Nuclear Materials and Energy (Oct 2022)
Divertor geometry modeling with the SOLPS-ITER code for reactor concepts with liquid metal divertors
Abstract
The SOLPS-ITER code has been applied to the analysis of the scrape-off layer (SOL) plasma associated with the fast flow Lithium (Li) divertor design for Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF). Two divertor configurations are investigated to determine puff levels that provide robust operational windows that meet the FNSF design requirements on upstream density and divertor flux with a flat divertor for flowing liquid metal (LM). Neon (Ne) is introduced to control the heat flux to the divertors while Deuterium (D2) puffing is performed to maintain sufficiently high upstream density. We found that a simplified open geometry presents challenges for neutral control and impurity retention, but a balanced geometry with baffling is found to have acceptable puff operational windows. Lithium (Li) is sourced into the balanced configuration uniformly along the divertor surfaces and scanning over a large range to understand what level of Li emission is needed to influence the divertor and upstream plasma conditions. At low sourcing level (ϕLi≤1×1023/s), the Li shows a minor effect on the plasma and is well confined in the private flux region (PFR) and divertor surfaces. At moderate sourcing level (1×10231×1024/s), the Li strongly affects the upstream and divertor plasma conditions and leads to strong detachment by increasing momentum and power losses. At high sourcing level, Li reaches above the x-point that can result in a substantial Li radiation in the core and sufficient dissipation to strongly affect the divertor and upstream plasmas.
