Experiments of continuously and stably flowing lithium limiter in EAST towards a solution for the power exhaust of future fusion devices

J.S. Hu
G.Z. Zuo
R. Maingi
Z. Sun
K. Tritz
W. Xu
Q.X. Yang
D. Andruczyk
M. Huang
X.C. Meng
X.Z. Gong
D.N. Ruzic
M.J. Ni
B.N. Wan
J.G. Li

Open link

Publication date

January 2019

DOI

10.1016/j.nme.2018.12.017

Publisher

Elsevier BV

ISSN

2352-1791

Journal

Nuclear Materials and Energy

Abstract

Liquid lithium (Li) can partly ameliorate lifetime and power-exhaust issues of plasma facing components (PFCs) by enabling a self-healing, self-replenishing surface with a reduced susceptibility to neutron damage in future fusion devices. To assess operational stability and heat-exhaust capability under tokamak exposure, two generations of continuously flowing liquid Li (FLiLi) limiters on the concept of a thin flowing Li film have been successfully designed and tested in high performance discharges in EAST. The design uses a circulating Li layer with a thickness of <0.1 mm and a flow rate ∼2 cm3s−1. In addition, the limiter employs a novel electro-magnetic pump to drive liquid Li flow from a collector at the bottom of the limiter into a di...