Case Study
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Ansys is committed to setting today's students up for success, by providing free simulation engineering software to students.
Ansys is committed to setting today's students up for success, by providing free simulation engineering software to students.
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Case Study
“We want to develop a system simulation, which is what we've been building in Ansys Twin Builder. And the reason we've chosen this software is its flexible fidelity. You can analyze simpler components like equations, up to coupling with full physics codes. It's modular, enabling us to split a model down into its different components, and then, if those need updating, we can quickly swap them in and out. And it's fast so that we're able to do as many probabilistic simulations and design studies as we want as we work toward a real-time digital twin.”
— Michelle Tindall
Engineering Analyst, Simulation Research, U.K. Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom (UK) invests 650 million pounds (792 million dollars) to help cement the UK as a world leader in the fusion sector, creating thousands of fusion training places. Alongside this, UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is building a unique test rig called CHIMERA (Combined Heating and Magnetic Research Apparatus). The test rig is specifically designed to test meter scale prototype components in an environment representative of a fusion power plant.
Within the tokamak (tordial chamber with magnetic coils) of a fusion reactor, hydrogen fuel is subject to extreme pressure and temperatures in excess of 100 million degrees Celsius to create extremely hot, electrically charged plasma. Future operational success requires an understanding of how all the components that sit next to the plasma within the tokamak will survive high loads imposed by electromagnetic fields, high heat flux, and temperature variations due to coolant loop flow. In light of prohibitive timescales and costs, fully replicating the operational environment is only possible with prototype fusion reactors. Further, complications posed by in-operation diagnostics, in-service inspections, and potential in-vessel failures establish the need for predictive maintenance based on in situ monitoring that is independent of more traditional instrumentation and data collection.
UKAEA, with the help of Ansys Twin Builder, is working toward the creation of a fusion component digital twin that will be used for the virtual testing and monitoring of all of the components.
A system simulation approach is well-suited to this purpose, as it is:
Also essential is the development of coupled simulation models capable of system design optimization and virtual component qualification under conditions that are not readily tested. A component digital twin combining data from physical instrumentation with simulation will be used to deliver virtual, real-time diagnostics in support of future predictive maintenance of the reactor.
Thanks to the system simulation UKAEA can simulate many components such as this example where simulation shows the temperature variation across front slats due to mass flow. Parameter sweeps were completed to understand the test envelope.
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