A Molten Lithium Divertor Concept for Heat Flux Handling Beyond 10 MW/m² Employing Advanced Cooling Geometries

This work investigates the milli-LiMIT divertor concept, that utilizes liquid lithium flow through a patterned substrate to remove fusion-relevant heat fluxes. Previously, lithium has been shown to promote lower recycling operation in the edge plasmas leading to longer confinement times and higher power density in the plasma. UIUC previously developed the LiMIT (Lithium Metal Infused Trenches) concept which harnesses the heat and magnetic fields already present in fusion devices to drive lithium flow via thermoelectric magnetohydrodynamics (TEMHD). This concept has shown its ability to facilitate molten lithium flow while handling large heat fluxes, above has previously demonstrated their micro-cooling channels can remove from semiconductor systems. Using this advanced cooling geometry the milli-LiMIT divertor concept was developed by in conjunction with UIUC, based on the LiMIT design. Prior to testing of the milli-LiMIT part, lithium's ability to wet the small features and its corrosive nature to the fabrication method used by M is investigated. Once completed the part will be tested under a high heat flux produced via electron beam. The high heat flux tests will work to verify the computational models developed by which show milli-Limit has the capabilities to remove heat fluxes beyond .