Flow Field and Thermal Analysis of the Divertor Target Plate for HL-2A Tokamak

In the initial phase of the physics experiment, the double-null divertor plates used consist of graphite armor tiles, Mo-alloy intermediate layers and Cu-alloy coolant tubes. In the later operating phase, tungsten will be used as armor tiles. A multi-physical field numerical analysis method is used in this paper. Its analysis model reflects more realistically the real divertor structure than other models. Two-dimensional （2D） and three-dimensional （3D） fluid flow field, temperature distribution and thermal stress analyses of the divertor plates are carried out by the ANSYS code. During the physics experimental phase with a heat flux of 1 MW/m2, a coolant velocity of 5.48 m/s, and a thermal stress of 750 kg/cm2, the graphite armor tiles successfully meet the requirements of temperature, thermal stress and sputtering erosion. The tungsten armor will be considered as a second candidate. The result of simulation can be used for upgrading the design parameters of the HL-2A poloidal divertor.     

Numerical Study of High Heat Flux Performances of Flat-Tile Divertor Mock-ups with Hypervapotron Cooling Concept

The hypervapotron (HV), as an enhanced heat transfer technique, will be used for ITER divertor components in the dome region as well as the enhanced heat flux first wall panels. W-Cu brazing technology has been developed at SWIP (Southwestern Institute of Physics), and one W/CuCrZr/316LN component of 450 mm×52 mm×166 mm with HV cooling channels will be fabricated for high heat flux (HHF) tests. Before that a relevant analysis was carried out to optimize the structure of divertor component elements. ANSYS-CFX was used in CFD analysis and ABAQUS was adopted for thermal–mechanical calculations. Commercial code FE-SAFE was adopted to compute the fatigue life of the component. The tile size, thickness of tungsten tiles and the slit width among tungsten tiles were optimized and its HHF performances under International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) loading conditions were simulated. One brand new tokamak HL-2M with advanced divertor con?guration is under construction in SWIP, where ITER-like ?at-tile divertor components are adopted. This optimized design is expected to supply valuable data for HL-2M tokamak.     

Efforts Made to Handling Steady-State High Heat Flux in EAST

There have been three generations divertor designed for EAST to handle steady-state high heat flux form plasma. The first generation divertor was used on the initial phase of the plasma burning. The first generation divertor was just stainless plate 5 mm in thickness bolted on supports which had been applied since 2006–2007. From 2008 to 2013 the second generation divertor has been used. The second generation divertor was graphite divertor that consisted of graphite tiles, heat sink (CuCrZr) and supports (316L). The third generation divertor was tungsten divertor with ITER like design that had been used science 2014. Now days the upper divertor is tungsten divertor (80 modules) and the lower divertor is graphite divertor (16 modules) in EAST. Tungsten divertor is able to withstand 10 MW/m² heat flux on its strike point and graphite divertor can bear 2 MW/m² under same conditions. It is very important to make every efforts to improve thermal extraction technology of divertor by comparing and practice different designs. Such efforts made in EAST can bring experiences and answers for ITER or any next divertor fusion device on nuclear phase.     

Geometry and expected performance of the solid tungsten outer divertor row in JET

At JET new plasma-facing components for the main chamber wall and the divertor are being designed and built to mimic the expected ITER plasma wall conditions in the deuterium-tritium operation phase. The main wall elements at JET will be made of beryllium and the divertor plasma-facing surface will be made of tungsten. Most of the divertor tiles will consist of tungsten-coated Carbon Fibre Composite (CFC) material. However one toroidal row in the outer divertor will be made of solid, inertially cooled tungsten. The geometry of these solid tungsten divertor components is optimized within the boundary conditions of the interfaces and the constraints given by the electrodynamical forces. Shadowing calculations as well as rough field line penetration analysis is used to define the geometry of the tungsten lamella stacks. These calculations are based on a set of magnetic equilibria reflecting the operation domain of current JET plasma scenarios. All edges in poloidal and toroidal direction are shadowed to exclude near perpendicular field line impact. In addition, the geometry of the divertor structure is being optimized so that the fraction of the plasma wetted surface is maximised. On the basis of the optimized divertor geometry, performance calculations are done with the help of ANSYS to assess the maximum power exhaust possible with this inertially cooled divertor row.     

Design and concept validation of the new solid tungsten divertor for ASDEX Upgrade

Div-III, a divertor with solid tungsten target tiles for ASDEX Upgrade is designed and tested and will be installed in 2013. It is a further step in exploring tungsten as material for plasma facing components. It avoids the restrictions of tungsten coatings on graphite and realizes an operation range up to 50 MJ energy removing capability in the outer divertor. In addition, it allows physics investigation such as erosion and deuterium retention as well as effects of castellation and target tilting. The design of the target itself and the attachment was optimized with FE-analysis and was intensively high heat tested up to a double overload. Cyclic tests reveal that the target and the attachment can be operated with the design load of 50 MJ without any damage. Even a twofold overload results in local recrystallization and minor cracks but the targets did not fail during operation. The redesign of the divertor structure was used to increase the conductance between the cryo-pump and the divertor region. The impact of the changed pumping efficiency was investigated with SOLPS/Eirene modeling. The modeling results are an indication for an easier access to lower SOL densities as expected for a higher pumping efficiency in the main chamber.     

Manufacturing and joining technologies for helium cooled divertors

In the helium cooled (HC) divertor, developed at KIT for a fusion power plant, tungsten has been selected as armor as well as structural material due to its crucial properties: high melting point, very low sputtering yield, good thermal conductivity, high temperature strength, low thermal expansion and low activation. Thereby the armor tungsten is attached to the structural tungsten by thermally conductive joint. Due to the brittleness of tungsten at low temperatures its use as structural material is limited to the high temperature part of the component and a structural joint to the reduced activation ferritic martensitic steel EUROFER97 is foreseen. Hence, to realize the selected hybrid material concept reliable tungsten–steel and tungsten–tungsten joints have been developed and will be reported in this paper.In addition, the modular design of the HC divertor requires tungsten armor tiles and tungsten structural thimbles to be manufactured in high numbers with very high quality. Due to the high strength and low temperature brittleness of tungsten special manufacturing techniques need to be developed for the production of parts with no cavities inside and/or surface flaws. The main achievement in developing the respective manufacturing technologies will be presented and discussed.To achieve the objectives mentioned above various manufacturing and joining technologies are pursued. Their later applicability depends on the level of development including their transferability to the component. Hence, specifying design and requirements for the components of interest will determine appropriate time and criteria for selecting most promising technologies. Although the considered technologies are mainly developed for the HC divertor it is worth to note that they are also useful for other divertor and even blanket concepts, particularly those with tungsten armor.     

Current status of He-cooled divertor development for DEMO

A He-cooled divertor concept for DEMO is being investigated at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe within the framework of the EU power plant conceptual study. The design goal is to resist a heat flux of 10 MW/m² at least. The major R&D areas are design, analyses, fabrication technology, and experimental design verification. A modular design is preferred for thermal stress reduction. The HEMJ (He-cooled modular divertor with multiple-jet cooling) was chosen as reference concept. It employs small tiles made of tungsten, which are brazed to a thimble made of tungsten alloy W-1%La₂O₃. The W finger units are connected to the main structure of ODS Eurofer steel by means of a copper casting with mechanical interlock. The divertor modules are cooled by helium jets (10 MPa, 600 °C) impinging onto the heated inner surface of the thimble.In cooperation with the Efremov Institute a combined helium loop & electron beam facility (60 kW, 27 keV) was built in St. Petersburg, Russia, for experimental verification of the design. It enables mock-up testing at a nominal helium inlet temperature of 600 °C, an internal pressure of 10 MPa, and a pressure difference in the mock-up of up to 0.5 MPa. Technological studies were performed on manufacturing of the W finger mock-ups. Several high heat flux tests were successfully performed till now. Post-examination and characterisation of the mock-ups subjected to the high heat flux tests were performed in collaboration with Forschungszentrum Jülich. Altogether, the test results confirm the divertor performance required. The helium-cooled divertor concept was demonstrated to be feasible. The knowledge gained from these experiments and some aspects on the design improvement are discussed in this contribution.     

Elastic–plastic analysis of the steel-to-tungsten transition joint for a high performance divertor

The use of tungsten as a plasma-facing material necessitates a transition joint to the oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel or ferritic steel (FS) structural material of the primary coolant loop at the end of the divertor target plate where the surface heat flux is very low. A critical issue in the transition joints is the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between the tungsten (or tungsten-alloy) and ODS steel, which can lead to unacceptably high thermal stresses during steady state and ratcheting during cyclic loads. Detailed 2D and 3D thermo-mechanical analyses were conducted to study the behavior of a transition from tungsten to FS with an intermediate layer of tantalum, located outside of the high heat flux region. The results include plastic strains under various loading conditions including fabrication processes, warm and cold shutdown, and allow for plastic behaviors leading to stress relaxation. The accumulation of plastic deformation may cause ratcheting. Modifications were proposed to the transition joint design in order to eliminate stress concentration and ratcheting under cyclic loading. The results of the modified design exhibited less plastic deformation in the joints as well as no ratcheting caused by warm and cold shutdown.     

Conceptual design and heat transfer performance of a flat-tile water-cooled divertor target

The divertor target components for the Chinese fusion engineering test reactor (CFETR) and the future experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) need to remove a heat flux of up to ～20 MW m-2.In view of such a high heat flux removal requirement,this study proposes a conceptual design for a flat-tile divertor target based on explosive welding and brazing technology.Rectangular water-cooled channels with a special thermal transfer structure (TTS)are designed in the heat sink to improve the flat-tile divertor target's heat transfer performance(HTP).The parametric design and optimization methods are applied to study the influence of the TTS variation parameters,including height (H),width (W*),thickness (T),and spacing (L),on the HTP.The research results show that the flat-tile divertor target's HTP is sensitive to the TTS parameter changes,and the sensitivity is T ＞ L ＞ W* ＞ H.The HTP first increases and then decreases with the increase of T,L,and W* and gradually increases with the increase of H.The optimal design parameters are as follows:H =5.5 mm,W* =25.8 mm,T =2.2 mm,and L =9.7 mm.The HTP of the optimized flat-tile divertor target at different flow speeds and tungsten tile thicknesses is studied using the numerical simulation method.A flat-tile divertor mock-up is developed according to the optimized parameters.In addition,high heat flux (HHF)tests are performed on an electron beam facility to further investigate the mock-up HTP.The numerical simulation calculation results show that the optimized flat-tile divertor target has great potential for handling the steady-state heat load of 20 MW m-2 under the tungsten tile thickness＜5 mm and the flow speed ≥7 m s-1.The heat transfer efficiency of the flat-tile divertor target with rectangular cooling channels improves by ～ 13％ and ～30％ compared to that of the flat-tile divertor target with circular cooling channels and the ITER-like monoblock,respectively.The HHF tests indicate that the flat-tile divertor mock-up can successfully withstand 1000 cycles of 20 MW m-2 of heat load without visible deformation,damage,and HTP degradation.The surface temperature of the flat-tile divertor mock-up at the 1000th cycle is only ～930 ℃.The fiat-tile divertor target's HTP is greatly improved by the parametric design and optimization method,and is better than the ITER-like monoblock and the fiat-tile mock-up for the WEST divertor.This conceptual design is currently being applied to the engineering design of the CFETR and EAST flat-tile divertors.     

Development of the plasma facing components for the dome-liner component of the ITER divertor

On the basis of the design and the specification of the dome-liner elaborated by EFDA, a manufacturing route based on high temperature brazing has been developed and proved by means of the fabrication and testing of several samples and mock-ups. The dome is protected with tungsten armour tiles joined onto heat sinks obtained from a bimetallic plate made of precipitation hardened copper–chromium–zirconium alloy and stainless steel realized by explosion bonding. The brazed joint between the tungsten tiles and the heat sink has been qualified by means of thermal fatigue tests on small-scale mock-ups in reactor relevant conditions. The properties of the explosion bonding joint between the front copper alloy plate to the rear steel backing has been assessed by means of an extensive metallurgical and mechanical test program according to the specification provided by EFDA. The dimensional stability during the fabrication route has been investigated by means of the realization of a relevant curved component that has been dimensionally tested after the completion of each step of the manufacturing route. The results of the experimental activity are presented and discussed in this paper.     

Evaluation of heat transfer by sublimation for the application to the divertor heat sink for high fusion energy conversion

Thermal and structural responses of divertor target were evaluated by using finite element method. High heat flux simulating ELMs at the level of 100 MW/m² was assumed onto the tungsten armor, and surface temperature profile was obtained. When dynamic heat load over 100 MW/m² was applied, the maximum surface temperature exceeded 1300 °C, and it caused recrystallization of tungsten regardless of the heat transfer below it. The result was used to conduct dynamic heat load experiment on tungsten, and material behavior of tungsten was evaluated under dynamic heat load. This study also proposed new concept of divertor heat sink which can distribute high heat flux and transfers the heat to high temperature medium. It consists of tungsten armor, composite enhanced with high thermal conductivity fiber, and heat transport system applying phase transition. High heat flux simulating ELMs was also applied to target surface of the divertor, temperature gradient, thermal stress of tungsten and composite were evaluated. Based on the results of analysis, thermal structural requirement was considered.     

Qualification and post-mortem characterization of tungsten mock-ups exposed to cyclic high heat flux loading

In order to evaluate the option to start the ITER operation with a full tungsten (W) divertor, high heat flux tests were performed in the electron beam facility FE200, Le Creusot, France. Thereby, in total eight small-scale and three medium-scale monoblock mock-ups produced with different manufacturing technologies and different tungsten grades were exposed to cyclic steady state heat loads. The applied power density ranges from 10 to 20 MW/m² with a maximum of 1000 cycles at each particular loading step. Finally, on a reduced number of tiles, critical heat flux tests in the range of 30 MW/m² were performed.Besides macroscopic and microscopic images of the loaded surface areas, detailed metallographic analyses were performed in order to characterize the occurring damages, i.e., crack formation, recrystallization, and melting. Thereby, the different joining technologies, i.e., hot radial pressing (HRP) vs. hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of tungsten to the Cu-based cooling tube, were qualified showing a higher stability and reproducibility of the HIP technology also as repair technology. Finally, the material response at the loaded top surface was found to be depending on the material grade, microstructural orientation, and recrystallization state of the material. These damages might be triggered by the application of thermal shock loads during electron beam surface scanning and not by the steady state heat load only. However, the superposition of thermal fatigue loads and thermal shocks as also expected during ELMs in ITER gives a first impression of the possible severe material degradation at the surface during operational scenarios at the divertor strike point.     

Probabilistic failure analysis of a water-cooled tungsten divertor: Impact of embrittlement

Inherent brittleness and neutron embrittlement are critical weaknesses of tungsten for fusion application. Pronounced scattering of the fracture strength of tungsten requires a statistical treatment. Thus, the risk of structural failure of a tungsten component can be estimated only in a probabilistic framework. In this work, we applied a probabilistic failure analysis code STAU to estimate the failure risk of a water-cooled tungsten mono-block divertor component. The STAU code was based on the weakest-link failure theory and linear elastic fracture mechanics. A typical heat flux load being expected for a fusion reactor was considered for the FEM stress analysis. The failure probability was computed considering various mixed-mode fracture criteria. Both the experimentally estimated and hypothetical Weibull parameters were used as material data. In the case of unirradiated tungsten, the failure probability was acceptably small whereas reduced Weibull parameters led to significantly increased failure risk.     

Fracture mechanical analysis of tungsten armor failure of a water-cooled divertor target

The inherent brittleness of tungsten at low temperature and the embrittlement by neutron irradiation are its most critical weaknesses for fusion applications. In the current design of the ITER and DEMO divertor, the high heat flux loads during the operation impose a strong constraint on the structure–mechanical performance of the divertor. Thus, the combination of brittleness and the thermally induced stress fields due to the high heat flux loads raises a serious reliability issue in terms of the structural integrity of tungsten armor. In this study, quantitative estimates of the vulnerability of the tungsten monoblock armor cracking under stationary high heat flux loads are presented. A comparative fracture mechanical investigation has been carried out by means of two different types of computational approaches, namely, the extended finite element method (XFEM) and the finite element method (FEM)-based virtual crack tip extension (VCE) method. The fracture analysis indicates that the most probable pattern of crack formation is radial cracking in the tungsten armor starting from the interface to tube and the most probable site of cracking is the upper interfacial region of the tungsten armor adjacent to the top position of the copper interlayer. The strength threshold for crack initiation and the high heat flux load threshold for crack propagation are evaluated based on XFEM simulations and computations of stress intensity factors and J-integrals.     

Impact of plastic softening of over-aged CuCrZr alloy heat sink tube on the structural reliability of a plasma-facing component

Precipitation-hardened CuCrZr alloy is used in fusion experiments as heat sink material for water-cooled plasma-facing components. When exposed to long-term high-heat-flux (HHF) plasma operation, CuCrZr will undergo over-ageing and thus plastic softening. In this situation, the softened CuCrZr heat sink tube will suffer from substantial plastic straining and thus fatigue damage in the course of the cyclic HHF loads. In this paper, a computational case study is presented regarding the cyclic plasticity behaviour of the over-aged CuCrZr cooling tube in a water-cooled tungsten mono-block divertor component. Finite element analysis was performed assuming ten typical HHF load cycles and using the Frederick-Armstrong constitutive equation together with corresponding material parameters. It was shown that plastic shakedown and low cycle fatigue (LCF) would be caused in the heat sink tube when softening of CuCrZr should occur. On the other hand, neither elastic shakedown nor cumulative plastic strain (ratchetting) was found. LCF design life of the CuCrZr tube was estimated based on the ITER materials handbook considering both hardened and softened states of CuCrZr. Substantial impact of softening of the CuCrZr alloy on the LCF lifetime of the heat sink tube was demonstrated.     

偏滤器物理设计与实验研究

应用B2-code模拟了偏滤器等离子体行为,优化了HL-2A装置偏滤器位形。研究了偏滤器刮削层中等离子体与器壁间过渡鞘层的离子碰撞效应,模拟研究了利用LHCD和NBI控制等离子体剖面分布在HL-2A中建立准稳态的反磁剪切位形。HL-2A装置首次实现了下单零点的偏滤器位形运行,完成了偏滤器初步物理实验,截至2004年底,获得等离子体电流320 kA,等离子体存在时间1 580 ms,环向磁场2.2 T。开展了高功率密度聚变堆偏滤器靶板的设计研究,特别是流动液态锂偏滤器靶板表面的物理过程的研究。探索性研究了用RF有质动力势改善偏滤器排灰效率和减少氚投料量。对FEB- E聚变堆偏滤器进行了优化设计。用电子束模拟对碳基材料及钨进行了高热负荷冲击实验,完成了钨/铜合金的热等静压焊接及热疲劳试验研究。研究了氦在钨中的滞留与热解吸行为。     

Design optimization of plasma facing component with functional gradient material Cu/W interlayer

In the current water cooled divertor concept, tungsten is an armor material and CuCrZr is a structural material. The difference in thermal expansion coefficient between tungsten and copper alloy causes a thermal mismatch between them resulting in accumulation of stresses which would yield failure of the joint. To reduce such stresses, a functionally graded material or a graded layer is introduced between tungsten and copper alloy. A fabrication via a powder metallurgy process such as SPS (Spark Plasma Sintering) is proposed. In this work, an actively cooled component composed of a functionally graded W/Cu is simulated under high heat flux using the finite element modeling method. Thermo-mechanical behaviors, due to the existence of temperature gradient, are analyzed by a modification of the layer compositions and the number of layers. Such behaviors are evaluated to determine the optimal water cooled divertor design. It appears that the copper concentration in the interlayer defines the mechanical response. We suggest, as a conclusion, to use three layers having an optimized copper concentration to fabricate them using SPS technology.     

Feasibility study of an actively cooled tungsten divertor in Tore Supra for ITER technology testing

In order to reduce the risks for ITER Plasma Facing Components (PFCs), it is proposed to equip Tore Supra with a full tungsten divertor, benefitting from the unique long pulse capabilities, the high installed RF power and the long experience with actively cooled high heat flux components of the Tore Supra platform. The transformation from the current circular limiter geometry to the required X-point configuration will be achieved by installing a set of copper poloidal coils inside the vacuum vessel. The new configuration will allow for H-mode access, providing relevant plasma conditions for PFC technology validation. Furthermore, attractive steady-state regimes are expected to be achievable. The lower divertor target design will be closely based on that currently envisaged for ITER (W monoblocks), while the upper divertor region will be used to qualify the main first wall heat sink technology adopted for the ITER blanket modules (CuCrZr copper/stainless steel) with a tungsten coating (in place of the Be tiles which ITER will use). Extended plasma exposure will provide access to ITER critical issues such as PFC lifetime (melting, cracking, etc.), tokamak operation on damaged metallic surfaces, real time heat flux control through PFC monitoring, fuel retention and dust production.     

聚变堆偏滤器冷却通道结构优化分析

偏滤器作为直接面向等离子体的内部部件之一,其表面承受的热流密度很高。为提高其冷却通道的冷却能力,降低此部件面向等离子体面边缘的温度,从改变冷却通道截面形状的角度提出了不同的改进方案,并采用理论计算与有限元仿真对原始设计和改进方案进行了流体、热和结构分析。结果表明:在冷却通道的横截面积不变的情况下,随着湿周周长的增加,冷却能力有所提高,钨边缘的局部温度过高得到改善;但冷却通道形状的变化出现应力集中现象,通过提高长宽比可适当提高其在材料应力限值下所能承受的稳态运行的热流密度。这些优化分析结果可为聚变堆偏滤器冷却结构的设计提供理论参考。