A heat pipe concept for cooling a liquid-pool blanket of a tandem mirror fusion reactor
The performance potential of a heat pipe designed specifically to operate in the high magnetic fields of a fusion reactor is investigated analytically. The heat pipe has a thin, flat cross section aligned parallel to the magnetic field so as to reduce the eddy currents and the resultant magnetohydrodynamic pressure drops in the liquid wick flow. The flat heat pipes are used to cool a pool of liquid lithium (or lithium-lead eutectic) in the blanket that surrounds the central-cell plasma of a tandem mirror fusion reactor. Calculations indicate that this new heat pipe design may be able to transport up to about 6800 W/cm/sup 2/ of condenser cross-sectional area in a 2-T magnetic field. This is considerably higher than the 420 W/cm/sup 2/ capability of a conventional cylindrical heat pipe of similar dimensions employing a channel wick and operating in the same 2-T field.
- Research Organization:
- University of California, Department of Mechanical Engineering Davis, California 95616
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 6845536
- Journal Information:
- Nucl. Technol.; (United States), Vol. 4:3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BREEDING BLANKETS
HEAT PIPES
DESIGN
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
PERFORMANCE
TMR REACTORS
COOLING SYSTEMS
CAPACITY
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONFIGURATION
HEAT PIPE WICKS
LIQUID METALS
LITHIUM
MAGNETIC FIELDS
PRESSURE DROP
PRIMARY COOLANT CIRCUITS
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
VORTEX FLOW
ALKALI METALS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SYSTEMS
FLUID FLOW
FLUID MECHANICS
FLUIDS
HYDRODYNAMICS
LIQUIDS
MAGNETIC MIRROR TYPE REACTORS
MECHANICS
METALS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR COOLING SYSTEMS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
700204* - Fusion Power Plant Technology- Cooling Systems