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  • Vacuum vessel repair | A portfolio

    Whether standing vertically in the Assembly Hall or lying horizontally in the former Cryostat Workshop now assigned to component repair operations, the non-conf [...]

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  • European Physical Society | ITER presents its new plans

    The new ITER baseline and its associated research plan were presented last week at the 50th annual conference of the European Physical Society Plasma Physics Di [...]

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  • Image of the week | The platform's quasi-final appearance

    Since preparation work began in 2007 on the stretch of land that was to host the 42-hectare ITER platform, regular photographic surveys have been organized to d [...]

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  • Cryopumps | Preparing for the cold tests

    Before being delivered to ITER, the torus and cryostat cryopumps are submitted to a  comprehensive series of factory acceptance tests. This is not sufficie [...]

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  • Fusion technologies | Closing a fusion schism

    Historically, inertial confinement and magnetic confinement approaches to fusion have been parallel, separate processes. The ITER Private Sector Fusion Workshop [...]

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Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Fusion world

SOLPS-ITER code used to design new EAST divertor

In order to enhance the power handling capability of the EAST tokamak's lower divertor, scientists put forward a new comprehensive solution called the "corner slot" divertor, which represents an upgrade in both shape and material on this medium-size tokamak that has been in operation in Hefei, China, since 2006.

A module of the new lower divertor on EAST, with horizontal and vertical target plates constituting a right-angled corner. The target plates are made of ITER-like monoblock plasma facing units. (Click to view larger version...)
A module of the new lower divertor on EAST, with horizontal and vertical target plates constituting a right-angled corner. The target plates are made of ITER-like monoblock plasma facing units.
The EAST team at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) has developed and installed a new lower divertor upgrade concept.

This is an actively-cooled tungsten divertor, inspired by the tungsten monoblock technology used to build the ITER divertor. Using the state-of-the-art edge plasma modelling tool SOLPS-ITER, distributed and maintained by the ITER Organization, the team discovered a new divertor operation regime with enhanced performance, relying on the "corner effect."

The corner effect can be achieved if the magnetic separatrix hits the divertor close to (within a centimetre or so) a sharp corner. It promotes plasma detachment, which protects the divertor target surface; such features are also included in the ITER divertor design.

Building an actively-cooled tungsten monoblock divertor with a sharp corner was not without its challenges, however, and a recently published article in Nuclear Fusion details the scientific basis and engineering solutions used for this new hardware. 

See the Chinese Academy Of Sciences press release in English. 

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