Patents Assigned to Tokamak Energy Ltd.
  • Patent number: 10930837
    Abstract: There is disclosed an assembly for carrying electrical current in a coil of a magnet. The assembly comprises a pre-formed housing of thermally and electrically conductive material (e.g. copper) which comprises a channel configured to retain HTS tape. A plurality of layers of HTS tape are fixed within the channel. The channel has at least one pre-formed curved section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: TOKAMAK ENERGY LTD
    Inventors: Martin Wilson, Paul Noonan
  • Patent number: 10847269
    Abstract: Neutron shielding for the central column of a tokamak nuclear fusion reactor. The neutron shielding comprises an electrically conductive neutron absorbing material. The neutron shielding is arranged such that the electrically conductive neutron absorbing material forms a solenoid for the initiation of plasma within the tokamak.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Tokamak Energy Ltd.
    Inventors: Paul Noonan, Marcel Kruip
  • Patent number: 10840616
    Abstract: According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a superconducting joint between ReBCO tapes. Two or more ReBCO tapes are provided, each having an exposed ReBCO region. A bridge is provided, comprising an exposed ReBCO layer and an oxygen-permeable backing on the exposed ReBCO layer. Each exposed ReBCO region is bonded to the exposed ReBCO layer of the bridge by heating to a first temperature (T1) in an environment where the partial pressure of oxygen is sufficiently low that the melting point of the ReBCO (TR) is less than the melting point of silver (TAg), the temperature (T1) being between the melting point of the ReBCO (TR) and the melting point of silver (TAg), (TR<T1<TAg). The resulting joint is annealed at a second temperature (T2) which is less than the melting point of ReBCO (TR) (T2<TR), for a time (t), in an environment where the partial pressure of oxygen is sufficient to reoxygenate the ReBCO at the second temperature (T2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Tokamak Energy Ltd.
    Inventor: Greg Brittles
  • Patent number: 10796806
    Abstract: An apparatus for protecting an interior surface of a fusion reactor vessel. The apparatus comprises a power supply operably connected to an electrode for insertion into the vessel. The apparatus supports a solid material within the vessel, and is configured such that power supplied to the electrode within the vessel causes a plasma located in proximity to the solid material to sputter the solid material in order to deposit a protective material on said interior surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: Tokamak Energy Ltd.
    Inventors: Vladimir Shevchenko, Christian Bradley
  • Patent number: 10699829
    Abstract: A cooling system for use in a superconducting magnet comprising a high temperature superconductor, HTS, coil. The cooling system comprises a refrigeration unit, one or more coolant channels, and a pumping unit. The refrigeration unit is configured to cool a gas, wherein the gas is hydrogen or helium. The one or more coolant channels are configured to be placed in thermal contact with components of the superconducting magnet and to carry said gas. The pumping unit is configured to pump said gas through the coolant channels. The refrigeration unit and pumping unit are configured to maintain the gas at a pressure and temperature such that a Joule-Thompson coefficient of the gas is positive, and the coolant channel is configured to reduce the pressure of gas as it flows through the channel by one or more of a throttle, a valve, and choice and/or variance of a cross section of the coolant channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: TOKAMAK ENERGY LTD
    Inventors: Charles Monroe, Paul Noonan
  • Patent number: 10636528
    Abstract: There is described neutron shielding for a nuclear fusion reactor. The neutron shielding includes a cemented carbide or boride comprising a binder and an aggregate, the aggregate comprising particles of a carbide or boride compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: TOKAMAK ENERGY LTD
    Inventors: David Kingham, George Smith
  • Patent number: 10580535
    Abstract: A tokamak comprising a toroidal containment vessel and a plasma initiation system. The toroidal containment vessel is configured to contain a plasma. The plasma initiation system comprises upper and lower poloidal field, PF, coil sets. Each PF coil set comprises at least one inner PF coil located outside of the containment vessel, an outer PF coil located inside the containment vessel, and shielding located between the outer PF coil and a location of the plasma during operation of the tokamak and configured to protect the outer PF coil from heat emitted by the plasma. The inner and outer PF coils are configured so as to form a PF null within the containment vessel between the inner and outer PF coils, such that the upper and lower PF coil pairs are operable to initiate a plasma in the containment vessel via double null merging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: Tokamak Energy Ltd.
    Inventors: Mikhail Gryaznevich, Steven Anthony Milton McNamara
  • Patent number: 10332640
    Abstract: A toroidal field coil for generating a toroidal magnetic field in a nuclear fusion reactor includes a toroidal plasma chamber having a central column. The toroidal field coil has a plurality of windings configured to pass through the central column and around the outside of the plasma chamber. Each winding includes a cable having a plurality of stacked high temperature superconductor (HTS) tapes, each HTS tape including one or more layers of a high temperature superconductor material. With the toroidal field coil in place in the reactor, a face of each HTS tape is substantially perpendicular to a direction of maximal neutron flux during reactor operation as the cable passes through the center column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: TOKAMAK ENERGY LTD
    Inventors: Alan Sykes, Mikhail Gryaznevich, David Kingham, David Hawksworth, Ziad Melhem, Steven Ball
  • Patent number: 10332641
    Abstract: A toroidal field coil for generating a toroidal magnetic field in a nuclear fusion reactor comprising a toroidal plasma chamber having a central column. The toroidal field coil comprises a portion passing through the central column. The portion passing through the central chamber comprises: ?a low temperature superconductor, LTS, layer (21) formed from LTS; ?a high temperature superconductor, HTS, layer (22) formed from HTS and located radially outward of the LTS layer. ?a non-superconducting conductive layer (23) formed from electrically conducting, non-superconducting material and located radially outward of the HTS and LTS layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: TOKAMAK ENERGY LTD
    Inventors: David Kingham, Mikhail Gryaznevich
  • Publication number: 20180261753
    Abstract: There is disclosed an assembly for carrying electrical current in a coil of a magnet. The assembly comprises a pre-formed housing of thermally and electrically conductive material (e.g. copper) which comprises a channel configured to retain HTS tape. A plurality of layers of HTS tape are fixed within the channel. The channel has at least one pre-formed curved section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2016
    Publication date: September 13, 2018
    Applicant: Tokamak Energy Ltd
    Inventors: Martin WILSON, Paul NOONAN
  • Publication number: 20180248357
    Abstract: A method of protecting a superconducting magnet from quenches, the superconducting magnet having at least one primary coil comprising high temperature superconductor, HTS, material. A secondary HTS tape is provided, the secondary HTS tape being in proximity to and electrically insulated from the primary coil, and being configured to cease superconducting at a lower temperature than the primary coil during operation of the magnet. A loss of superconductivity in the secondary HTS tape is detected. In response to said detection, energy is dumped from the primary coil into an external resistive load.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2016
    Publication date: August 30, 2018
    Applicant: TOKAMAK ENERGY LTD
    Inventors: John ROSS, Paul NOONAN
  • Patent number: 9852816
    Abstract: An efficient compact nuclear fusion reactor for use as a neutron source or energy source is described. The reactor comprises a toroidal plasma chamber and a plasma confinement system arranged to generate a magnetic field for confining a plasma in the chamber. The plasma confinement system is configured so that a major radius of the confined plasma is 1.5 m or less. The reactor is constructed using high temperature superconducting toroidal magnets, which may be operated at low temperature (77K or lower) to provide enhanced performance. The toroidal magnetic field can be increased to 5 T or more giving significant increases in fusion output, so that neutron output is very efficient and the reactor can produce a net output of energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: TOKAMAK ENERGY LTD
    Inventors: David Kingham, Alan Sykes, Mikhail Gryaznevich
  • Publication number: 20170032851
    Abstract: An efficient compact nuclear fusion reactor for use as a neutron source or energy source includes a toroidal plasma chamber and a plasma confinement system arranged to generate a magnetic field for confining a plasma in the chamber, where the plasma confinement system is configured so that a major radius of the confined plasma is 1.5 m or less and the toroidal magnetic field is operated 5 T or less and the plasma current is 5 MA or less, yet a-particles generated are confined in the plasma.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2015
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Applicant: Tokamak Energy Ltd.
    Inventors: Alan Sykes, Mikhail Gryaznevich, David Kingham