EAPSI: Improving the Power Electronics used in Nuclear Fusion with New Materials

核聚变产生的电力正在被追求作为燃烧化石燃料和铀基核裂变产生的电力的更清洁的替代品。在这个过程中使用电力电子设备来控制聚变反应期间的电能。如果这种硬件的效率可以提高，其尺寸可以减小，它将有助于使这种形式的能源产生成为现实。然而，由于所用材料的性质，这难以用现有部件实现。作为一个潜在的解决方案，本研究探讨了一种替代介质来构建这种硬件。实验先进超导托卡马克（EAST）位于中国合肥的中国科学院，是世界上最先进的反应堆之一。用于控制EAST的电力电子器件将是这项工作的案例研究。这项研究将与能源转换领域的专家杨磊博士合作进行。这项研究的结果也将适用于在美国和国外用于确保电网稳定性的系统。控制EAST的电路使用硅（Si）晶闸管来调节电能的流动。这项工作研究了使用碳化硅（SiC）组件作为替代品的可能性。SiC的原子性质在许多方面上级Si，使得可实现效率和功率密度的改进。该项目将量化基于SiC的极向场（PF）电源在电气效率和减少占地面积方面的收益。模拟结果与实验数据沿着将被用来支持的结论。NSF EAPSI奖是与中国科技部合作资助的。

Electricity generated from nuclear fusion is being pursued as a cleaner alternative to power produced by burning fossil fuels and from uranium based nuclear fission. Power electronics are used in this process to control the electrical energy during the fusion reaction. If the efficiency of this hardware could be improved and its size reduced, it would contribute towards making this form of energy generation a reality. However, this is difficult to accomplish with existing components due to the properties of the materials used. As a potential solution, this research explores an alternative medium for constructing this hardware. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) located at the Chinese Academy of Science in Hefei, China is one of the most advance reactors in the world. The power electronics used to control EAST will be the case study for this work. This research will be conducted in in collaboration with Dr. Lei Yang, an expert in this field of energy conversion. The results of this investigation will also be applicable to systems that are used to ensure grid stability in the United States and abroad.The circuits controlling EAST use silicon (Si) thyristors to regulate the flow of electrical energy. This work studies the possibility of using silicon carbide (SiC) components as replacements. The atomic properties of SiC are superior to Si in many respects, making improvements in efficiency and power density achievable. This project will quantify the gains in terms of electrical efficiency and reduced footprints for a SiC based poloidal field (PF) power supply. Simulation results along with experimental data will be used to support the conclusions. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.