Applications will be reviewed as they are received so we would encourage you to apply as early as possible.
Plasmas in a tokamak magnetic fusion device undergo a transition (L-H transition) from a low-confinement state (L mode) to high confinement (H mode) when heating exceeds a certain threshold value. Understanding the details of the L-H transition is central to the success of magnetic confinement fusion. Although the baseline scenario for most future large-scale tokamaks is the H mode, edge localised mode (ELM) activity must be mitigated for sustainable regimes of operation. Besides ELMs, the dominant cross-field transport is due to turbulence, and the L-H transition can be thought of as a phase transition to suppressed turbulence. It is known that both the quality of global confinement and the threshold of the transition depend on macroscopic parameters, such as average density, magnetic null topology and the magnetic geometry in or near divertors. The connection between downstream conditions in the unconfined region (scrape-off-layer, SOL) and the core-side of the last closed flux surface (LCFS) is poorly understood and requires an integrated approach which has been missing.
The recent upgrade of MAST-U will enable the testing of advanced divertor configurations, allowing a detailed study of the effect on the L-H transition of all divertor conditions tested so far, and even those (such as the super-X) which have not been accessible before.
The project will be a rational continuation of an ongoing PhD work “Turbulence in confinement transitions in novel divertor configurations” (under the same supervision), with a view to expand the parameter space of studies and build on previous results to develop a physical picture of edge-SOL coupling. As such, it is an integral part of the UoY emphasis on the understanding of tokamak turbulence and its exploitation for improved confinement.
The studentship is envisioned to be mostly experimental, thus based at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, after the initial training in York.
The project will be mainly based in Culham, but the project is closely related to research conducted on devices in Europe (particularly, Garching, Germany) and in the USA (MIT, Cambridge, MA), and so there is an opportunity for collaboration with other groups, as well as international travel to conferences.
This project is offered by The University of York. For further information please contact: Istvan Cziegler ([Email Address Removed])
This project will run as part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Fusion Energy Science and Technology. For more information please visit the Fusion CDT website (https://fusion-cdt.ac.uk/study-with-us/).
This is a four year PhD programme, which includes a series of taught modules that mainly take place during the first six months. PhD projects within the Fusion CDT fall into two 'strands' - plasma strand projects and materials strand projects. This project is a plasma strand project and will be supervised by Dr Istvan Cziegler (University of York) and Dr Simon Freethy (CCFE).
This project is not compatible with part time study.