Berlin, Humboldt-University, Diss., 2004.

Intense heat fluxes from the divertor incident on material surfaces represent a “bottleneck” problem for the next generation of tokamaks. Advanced divertors, such as the X-Divertor (XD) and Super X-Divertor (SXD), offer a magnetic solution to the heat flux problem by (a) increasing the plasma-wetted area via flux expansion at the targets, and (b) possibly opening regimes of stable, detached operation of the divertor via flux tube flaring, as quantified by the Divertor Index. The benefits of the XD and SXD are derived from their unique magnetic geometries, foregoing the need for excessive gas puffing or impurity injection to mitigate divertor heat fluxes. Using the CORSICA magnetic equilibrium code, XDs and SXDs appear feasible on current- and next-generation tokamaks, with no required changes to the tokamak hardware, and respecting coil conductor limits. Divertor heat and particle transport modeling is performed in SOLPS 5.1 for XD or SXD designs in NSTX-Upgrade, Alcator C-Mod, and CFNS/FNSF. Incident heat fluxes at the targets are kept well below 10 MW/m², even for narrow SOL widths in high-power scenarios. In C-Mod and CFNS, parallel temperature profiles imply the arrestment of the detachment front near the targets. Finally, an X-Divertor for ITER is presented. / text

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the endothelialization, exclusion of the aneurysm from circulation and intra-aneurysmal thrombus formation induced by the implantation of endovascular flow divertors for the purpose of bridging aneurysms. The design of the flow divertors was based on previous in vitro hemodynamic experiments in aneurysm models. The significance of this work is manifested in the development of a minimally invasive technology that may be employed for aneurysm treatment. Divertors with two different filament sizes and three different porosities were implanted in the rabbit elastase-induced aneurysm model and their effectiveness evaluated both angiographically and histologically. Preliminary results demonstrated that it is possible to achieve substantial reduction in intraaneurysmal flow immediately after device deployment. Angiographically, the aneurysms were excluded from the circulation with the medium and low porosity devices. In addition, the device performed as expected: smooth deployment, no intralumenal clot formation, and exclusion of aneurysm from the circulation without occluding other arterial branches. Additional data is needed to make definitive conclusions regarding endothelialization and the formation of a neointima.

Stuttgart, Univ., Diss., 2000.

Title: Studies of tokamak edge plasma and its interaction with the first wall Author: Michael Komm Department: Department of Surface and Plasma Science Thesis director: doc. Mgr. Pavel Kudrna, Dr. KFPP Thesis supervisor: Dr. Renaud Dejarnac, IPP CAS CR Abstract: This work presents results of simulations of nuclear fusion related problems, using both 2D PIC code (SPICE2) and full 3D code (SPICE3). The simulations allowed us to predict particle and heat loads coming from plasma onto the divertor tiles, which is a key problem for the next-step de- vices. The results of simulations contributed to the research of fuel retention in the gaps between divertor tiles. We we also able to explain the behaviour of the Katsumata probe and verify the validity of its measurements. Keywords: Tokamak, PIC, divertor, tritium, Katsumata

Freiburg i. Br., Univ., Diss., 2007. / Ebenfalls veroeffentlicht als Bericht des Forschungszentrums Karlsruhe (FZKA7342).

Stuttgart, Univ., Diss., 2006.

Copper (Cu) has high thermal conductivity and is thus ideal for high heat flux, thermal heat sink applications in fusion power applications. Divertor designs for future fusion power plants will expose Cu alloys to extreme thermal (>10 MW m^-2) and neutron fluxes (200 dpa) that destabilise the microstructure of Cu. To improve stability, strength and creep resistance, alloying additions are used commercially, but these compromise thermal conductivity. Dispersed oxide particles may offer the opportunity for improved mechanical stability and creep resistance even at very low volume fractions (<1%) while avoiding large reductions in thermal conductivity. However there are few studies on the processing-performance of oxide dispersion strengthened Cu alloys. In this thesis, novel oxide dispersion strengthened Cu alloys were prepared by room temperature mechanical alloying of Y₂O₃ and the mechanism of dispersion investigated. A small fraction of Y₂O₃, up to 1%, was shown to disperse effectively during mechanical alloying at room temperature in Cu. Both severe fragmentation and some local disassociation of the Y and O occurred, allowing for re-precipitation of fine nanoparticles <10 nm during consolidation and exposure to elevated temperatures. A model alloy of Cu-2 wt.% Y₂O₃ alloy had a mean oxide particle diameter of 7.1 ± 6.0 nm and a mean particle number density of 8.24 x 10²² m^-3 following consolidation. Ternary Ti additions were investigated for nanoparticle refinement and best design alloy with a composition of Cu-0.25Y₂O₃-0.25Ti was produced that had a mean nanoparticle diameter of 3.2 ± 1.5 nm and a mean particle number density of 2.36 x 10²³ m^-3 , which after thermal ageing for 545 h at 350 °C, was largely unchanged at 3.8 ± 1.7 nm, and 1.74 x 10²³ m^-3 respectively. Comparing favourably with commercial Al₂O₃ dispersion strengthened Cu, the alloy had a narrower particle size distribution and a higher particle number density. The fine dispersed oxide nanoparticles gave good grain boundary pinning, retaining an ultrafine mean grain size of 220 nm after thermal ageing. Thermal conductivity of the Ti-containing alloy was 332 ± 16W m_-1 K_-1 , and the addition of Ti increased the thermal conductivity with increasing temperature. The creep resistance was evaluated by small punch testing and in-house produced alloys outperformed commercial alloys at 350 °C. The work in this thesis indicates that mechanically alloyed Cu-Y₂O₃ or Cu-Y₂O₃-Ti alloys, with further development and evaluation, have potential as thermal heat-sink materials for fusion divertor application.

Une compréhension profonde du transport du plasma au bord d'un réacteur à fusion par confinement magnétique est obligatoire pour gérer l'extraction de puissance. Dans les dispositifs de fusion de nouvelle génération, des limites technologiques contraignent le flux de chaleur maximal au divertor. Pour une puissance d'échappement donnée le flux de chaleur maximal est déterminé par l'amplitude de l'empreinte du plasma au mur. Les profils de flux de chaleur au divertor peuvent être paramétrés par deux échelles de longueur du transport. Nous remettons en question l'interprétation actuelle de ces deux échelles de longueur en étudiant l'impact de la géométrie du divertor sur l'échappement. En particulier, un élargissement des profils de flux de chaleur avec la longueur de la jambe du divertor externe est diagnostiqué. Des efforts de modélisation ont montré que les simulations diffusives reproduisent les profils expérimentaux de flux de chaleur pour les plasmas à jambes courtes. Inversement, l'étalement du flux de chaleur pour une longe jambe du divertor est reproduit par un modèle turbulent, soulignant l'importance de la turbulence aussi dans le divertor. Ces résultats remettent en question l'interprétation de la largeur du flux de chaleur comme grandeur liée a la main SOL uniquement. Les configurations magnétiques avec une longe jambe du divertor mettent en évidence l'importance du transport asymétrique dans le divertor. Nous concluons que le transport dans la main SOL et celui dans le divertor ne sont pas à découpler et nous soulignons l'importance de la géométrie magnétique sur le transport turbulent avec l'avantage potentiel d'un inattendu étalement du dépôt de puissance. / A deep understanding of plasma transport at the edge of a magnetically confined fusion device is mandatory for a sustainable and controlled handling of the power exhaust. In the next-generation fusion device ITER, technological limits constrain the peak heat flux on the divertor. For a given exhaust power the peak heat flux is determined by the extent of the plasma footprint on the wall. Heat flux profiles at the divertor targets of X-point configurations can be parametrized by using two length scales for the transport of heat in SOL. In this work, we challenge the current interpretation of these two length scales by studying the impact of divertor geometry modifications on the heat exhaust. In particular, a significant broadening of the heat flux profiles at the outer divertor target is diagnosed while increasing the length of the outer divertor leg. Modelling efforts showed that diffusive simulations well reproduce the experimental heat flux profiles for short-legged plasmas. Conversely, the broadening of the heat flux for a long divertor leg is reproduced by a turbulent model, highlighting the importance of turbulent transport not only in the main SOL but also in the divertor. These results question the current interpretation of the heat flux width as a purely main SOL transport length scale. In fact, long divertor leg magnetic configurations highlighted the importance of asymmetric divertor transport. We therefore conclude that main SOL and divertor SOL transport cannot be arbitrarily disentangled and we underline the importance of the divertor magnetic geometry in enhancing asymmetric turbulent transport with the potential benefit of an unexpected power spreading.

Many technological hurdles remain before a viable commercial magnetic fusion energy reactor can be constructed, including the development of plasma-facing components with long lifetimes that can survive the harsh environment inside a reactor. One such component, the divertor, which maintains the purity of the plasma by removing fusion byproducts from the reactor, must be able to accommodate very large incident heat fluxes of at least 10 MW/m^2 during normal operation. Modular helium-cooled tungsten divertors are one of the leading divertor designs for future commercial fusion reactors, and a number of different candidates have been proposed including the modular He-cooled divertor concept with pin array (HEMP), the modular He-cooled divertor concept with multiple-jet-cooling (HEMJ), and the helium-cooled flat plate (HCFP). These three designs typically operate with helium coolant inlet temperatures of 600 °C and inlet pressures of 10 MPa. Performing experiments at these conditions to evaluate the thermal performance of each design is both challenging and expensive. An alternative, more economical approach for evaluating different designs exploits dynamic similarity. Here, geometrically similar mockups of a single divertor module are tested using coolants at lower temperatures and pressures. Dynamically similar experiments were performed on an HEMP-like divertor with helium and argon at inlet temperatures close to room temperature, inlet pressures below 1.4 MPa, and incident heat fluxes up to 2 MW/m^2. The results are used to predict the maximum heat flux that the divertor can accommodate, and the pumping power as a fraction of incident thermal power, for a given maximum tungsten temperature. A new nondimensional parameter, the thermal conductivity ratio, is introduced in the Nusselt number correlations which accounts for variations in the amount of conduction heat transfer through the walls of the divertor module. Numerical simulations of the HCFP divertor are performed to investigate how the thermal conductivity ratio affects predictions for the maximum heat flux obtained in previous studies. Finally, a helium loop is constructed and used to perform dynamically similar experiments on an HEMJ module at inlet temperatures as high as 300 °C, inlet pressures of 10 MPa, and incident heat fluxes as great as 4.9 MW/m^2. The correlations generated from this work can be used in system codes to determine optimal designs and operating conditions for a variety of fusion reactor designs.