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Title: Demonstrating electromagnetic control of free-surface, liquid-metal flows relevant to fusion reactors

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 electromagnetic restraint (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, electrical 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.

Authors:
; ; ;
Publication Date:
DOE Contract Number:  
AC02-09CH11466
Research Org.:
Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
U. S. Department of Energy
Keywords:
Plasma-Facing Component
OSTI Identifier:
1561998
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11578/1561998

Citation Formats

Hvasta, M G, Kolemen, E, Fisher, A E, and Ji, H. Demonstrating electromagnetic control of free-surface, liquid-metal flows relevant to fusion reactors. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.11578/1561998.
Hvasta, M G, Kolemen, E, Fisher, A E, & Ji, H. Demonstrating electromagnetic control of free-surface, liquid-metal flows relevant to fusion reactors. United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.11578/1561998
Hvasta, M G, Kolemen, E, Fisher, A E, and Ji, H. 2018. "Demonstrating electromagnetic control of free-surface, liquid-metal flows relevant to fusion reactors". United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.11578/1561998. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1561998. Pub date:Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2018
@article{osti_1561998,
title = {Demonstrating electromagnetic control of free-surface, liquid-metal flows relevant to fusion reactors},
author = {Hvasta, M G and Kolemen, E and Fisher, A E and Ji, H},
abstractNote = {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 electromagnetic restraint (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, electrical 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.},
doi = {10.11578/1561998},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {1}
}

Works referencing / citing this record:

Demonstrating electromagnetic control of free-surface, liquid-metal flows relevant to fusion reactors
journal, November 2017