Active Recycling Control Through Lithium Injection in EAST
Abstract
The coating of tokamak walls with thin layers of lithium has been demonstrated to reduce plasma recycling from the plasma-facing surfaces and to improve overall plasma performance. These effects, including reduced divertor D α emission, the elimination of edge-localized modes, and increased energy confinement have been observed in multiple experiments when lithium coatings are applied before plasma discharges. However, this coating technology does not extrapolate to future long-pulse devices, since the lithium coatings will be passivated by the continual plasma flux onto the surface. In order to provide active conditioning capability, a new technology has been developed that is capable of injecting lithium powder into the scrape-off layer plasma during plasma discharges, where it quickly liquefies and turns into an aerosol. The use of this “lithium dropper” is under study at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), where the potential benefits of real-time wall conditioning via lithium injection are being tested. Here, we present an analysis of the recycling characteristics during EAST experiments testing active lithium injection in order to assess recycling reduction and control. Lithium aerosol was injected from the top of the machine, with one system dropping lithium near the X-point and another into the low-field side divertormore »
- Authors:
-
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei (China)
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
- Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1465373
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 2017YFA0402500; 11625524; 11605246; 11775261; AC05-00OR22725; AC02-09CH11466; FC02- 04ER54698; SC0016553
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 46; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 0093-3813
- Publisher:
- IEEE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; divertor; Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST); lithium wall coatings
Citation Formats
Canik, J. M., Sun, Z., Hu, J. S., Zuo, G. Z., Xu, W., Huang, M., Wang, L., Xu, J., Zhang, T., Maingi, R., Lunsford, R., Diallo, A., Mansfield, D., Osborne, T., and Tritz, K. Active Recycling Control Through Lithium Injection in EAST. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1109/tps.2017.2789119.
Canik, J. M., Sun, Z., Hu, J. S., Zuo, G. Z., Xu, W., Huang, M., Wang, L., Xu, J., Zhang, T., Maingi, R., Lunsford, R., Diallo, A., Mansfield, D., Osborne, T., & Tritz, K. Active Recycling Control Through Lithium Injection in EAST. United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/tps.2017.2789119
Canik, J. M., Sun, Z., Hu, J. S., Zuo, G. Z., Xu, W., Huang, M., Wang, L., Xu, J., Zhang, T., Maingi, R., Lunsford, R., Diallo, A., Mansfield, D., Osborne, T., and Tritz, K. Thu .
"Active Recycling Control Through Lithium Injection in EAST". United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/tps.2017.2789119. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1465373.
@article{osti_1465373,
title = {Active Recycling Control Through Lithium Injection in EAST},
author = {Canik, J. M. and Sun, Z. and Hu, J. S. and Zuo, G. Z. and Xu, W. and Huang, M. and Wang, L. and Xu, J. and Zhang, T. and Maingi, R. and Lunsford, R. and Diallo, A. and Mansfield, D. and Osborne, T. and Tritz, K.},
abstractNote = {The coating of tokamak walls with thin layers of lithium has been demonstrated to reduce plasma recycling from the plasma-facing surfaces and to improve overall plasma performance. These effects, including reduced divertor D α emission, the elimination of edge-localized modes, and increased energy confinement have been observed in multiple experiments when lithium coatings are applied before plasma discharges. However, this coating technology does not extrapolate to future long-pulse devices, since the lithium coatings will be passivated by the continual plasma flux onto the surface. In order to provide active conditioning capability, a new technology has been developed that is capable of injecting lithium powder into the scrape-off layer plasma during plasma discharges, where it quickly liquefies and turns into an aerosol. The use of this “lithium dropper” is under study at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), where the potential benefits of real-time wall conditioning via lithium injection are being tested. Here, we present an analysis of the recycling characteristics during EAST experiments testing active lithium injection in order to assess recycling reduction and control. Lithium aerosol was injected from the top of the machine, with one system dropping lithium near the X-point and another into the low-field side divertor leg. The injection of lithium into the SOL reduced divertor recycling, as evidenced by reduced Dα emission with ion flux measured by probes relatively unchanged. This effect is strongest in the active divertor, confirming the lithium is transported to strongly plasma-wetted areas. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of the recycling changes using the SOLPS edge plasma and neutral transport code indicated a ~20% reduction in recycling coefficient with lithium injection.},
doi = {10.1109/tps.2017.2789119},
journal = {IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science},
number = 5,
volume = 46,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {2}
}
Web of Science
Figures / Tables:

Works referencing / citing this record:
ELM frequency enhancement and discharge modification through lithium granule injection into EAST H-modes
journal, October 2018
- Lunsford, R.; Hu, J. S.; Sun, Z.
- Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 58, Issue 12
Control of hydrogen content and fuel recycling for long pulse high performance plasma operation in EAST
journal, October 2019
- Yu, Y. W.; Hu, J. S.; Zuo, G. Z.
- Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 59, Issue 12
Figures / Tables found in this record: