30 years ago, on 21 March 1991, the ASDEX Upgrade experimental device at Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Germany generated its first plasma. The main aim of this device is to prepare plasma scenarios for JET, ITER and DEMO. ASDEX Upgrade is a full tungsten machine which deliver a lot of important information for fusion as a source of electricity.
The operation of ASDEX Upgrade resulted in performing 38,700 discharges so far and providing answers to crucial research questions dealing with, among others, the wall of the plasma vessel, instabilities in the plasma confinement conditions, continuous operation (not in pulses), and countermeasures against disruptions.
According to project leader Professor Dr. Arne Kallenbach, "ASDEX Upgrade can be seen as a 'blueprint' for a tokamak fusion power plant."
For more information about the thirty-year experience of the prototype discharges, please visit: www.ipp.mpg.de
Source: www.ipp.mpg.de
Photo: IPP; Plasma discharge in the ASDEX Upgrade fusion device
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