Weekly outline

  • General

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    Welcome to the Nuclear Fusion and Plasma Physics course of EPFL.

    Professor: Ambrogio Fasoli
    Teacher: Umesh Kumar
    Teacher: Luke Simons
      
                      • When: 13:00- 15:00, Every Monday 
                      • Exercise session: 15:00- 17:00 Every Monday 

    • The links to the YouTube video lectures from the year 2021 will be made available after each class for reference purposes or as a backup in the event that a class is missed. However, it is important to note that the most up-to-date information will be presented during the class, and attendance is highly recommended. This year’s lectures will not be recorded unless there is a change in guidelines. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter.




    * The lecture notes and exercises associated with each lecture will be available on Moodle before the class. The solutions to the exercise will be available after the exercise session.

    Summary 
    The course aims to provide the physics and technology basis for controlled fusion research, from the main elements of plasma physics to the reactor concepts.


    Course details:

    Language
        English
    Credits
        4
    Session
        Winter
    Semester
        Fall
    Exam
        Oral
    Workload
        120 hours
    Weeks
        14
    Hours
         4h/week (Lecture- 2h, Exercise- 2h)

    Content

    1) Basics of thermonuclear fusion

    2) The plasma state and its collective effects

    3) Charged particle motion and collisional effects

    4) Fluid description of a plasma

    5) Plasma equilibrium and stability

    6) Magnetic confinement: Tokamak and Stellarator

    7) Waves in plasma

    8) Wave-particle interactions

    9) Heating and non-inductive current-drive by radiofrequency waves

    10) Plasma wall interaction and structural materials

    11) Applied superconductivity for fusion

    12) Some nuclear aspects of a fusion reactor: Tritium production

    13) Licensing a fusion reactor: safety, nuclear waste

    14) Recap of the course and Q & A session

    Learning Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of electricity and magnetism, and simple concepts of fluids

    Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

    • Design the main elements of a fusion reactor
    • Understand the fundamental physics of magnetically confined fusion reactor
    • Identify the main physics challenges on the way to fusion
    • Identify the main technological challenges of fusion

    Teaching methods: Ex cathedra and in-class exercises

    Assessment method: Oral exam (100%)
    • The exam will be based on a list of questions, divided into three groups. 
    • On the day of the exam, half an hour before the actual exam, we will propose you two questions from each group (chosen randomly).
    • You will choose one of the two questions from each group and have half an hour to prepare, using whatever material you find helpful.
    • Then, you will come to the board (without any notes), and we will discuss together the three questions you have chosen for half an hour.

    Recommended Bibliography 
    The asterisk (*) indicates books that contain exercises 
    Plasma Formulary

    MOOC self-paced course links

    • Plasma Introduction course: 


    General Plasma Physics
    • F. F. Chen, Introduction to Plasma Physics, 2nd edition, Plenum Press, 1984*
    • T. J. M. Boyd and J. J. Sanderson, The physics of Plasmas, Cambridge University Press, 2003*
    • P. M. Bellan, Fundamentals of Plasma Physics, Cambridge University Press, 2006*
    • D.A. Gurnett and A. Bhattacharjee, Introduction to Plasma Physics, Cambridge University Press, 2005*
    • D.R. Nicholson, Introduction to Plasma Theory, Jon Wiley & Sons, 1983*
    • N.A. Krall, and A.W. Trivelpiece, Principles of Plasma Physics, McGraw-Hill, 1973*
    Fusion
    • J. Freidberg, Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy, Cambridge University Press, 2007*
    • J. Wesson, Tokamaks - Third Edition, Clarendon Press - Oxford, 2004
    • J. Freidberg, Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics, Plenum Press, 1987*
    Plasma Diagnostics
    • I. H. Hutchinson, Principles of Plasma Diagnostics, Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2002*
    Plasma Application
    • M. A. Lieberman and A. J. Lichtenberg, "Principles of Plasma Discharges and Materials Processing", (John Wiley and Sons, Second Edition, Hoboken, New Jersey), 2005*
    • F. F. Chen and J. P. Chang, "Lecture Notes on Principles of Plasma Processing" (Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York), 2003*
    • Y. P. Raizer, "Gas Discharge Physics", (Springer Verlag Berlin Heidelberg), 1991
    Plasma Astrophysics
    • E. Priest and T. Forbes, Magnetic reconnection: MHD theory and applications, Cambridge University Press, 2000*
    • N. Myer-Vernet, Basics of the Solar Wind, Cambridge Atmospheric and Space Science Series, 2012*
    • Peter V. Foukal, Wiley, Solar Astrophysics, June 14, 1990
    • P.A. Davidson, An introduction to magnetohydrodynamics, Cambridge University Press, 2001*
    • D.H. Hathaway, The solar cycle, Living Rev. Solar Phys. 7 (2010), 1
    Numerical algorithm and PIC method
    • C.K. Birdsall and A.B. Langdon, Plasma Physics via Computer Simulations, McGraw-Hill, 1985*
    • R.W. Hockney and J.W. Eastwood, Computer simulations using particles, Adam Hilger, 1988



  • 9 September - 15 September

  • 23 September - 29 September

  • 30 September - 6 October

  • 7 October - 13 October

  • 14 October - 20 October

  • 28 October - 3 November

  • 4 November - 10 November

    This week

  • 11 November - 17 November