Keynote: Designing HTS-Based Magnets for Fusion Devices with COMSOL^®

High-temperature superconductors (HTS) represent a groundbreaking technology that facilitates the construction of commercially viable fusion devices. In this keynote talk from the COMSOL Conference 2024 Boston, Kiran Uppalapati of Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) discusses how his organization used the COMSOL^® software’s multiphysics coupling capabilities to simplify the modeling of HTS and their dynamic nature, as well as other components in a tokamak fusion device.

Uppalapati opens his talk by introducing CFS, its mission, and how fusion power could impact the energy industry. Then, he explores how he modeled the SPARC Toroidal Field Model Coil (TFMC), a noninsulated HTS fusion magnet that was built as a proof of concept for the use of HTS in fusion reactors. Next, Uppalapati discusses quench modeling within this design, how he modeled AC losses in HTS cables, the Lorentz loads that cause strain on the design, and how he uses modeling and simulation to run diagnostics.

Kiran Uppalapati is a senior electromagnetics engineer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, LLC, with more than eight years of experience in electromagnetics research and analysis.

Suggested Resource

Read about Commonwealth Fusion Systems' work in this blog post: "Opening the Path to Commercial Fusion Energy with Simulation".