Study of lithium vapor flow in a detached divertor using DSMC code

Emdee, E. D.; Goldston, R. J.; Schwartz, J. A.; Rensink, M. E.; Rognlien, T. D.

doi:10.1016/j.nme.2019.01.032

Title: Study of lithium vapor flow in a detached divertor using DSMC code

Journal Article · Wed May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Nuclear Materials and Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nme.2019.01.032· OSTI ID:1564436

; Goldston, R. J.; Schwartz, J. A.; Rensink, M. E.; Rognlien, T. D.

Here, a detached divertor is predicted to be necessary to handle the heat fluxes of a demonstration fusion power plant. The lithium vapor box divertor localizes dense lithium vapor to cause stable detachment. This localization is formed by local evaporation and nearby condensation. We provide a simulation of lithium vapor flow using the SPARTA Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) code. Simulations of a baffled vapor box divertor’s lithium mass flow are within a factor of two of an ideal-gas choked nozzle flow calculation. Lithium flow and density within each chamber are given for a 200 MW power input Demo-scaled vapor-box example configuration. We find the lithium exits the baffles of this configuration at a rate of ~4 g/s. This should be acceptable since ionization of ~60 g/s of lithium is taking place to cause detachment [3]. A simple model of the Fusion National Science Facility (FNSF) divertor plasma is also explored. We compare our simulations using SPARTA to a similar UEDGE simulation, showing the lithium ionizations rates can be emulated to a reasonable degree. The addition of baffles causes a decrease in far SOL ionization by a factor of eight. Changes in detachment front position over a range of 19cm can cause more than a factor of 18 increase in ionization rate, indicating detachment location is highly stable to variations in heatflux. Unbaffled results are more modest, but nonetheless promising with a factor of six change in ionization over the same region.

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Research Organization:: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-09CH11466; AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1564436

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1503326; OSTI ID: 1756737

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-793361; S2352179118301418; PII: S2352179118301418

Journal Information:: Nuclear Materials and Energy, Journal Name: Nuclear Materials and Energy Vol. 19 Journal Issue: C; ISSN 2352-1791

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: Netherlands

Language:: English

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Cited by: 6 works

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References (6)

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