Experimental and analytical studies on high-speed plane jet along concave wall simulating IFMIF Li target flow

As part of the conceptual design activity (CDA) of the international fusion materials irradiation facility (IFMIF), the characteristics of the high-speed liquid lithium (Li) plane jet target flow have been studied by water experiments and numerical analyses for both heating and non-heating conditions. The simulated prototypal-size water flows were stable over the entire length of ∝130 mm at the average velocity up to 17 m/s. The jet flow had a specific radial velocity profile, close to that of free-vortex flow, because of a static pressure distribution in the jet thickness due to centrifugal force. Detailed velocity measurement revealed that this flow condition is penetrating into the upstream reducer nozzle up to a distance ∼ the jet thickness. The numerical analyses using a two-dimensional Cartesian-coordinate model were successful to predict the velocity profile transient around the nozzle exit, though underestimated the development of the velocity profile and the jet thickness. (orig.)