TECXY Study of a Liquid Lithium Divertor for DEMO

Abstract

Divertor targets made out of a capillary porous system (CPS) filled with liquid lithium, have been proposed as an alternative to standard, solid state plates. In the current work we simulate the DEMO edge plasma in either a standard single-null or snowflake divertor configuration. Our tool is the 2D code TECXY. Lithium ablated from the target plate surface and released into the plasma is shown here to partially screen the incoming heat flux. Lithium's moderate SOL radiation levels suggest additional seeding to be beneficial. Very high heat fluxes to the divertor need to be avoided, as intensive lithium evaporation might unacceptably pollute the plasma.