Liquid lithium surface research and development

A liquid metal surface made with a capillary porous structure (CPS) (solid base) filled with lithium (liquid) has been offered for application in a magnetic confinement fusion reactor. The approach is investigated experimentally for divertor and first wall relevant conditions. The CPS ensured stability of the liquid surface under pulsed plasma impact in disruption simulation and tokamak experiments. Continuous operation of lithium capillary target was studied under electron beam load in stationary thermal conditions in the range 1-10 MW/m2 of energy flux in steady state. Lithium evaporation was shown to dominate at temperatures higher than 400 deg. C and it removed up to 0.7 of incident power. Heat flux redistribution at the liquid lithium surface was analyzed. Lithium ionization, lithium plasma parameters near the liquid surface were evaluated. The importance and possibility of prompt lithium removal from the near surface layer in divertor conditions are emphasized