Test results from a helium gas-cooled porous metal heat exchanger

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:524773

North, M T; Rosenfeld, J H ^[1]; Youchison, D L ^[2]

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1. Thermacore, Inc., Lancaster, PA (United States)
2. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Fusion Technology Dept.

A helium-cooled porous metal heat exchanger was built and tested, which successfully absorbed heat fluxes exceeding all previously tested gas-cooled designs. Helium-cooled plasma-facing components are being evaluated for fusion applications. Helium is a favorable coolant for fusion devices because it is not a plasma contaminant, it is not easily activated, and it is easily removed from the device in the event of a leak. The main drawback of gas coolants is their relatively poor thermal transport properties. This limitation can be removed through use of a highly efficient heat exchanger design. A low flow resistance porous metal heat exchanger design was developed, based on the requirements for the Faraday shield for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) device. High heat flux tests were conducted on two representative test articles at the Plasma Materials Test Facility (PMTF) at Sandia National Laboratories. Absorbed heat fluxes as high as 40 MW/m{sup 2} were successfully removed during these tests without failure of the devices. Commercial applications for electronics cooling and other high heat flux applications are being identified.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG02-95ER82095
• OSTI ID: 524773
• Report Number(s): CONF-960848--; ISBN 0-8194-2243-6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
COOLANTS
DESIGN
GAS COOLING
HEAT EXCHANGERS
ITER TOKAMAK
PERFORMANCE TESTING
POROUS MATERIALS
SHIELDS
USES