Controllable nuclear fusion technology is treated as the ultimate solution to the global energy problem. If we trace the sources of most types of energy, it would not be hard to conclude that a variety of sources of energy come from the energy radiated to the Earth from the Sun, either in the past and present, and the energy source of the Sun and other stars is always nuclear fusion.
With the enthusiasm for building a “man-made” sun, Jinxing Zheng chose to pursue his Ph.D. in Nuclear Energy Science and Engineering. According to Zheng, a key factor of realizing the steady-state long-pulse high confinement plasma operation of the fusion reactor is to improve the strong magnetic field confinement and stable operation performance of super large superconducting magnets, which has become his main scientific research direction and goal.
In 2011, he entered the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences to study for a PhD in Nuclear Energy Science and Engineering, he researched the key technologies of China Fusion Engineering Experimental Reactor (CFETR), in the face of the more complex and extreme situations of CFETR, the energy storage of which is 3.4 times higher than the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). At the same time, he also participated in the research and development of ITER large superconducting magnets.
From 2012 to 2014, at the stage of joint training and visiting study in the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory of Princeton University (PPPL), Zheng conducted in-depth research to study another advanced technological approach of magnetic confinement fusion, the QAS star simulator, under the supervision of his mentor.
After completing his Ph.D. in 2014, Zheng stayed at ASIPP and had been promoted to associate researcher and doctoral supervisor. At the same time, he served as the director of the First Division of ASIPP, responsible for conducting research on the large scale magnet system of CFETR. He also carried out the AC loss calculation work of different types of large scale superconducting magnets in the extreme environment of high current carrying and high magnetic field, fast-changing waveform switching, which solves the design problems of fusion reactors to achieve high volt-seconds, high safety and stability margin, and high tritium value-added cladding space coupling magnet, and provides reliable research methods for the steady-state operation of fusion reactor plasma long pulse.
