Dr. Paraskevas Lalousis Paraskevas Lalousis is a researcher with the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, FORTH Heraklion Crete. He is also a Gordon Godfrey visiting professor at the School of Physics in the University of NSW Australia. Paraskevas Lalousis did his Ph.D in the field of laser-plasma interactions at the University of NSW Australia, and he was also working at the CSIRO Division of Applied Physics in the field of computational physics. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the NET-Team Max-Planck Institute of Plasmaphysics Garching Germany, and worked in the field of plasma-pellet interactions. While joining the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser he was seconded to the NET-Team Garching Germany for a number of years, where he worked on the development of two-dimensional plasma equilibrium and transport codes. On returning to IESL he continued working on the development of multi-dimensional resistive MHD codes for the study of vapor shield phenomena in tokamaks during disruptions, and pellet-plasma interactions for fueling of magnetic fusion reactors. Currently he is working on the development of burning plasma codes based on the two-fluid approximation, in one and two dimensions, for magnetic fusion and inertial fusion. These codes are applied to study the drifts and rotations of the charged particles in magnetic fusion devices and the thermonuclear burning process. In inertial fusion the burning process of various nuclear fuels is being studied. He is also has been developing a three-dimensional resistive MHD code for pellet fueling of magnetic fusion reactors. He has been a member of the CCFU and STAC committees of Euratom.
In a magnetic fusion reactor the alpha particles are produced primary from the reaction D+T-> α + n, where the alpha is created with 3.5 MeV energy, and the neutron is released with 14.1MeV energy. In a fusion reactor the neutrons will leave the plasma and will be used to breed tritium (by reacting with lithium) and also will heat the blanket to produce steam, hence electricity. The alpha particles will be confined by the magnetic field and through collisions will heat the plasma species. If this alpha heating rate is equal (and greater) than the plasma energy loss rate then the plasma will ignite, and the plasma burning process will be self-sustaining.A zero dimensional multi-fluid plasma burning model has been developed for alpha heating of plasma in a fusion reactor. The model is based on the conservation of the various plasma species particles and on the energy balance of these plasma species. Using this plasma burning model we compute: the power output of the reactor, the alpha particle density and temperature, when the reactor is operating in a steady state. Various operating scenarios of fusion reactors will be presented, and fusion physics and fusion technology problems will also be discussed.