successful measurement of tritium release, the determination of temperature conditions for tritium generation and release, and the validation of our experimental AD for conducting such studies.

Carbon dioxide capture by direct methanation in co-electrolysis using solid oxide cell

Reducing carbon emissions in the global economy's energy and industry sectors necessitates not just the implementation of innovative low-emission technologies but also the adoption of techniques for capturing and recycling CO2. The Power-to-X conversion allows the path to the reuse of CO2 originating from fossil fuels burning and other industrial processes, hence reducing the emission of the key greenhouse gas. The use of high-temperature electrochemical devices for such purposes is a promising solution, which has been already deployed as subsidized demo projects. In the present work, the direct electrolysis of the H2O-CO2-H2 mixtures with in situ conversion of CO2 and CO to CH4 was effectively conducted in the temperature range of 575–650 °C using commercial solid oxide half-cell with YSZ-type electrolyte on Ni-YSZ support with a custom lanthanum‑strontium cobaltite anode. The degree of carbon conversion in the atmosphere enriched with hydrogen was close to 90%, but under such conditions, the products are diluted to 5–6 vol% in H2. Reducing the temperature leads to a sufficient increase in the CH4 outcome, but it is constrained by the decline of the cell performance. Electrochemical processes were monitored by impedance spectroscopy and analyzed using the distribution of the relaxation times technique. Analysis of the distribution of relaxation times of impedance spectra showed that two parallel competitive processes can be attributed to CO2 conversion. Peak with characteristic time c.a. 0.1 s might be associated with diffusion-like mass transfer through cermet support, and it plays an important role in the electrochemical conversion at elevated temperature and high current density. Conversely, the peak observed in the vicinity of 5 ms becomes the limiting stage at lower temperature and probably is related to charge transfer or absorption and surface diffusion of carbon-containing species. Electrolysis current density might reach 0.4 A cm−2 even at 600 °C without explicit damage to the electrolyte or electrodes. A brief degradation test demonstrated a minor loss in the electrochemical performance of the cell. Thus, it was demonstrated that direct electrochemical conversion of CO2 to CH4 can be achieved with sufficient productivity using a semi-commercial cell with an active surface of 16 cm2 under conditions compatible with those existing in the state-of-the-art stacks of solid oxide cells.

DEMO toroidal field coil fast discharge unit integration studies

The Fast Discharge Units (FDUs) of the Superconducting (SC) Toroidal Field (TF) coils in the European demonstration fusion power plant DEMO warrant the machine integrity over its full lifetime against severe failure events, such as SC coil quenches or any other plant events requiring the safe TF magnet system discharge. A low (75 kA) and a high current (105 kA) configuration are under study for the TF coils for DEMO. The FDUs must be extremely reliable for the purpose of commutating in short time (∼1 s) the currents and to discharge the TF magnets safely into resistors outside of the tokamak building. Malfunctions of the FDUs must be avoided. The FDUs are considered as Safety Important Class (SIC) components that need to discharge high amounts of energy of about 161 GJ (@75 kA) resp. 118 GJ (@105 kA) stored in the DEMO TF coils.The TF FDUs Circuit Breakers (CBs) shall be installed in the lower level of the tokamak to minimize the length of the connecting busbars. The FDUs integration is challenging because of the high neutron and gamma radiation and stray magnetic fields of the tokamak.Since in DEMO the neutron fluence over lifetime is much higher than in ITER, the problems of using FDUs with electronic subsystems was expected to be more severe, so that their integration has been considered from the beginning of the DEMO project. Sufficient shielding or possible re-positioning of the whole FDUs or sensitive FDU components compared to ITER are being investigated, to reduce the neutron fluxes and neutron and gamma ray fluences. Alternative concepts, e.g., fully mechanical CBs are studied in the EUROfusion Work Package Plant Electrical System (WPPES) in parallel.This paper presents the CAD integration work on the DEMO TF FDUs supported by neutronics assessments. It is assumed the same FDU technology as in ITER. The magnet feeder´s integration is commenced at the same time.

Proposing an Approach for the Diffusion of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPVs)—A Case Study

Consistent probing into building integrity has led to the exploration of clean energy options such as building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV). BIPV has proven to be aesthetically pleasing, architecturally feasible, and capable of making buildings energy producers instead of mere energy consumers. Despite the enormous benefits of BIPV, its adoption and diffusion have been relatively sluggish and remain far below expectations, especially in developing countries like Ghana. This empirical study aims to assess the impact of advertising on BIPV awareness in Ghana. It also highlights the aesthetic preferences of various respondents. The study uses online surveys to gather quantitative data from 412 respondents across all 16 regions of the country. An initial study conducted on the awareness of BIPV in Ghana indicated a low rate of awareness. Therefore, a sensitisation poster and architectural visualization (AV) were adopted to boost awareness across all 16 regions of the country. Awareness of BIPV increased from 18% to 79.5% after the introduction of the sensitisation poster. Also, 88.8% of the respondents preferred BIPV to Building Applied Photovoltaic (BAPV) mainly because of aesthetics (beauty) and the cost benefits. The respondents indicated that aesthetics is paramount when choosing solar panels for their homes. This study therefore recommends high investment in awareness creation, development of specific design guidelines for BIPV applications and establishment of demo projects in developing countries. The findings of this study contribute to the existing literature on BIPV adoption and may be useful for BIPV manufacturers, marketers, government, and other stakeholders as it provides evidence on the often-neglected approach to BIPV diffusion.

Thermal and structural analysis of the European water-cooled lithium lead breeding blanket concept in the L-H mode transition

The design of a breeding blanket system (BB) which reliably fulfils the prescribed requirements is pivotal for the construction of the EU DEMO fusion reactor. For this reason, the BB conceptual design activities require a tighter interaction with plasma physics modelling, so to employ relevant boundary conditions to compare, and then down-select, the BB design alternatives. The preliminary thermo-mechanical study herein reported highlights the importance to assess in deep the BB performance during plasma operational transients. In particular, analyses of the BB thermal and mechanical transients during plasma ramp-up have been carried out, with focus on the L-H transition. Attention has been paid to the Water-Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) BB concept, one of the two driver blanket candidates for the EU DEMO project. Adopting DEMO-relevant plasma configurations, the fusion power and the radiative power time evolutions during the plasma ramp-up phase have been modelled under different assumptions using the code ASTRA. The obtained power transients have been used to calculate the time-dependent nuclear power density and radiative heat flux the WCLL BB is subjected to, in order to perform the corresponding transient thermal analysis. Then, the structural analysis has been carried out in order to verify the fulfilment of the RCC-MRx structural design criteria in the most critical time steps. The performed thermo-mechanical analysis has been carried out adopting the Abaqus FEM code. Results obtained are presented and critically discussed, highlighting their importance for the EU DEMO integrated design.

Acoustic prediction and testing for "Basajaun" EU Project demo building using neural network, prediction for innovative wooden partition wall with composites and bio-based insulation

"Basajaun" is a major European innovation action about sustainable building with wood. The main objective is to demonstrate how wood construction chains can be optimized to foster both rural development and urban transformation whilst being connected with sustainable forest management in Europe. The project scrolls the full value chain of wood construction in Europe, and it include a demo project in south of France demonstrating implementation of various innovations, among which the studied innovative facade made of pultruded composites, structural insulated panels (SIP) plywood, wooden cladding and bio-based insulation. In building projects, partition walls are commonly designed for mechanical stability, thermal insulation and fire safety, in this article authors focus on acoustic aspects starting from design, optimization, lab testing, implementation specifications and in situ validation. For the design and optimization phase, authors developed prediction tool based on Artificial Intelligence. Programming and data feeding of the tool is described, and predictions are compared to laboratory measurements.

Possibilities of Reprocessing Solid Waste with Tritium from Fusion Using High-Temperature Heating

This study evaluates the types of waste generated by tritium during nuclear fusion. Some methods of reprocessing and decontaminating solid waste using thermal processes are evaluated, and the advantages and disadvantages of different methods are compared. The high-temperature technology selected for this study is intended for use in the EU DEMO project in the area where waste from nuclear fusion reactions is processed. Safety and environmental concerns around the technology are evaluated. The potential for detritiation of solid wastes of various sizes are investigated. The study’s focus is on wastes comprising mostly tungsten dust grains of various sizes. The possibilities and rationale for the use of high-temperature technologies are investigated. Tests conducted focus primarily on tungsten waste in powder form in various atmospheres. Problems related to the induction heating and melting of metals and nonmetals are addressed.

Solving the issue of reliability data for FOAK equipment in an innovative nuclear energy system

There is a demand for the improved safety and economics of advanced nuclear energy systems. The world's first high-temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble-bed module nuclear power plant (HTR-PM Demo Project) is about to be completed in China. This power plant achieved initial full power at the end of 2022. The success of the HTR-PM Demo Project shows the importance of risk-informed initiatives throughout the project with solid support from comprehensive risk assessment. This paper focuses on a technical issue that needs to be solved when conducting risk-informed initiatives for HTR-PM, namely the issue of reliability data for first-of-a-kind (FOAK) equipment. In short, no data for the FOAK equipment are available in existing reliability databases. On the basis of the HTR-PM pilot experience, this paper proposes a process of estimating the required data for the reliability parameters of FOAK equipment. The process has five steps: (1) identification of key parts and assemblies, (2) preliminary determination of the reliability parameters and the associated reference values for the key parts and assemblies, (3) analysis of maintenance management tactics, (4) estimation of reliability parameters for the FOAK equipment using a Bayesian network, and (5) Bayesian updating with operational data. The helium circulator of HTR-PM is taken as an example to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed process. A lack of reliability data is a common issue for innovative nuclear energy systems. The proposed process is supposed to be universal to all types of innovative design.

Modelling LOFA scenario for WCLL BB concept using MELCOR1.8.5 code

In the framework of the EUROfusion activities for the DEMO project, the evaluation of the Breeding Blanket (BB) performance and its ancillary systems is a compulsory activity. The European liquid BB concept, named Water Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL), makes use of the liquid metal alloy PbLi as a tritium breeder/neutron multiplier and water as a coolant. A dedicated ancillary system guarantees the recirculation of the PbLi between the BBs and the tritium extraction/purification system. The BBs and the ancillary system must operate safely and reliably under the designed conditions, while accidental scenarios have to be identified for risk assessment and to define safety plans.In the present work an analysis of the In-Board Loss Of Flow Accident (IB LOFA) in the PbLi ancillary loop of the WCLL BB is conducted. This numerical analysis is performed by employing the fully integrated code MELCOR1.8.5, the release for fusion application. A LOFA scenario is considered by assuming the electromagnetic pump in the IB BB loop, which provides forced circulation to the PbLi, stops working. The nodalisation and numerical models are performed by applying geometries and design parameters using the 2020 WCLL PbLi design. The analysis is performed to develop a suitable numerical model, which simulates transients by studying several factors such as: tritium mobilization and transport inside the loop, fast plasma shutdown leading to pressure and temperature transients, and maximum temperatures inside the First Wall (FW).The preliminarily results demonstrate the maximum temperature inside the FW does not exceed the defined temperature thresholds for Tungsten and EUROFER (1000 °C and 500 °C, respectively). Furthermore, the pressure transient is appropriately accommodated within the ancillary loop. The initial tritium inventory in breeding modules is relocated and accrued in the tritium extraction system's free volume. This work is the first step in the safety analyses of the PbLi ancillary system aiming to support the R&D works carried out in the framework of the DEMO project.

Neutronic Activity for Development of the Promising Alternative Water-Cooled DEMO Concepts

An emerging breeding blanket that fulfills performance criteria, meets the safety requirements, and is reliable enough to meet the plant availability is a challenging issue that assumes complex studies involving numerous neutronic analyses based on the Monte Carlo simulations with MCNP code. Two different concepts are now candidates to be implemented as a driver blanket for DEMO fusion reactor: WCLL (Water-Cooled Lithium Lead) and HCPB (Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed). The current R&D work within the EUROfusion DEMO project is concentrated on a search for the new water-cooled blanket layouts: a deep upgrade of the WCLL blanket to ensure a sufficient tritium breeding capability and an elaboration of the hybrid concept coupling technological advantages of water coolant, lead neutron multiplier, and ceramic breeder. To this end, very detailed, fully heterogeneous MCNP geometry models were developed for the newest designs of the WCLL-db (WCLL-double bundle) and WLCB (Water-cooled liquid Lead Ceramic Breeder) DEMO blankets to verify the new engineering solutions. This makes rigorous calculations possible to find an optimal breeder blanket layout. The basic response, tritium breeding ratio (TBR), was assessed for both concepts, and it appeared to be TBR = 1.16 for the WCLL-db and TBR ≤ 1.13 for the WLCB DEMOs, respectively. Several geometry layouts of the WLCB breeder blanket were investigated to reach the TBR sufficient for a sustainable tritium fuel cycle. Two promising novel solutions were suggested to enhance the tritium breeding performance of the WLCB blanket and to achieve TBR ≥ 1.16: heavy water coolant and an advanced breeder ceramic. Various nuclear safety aspects of the technologies utilized in both blanket concepts are addressed in this work to facilitate engineering decisions aimed at the consolidated blanket design for the upcoming DEMO reactor.

The Electricity System Improvement Canvas (ESIC)

This paper addresses the complexity of commercially exploiting technical solutions in ecosystems with many stakeholders or in ecosystems that are highly influenced by regulatory issues. It does so by introducing a new tool, called the electricity system improvement canvas (ESIC). The ESIC allows for an efficient design, visualization, analysis, and/or validation of innovative system solutions and their implementation. Moreover, the ESIC helps to focus on the benefits that the solution provides for the system as a whole and for certain stakeholders. It is normally used together with the value creation ecosystem (VCE), a tool previously developed by the authors, providing more concretion and detail to it. To better portray its functionality, the ESIC and the VCE will be applied to one of the demo projects explored within EU-SysFlex, a project that has to do with congestion problems in the German electricity grid.

Microseismic Monitoring Technology Developments and Prospects in CCUS Injection Engineering

CO2 geological storage projects are an essential tool for China to achieve the double carbon target of energy savings and emission reductions. In order to safely and effectively control the implementation of injection projects and monitor the dynamics of CO2 injection, multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary monitoring tools are required. Among them, microseismic monitoring is a key technology for predicting reservoir dynamics and reflecting reservoir geomechanical behavior. Such monitoring has been carried out previously for reservoirs in other countries, but experimental projects are also gradually being developed in China. In this paper, we focus on the research and analysis results of microseismic monitoring of carbon storage projects in various work areas. For different reservoir conditions, we explore combinations of the monitoring implementation methods in China, comparing the differences in each work area. We propose a joint well and ground microseismic monitoring method and a multi-spatial and multi-physical field coupling research system for use in the implementation of domestic demo projects for the future research and development of microseismic monitoring of carbon storage projects. The monitoring program can meet the requirements for certain periodic repeated or continuous observations and can intelligently assess the risk and handle the alert behavior. The foundation is laid for the development of the future microseismic monitoring technology to achieve the goal of developing cost-controllable, permanent, and real-time monitoring equipment. The application of the monitoring system in China has been effective, and this experience can contribute to the development of injection engineering in the future.

Trajectory analysis in a collector with multistage energy recovery for a DEMO prototype gyrotron. Part III. Influence of the spent electron beam parameters

The influence of the spent electron beam parameters on the possibilities of multistage energy recovery in the prototype gyrotron developed for the DEMO project is determined. The characteristics of electrodes and magnetic coils in a collector with four-stage recovery were optimized considering the distributions of electrons' coordinates and velocities obtained as a result of calculating the electron-wave interaction in the cavity. In the trajectory analysis in the collector, a sectioned electron beam was used to suppress the negative influence of the bundles of a toroidal solenoid used to create an azimuthal magnetic field. The possibility of achieving the total efficiency of the gyrotron of approximately 78% was shown, which is close to the maximum total efficiency with ideal separation of electron fractions with different energies, with the current of electrons reflected from the collector not exceeding 1% of the total current of the electron beam. Keywords: Microwave electronics, gyrotron, electron beam, energy recovery.

Траекторный анализ в коллекторе с многоступенчатой рекуперацией энергии для прототипа гиротрона DEMO. Ч. III. Влияние параметров отработанного электронного потока

The influence of the spent electron beam parameters on the possibilities of multistage energy recovery in the prototype gyrotron developed for the DEMO project is determined. The characteristics of electrodes and magnetic coils in a collector with four-stage recovery were optimized considering the distributions of electrons' coordinates and velocities obtained as a result of calculating the electron-wave interaction in the cavity. In the trajectory analysis in the collector, a sectioned electron beam was used to suppress the negative influence of the bundles of a toroidal solenoid used to create an azimuthal magnetic field. The possibility of achieving the total efficiency of the gyrotron of approximately 78% was shown, which is close to the maximum total efficiency with ideal separation of electron fractions with different energies, with the current of electrons reflected from the collector not exceeding 1% of the total current of the electron beam.

Design and performance predictions of plus energy neighbourhoods – Case studies of demonstration projects in four different European climates

The article presents the design of four plus energy neighbourhood demonstration projects located in different climate zones in Europe. The demo projects are a part of the Horizon 2020 project ‘syn.ikia’, which aims to enable the development of sustainable plus energy neighbourhoods in different climates and contexts. In this article, we describe the active and passive building strategies and analyse the robustness of the designs with respect to different scenarios of climate change, user behaviour, and energy flexibility. Analyses were performed based on the primary energy balance, including space heating and cooling, ventilation, domestic hot water, and lighting.The performance predictions indicate that all demonstration projects may attain the plus energy balance according to the syn.ikia definition. This was achieved with high performing envelopes, efficient HVAC systems, and onsite renewable energy systems to cover the energy demand. The analysis shows that there is a significant potential for increased self-consumption of photovoltaic energy by adjusting the heating schedules and including electric vehicle charging. Testing of the designs with respect to varying climates and user-behaviours showed that there could be an increased risk of overheating, and that some of the designs may not achieve the positive energy balance in case of ‘worst case’ user behaviour scenarios.

Strengthening the biogas sector of Ethiopia through international collaboration: the case of the Digital Global Biogas Cooperation (DiBiCoo)

Even though biogas technology was introduced in Ethiopia in 1957, the technology is still in its infancy stage with more than 98 % of biogas plants installed in Ethiopia at a small- scale level and used for cooking and lighting applications. The Digital Global Biogas Cooperation (DiBiCoo) project facilitates collaboration between European biogas industries and stakeholders from emerging and developing markets through the development and application of innovative digital and non-digital support tools, knowledge transfer and capacity building. The Digital Global Biogas Cooperation helped the Ethiopian biogas sector through capacity building trainings, creating a digital biogas and gasification matchmaking platform to link companies with local biogas actors in the country, and assisting demo case projects up to prefeasibility study stage. Furthermore, it provided practical exposure through virtual and in person biogas plant tour in several countries, and generating several documents related to the Ethiopian biogas sector including an assessment on biogas potential, financial options and a legal frame work to assist the sector. Based on this collaboration, more than 30 stakeholders participated in 11 web seminars, 2 capacity-building trainings, 3 days business model development training in Biogas and more than 10 virtual study tours. One demo case and three- follower cases prefeasibility studies were supported. Thus, the Digital Global Biogas Cooperation is providing much needed support to the biogas sector of Ethiopia.

다중이용시설의 환경부 실내공기 우수시설 인증 사례분석 및 제도 개선 제언

Purpose: National Indoor Air Certification was introduced to structure an IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) management system for multi-purpose facility that experiences a difficulty in managing IAQ due to floating population. Although its demo projects ended in a seize in 2018, it is expected to restart in the near future. From previous demo projects, many existing facilities that are aged and lack of required records and document were not successful to achieve the certification, even if their IAQ were under decent management. This study aims to present some suggestions of improvement over the existing certification system. Method: Firstly, organization and procedure of the certification were investigated based on author

Concept design of the megawatt power level gyrotron stabilized by a low-power signal for DEMO project

The specific features of the main components of the new powerful 230 GHz/80 kV/40 A gyrotron aimed to use in the future control fusion facility DEMO are described. The gyrotron design provides a stable output power generation of more than 1 MW using a superconducting magnet with a moderate size warm bore. Furthermore, the new original quasi-optical converter providing the gyrotron operation in three possible regimes—two free oscillation regimes with co-rotating TE33,13 or counter-rotating TE33,−13 mode, and the regime with frequency locking by the stable input signal—is suggested and optimized. The Gaussian content in the output wave-beam in all above-mentioned regimes is about 98%.