Experimental study of lithium target under high power load

This paper presents experimental research on simulation of a free liquid lithium surface under high heat flux impact for divertor application. Capillary porous structure (CPS) was taken to form the free liquid metal surface imitating divertor target plate. Experiments were performed in the SPRUT-4 linear plasma device with electron beam as power source. Lithium-filled targets were investigated at 1–50 MW/m2 heat loads in steady state. Lithium evaporation, energy and mass balance, surface temperature, vapor ionization, lithium plasma parameters and radiation were studied. Detailed thermal analysis was made to study heat flows in the target and their correspondence with experimental observations. Durable operation of the setup was possible in the range 1–20 MW/m2 without damage of the structure. The relevance of the experimental performance to divertor condition is analyzed.