MAST Upgrade - Construction Status

TL;DR

The MAST Upgrade project enhances the spherical tokamak's capabilities to test fusion reactor concepts, improve plasma physics understanding, and explore fusion component testing, with significant progress in subsystems and infrastructure during construction.

Contribution

This paper reports on the construction progress of the MAST Upgrade, detailing new subsystems and infrastructure essential for fusion research and reactor concept testing.

Findings

Completion of coil, armour, and support structure manufacturing

Installation of new divertor coils and power supplies

Upgrades to diagnostic systems and control infrastructure

Abstract

The Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) is the centre piece of the UK fusion research programme. In 2010, a MAST Upgrade programme was initiated with three primary objectives, to contribute to: 1) Testing reactor concepts (in particular exhaust solutions via a flexible divertor allowing Super-X and other extended leg configurations); 2) Adding to the knowledge base for ITER (by addressing important plasma physics questions and developing predictive models to help optimise ITER performance of ITER) and 3) Exploring the feasibility of using a spherical tokamak as the basis for a fusion Component Test Facility. With the project mid-way through its construction phase, progress will be reported on a number of the critical subsystems. This will include manufacture and assembly of the coils, armour and support structures that make up the new divertors, construction of the new set coils that make up the centre column, installation of the new power supplies for powering the divertor coils and enhanced TF coil set, progress in delivering the upgraded diagnostic capability, the modification and upgrading of the NBI heating systems and the complete overhaul of the machine control infrastructure, including a new control room with full remote participation facilities.