Abstract
The design and implementation of future flowing liquid-lithium plasma-facing components (LLPFCs) will be dependent on several factors. Of course, one of the most important is the need to be able to deal with high heat fluxes incident on the surface of the LLPFCs, but there are also several other important liquid-metal behaviors that have been identified for their critical impact on the feasibility of a LLPFC. One of these is the ability to constantly wet 100% of the plasma-facing component area and the best way to achieve that. Another key point is knowing and understanding the erosion and corrosion of the surfaces subject to a flowing liquid-lithium system and the ability for hydrogen and helium uptake by the system. The Center for Plasma Material Interactions (CPMI) has been tasked with looking at these various issues. The Mock-up Entry module for EAST device was used to investigate wetting and erosion effects and to design a suitable distribution and collection system with a liquid-lithium loop. The vapor shielding effects of lithium on the surface were also modeled and studied. A model coupling CRANE, an open-source global reaction network solver, and Zapdos, a plasma transport solver, is being developed to better understand the dynamics of the vapor cloud. Experiments on the Magnum-PSI at the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research have been carried out to study the vapor shielding effect and obtain experimental benchmarks to verify the model. Also, initial experiments using the Hybrid Illinois Device for Research and Applications have been performed to understand the pumping effects of lithium on helium. Experiments with a drop of liquid lithium (~100 mg) into a helium plasma have shown the ability of lithium to take out the cold recycling helium gas as well as hydrogen and oxygen impurity gases. The improvement in plasma performance was significant, and further understanding of this effect will have impacts on how future LLPFCs will be designed. Further investigation into the exact mechanism for helium pumping by lithium needs to be performed in the future. This paper presents a summary of the results obtained at the CPMI.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1099-1112 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Fusion Science and Technology |
Volume | 79 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2023 |
Funding
We acknowledge the support of the Magnum-PSI Facility Team at the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER). The Magnum-PSI facility at DIFFER has been funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and EURATOM. This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium, funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Program (grant agreement no. 101052200 EUROfusion). The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them. This work is supported in part by the DOE under contracts DE SC0020642, DE-AC02-09CH11466, and DE-AC05-00OR22725. The University of California Los Angeles appreciates the support from the subcontract with ORNL (no. 4000171188). We acknowledge the support of the Magnum-PSI Facility Team at the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER). The Magnum-PSI facility at DIFFER has been funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and EURATOM. This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium, funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Program (grant agreement no. 101052200 EUROfusion). The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.
Funders | Funder number |
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Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research | |
U.S. Department of Energy | DE-AC05-00OR22725, DE-AC02-09CH11466, DE SC0020642 |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory | 4000171188 |
H2020 Euratom | |
European Commission | 101052200 EUROfusion |
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek |
Keywords
- Lithium
- fusion
- liquid metal
- plasma
- vapor shielding