Staff profile
Mr. Rollo Hutson
PGR Student
| Affiliation | Room number | Telephone |
|---|---|---|
| PGR Student in the Department of Physics | Ph144A/B |
Biography
I started my experimental PhD in Durham’s Superconductivity Group in Oct 2021, supervised by Professor Damian Hampshire, as part of the EPSRC’s Fusion CDT, having finished a master’s degree in Engineering at Durham University and worked in industry for two years.
Research Interests
The PhD project focusses on superconducting joints, particularly relating to their application in Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF). MCF is becoming increasingly promising as a safe and green energy source for the future, and the project is centred on the need for modular superconducting magnets, which can be dis- and reassembled, for future fusion experiments and reactors. Remountable joints in superconducting magnets are considered an essential part of making fusion energy a viable commercial reality.
The topology of existing monolithic tokamaks (without joints) mean that the magnets in current MCF machines can’t easily be repaired or replaced without extreme costs in time and money. Modular magnets will allow replacements to be made in smaller parts and will not require dismantling the vacuum vessel, significantly affecting the cost and complexity of repairing a damaged tokamak.
My PhD project aims to design, commission and test new demountable superconducting joints. We also intend to develop new materials for use in joints. Both low and high temperature superconductors will be considered, aiming for low cost and low loss, as well as good thermal, electrical, and mechanical stability.
Yeekin Tsui, Elizabeth Surrey and Damian Hampshire. Soldered Joints – An essential component of demountable HTS fusion magnets – SUST 29 075005 (2016)