Thermal-hydraulic limitations on water-cooled limiters

An assessment of the cooling requirements for fusion reactor components, such as the first wall and limiter/divertor, was carried out using pressurized water as the coolant. In order to establish the coolant operating conditions, a survey of the literature on departure from nucleate boiling, critical heat flux, asymmetrical heating and heat transfer augmentation techniques was carried out. The experimental data and the empirical correlations indicate that thermal protection for the fusion reactor components based on current design concepts can be provided with an adequate margin of safety without resorting to either high coolant velocities, excessive coolant pressures, or heat transfer augmentation techniques. If, however, the future designs require heat transfer enhancement techniques, experimental verification would be necessary since no data on heat transfer augmentation techniques exist for complex geometries, especially under asymmetrically heated conditions. Since the data presented herein concern primarily thermal protection, the final design should consider other factors such as thermal stresses, temperature limits, and fatigue