Authors: M. Hvasta
Abstract:
Plasma-facing components (PFC's) made from solid materials may not
be able to withstand the large heat and particle fluxes that will
be produced within next-generation fusion reactors. To address the
shortcomings of solid PFC's, a variety of liquid-metal (LM) PFC
concepts have been proposed. Many of the suggested LM-PFC designs
rely on electromagneticrestraint (Lorentz force) to keep
free-surface, liquid-metal flows adhered to the interior surfaces
of a fusion reactor. However, there is very little, if any,
experimental data demonstrating that free-surface, LM-PFC's can
actually be electromagnetically controlled. Therefore, in this
study, electric currents were injected into a free-surface
liquid-metal that was flowing through a uniform magnetic field.
The resultant Lorentz force generated within the liquid-metal
affected the velocity and depth of the flow in a controllable
manner that closely matched theoretical predictions. These results
show the promise of electromagnetic control for LM-PFC's and
suggest that electromagnetic control could be further developed to
adjust liquid-metal nozzle output, prevent splashing within a
tokamak, and alter heat transfer properties for a wide-range of
liquid-metal systems.
Submitted to: Nuclear Fusion
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Download PPPL-5341
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