Experience in the Development of Liquid Metal Plasma Facing Elements Based on Capillary-Porous Structures for a Steady-State Tokamak (Survey)

Realization of steady-state operation of a fusion reactor requires the development of essentially new designs and materials for plasma facing elements (PFE). The most promising solution in this field is the concept of capillary-porous systems (CPS) with liquid metal (first of all, lithium) that provide PFE surface self-renewal, closed circulation of their corrosion products, and plasma performance improvement and promote achievement of almost stationary modes of plasma burning. Furthermore, the problem of power exhaust with high specific density (20–30 МW/m²) and maintaining a reasonable temperature level on the PFE surface can be solved by the introduction of a special heat removal system. The survey covers the experience in the development, manufacture, and experimental study of liquid metal CPS based on the tests of PFE element models with thermal stabilization systems in steady-state conditions for the T-11М, Т-10, FTU, and КТМ tokamaks and different aspects of liquid metal application.