Erlangen 2026 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik
P 16: Poster Session Plasma Physics
P 16.111: Poster
Thursday, March 19, 2026, 13:45–15:45, Redoutensaal
Evaluation of wall boiling models for plasma facing components — •Ahmet Kilavuz1,2, Jeong-Ha You2,3, Bosjan Koncar4,5, and Rudolf Neu1,2 — 1Technical University of Munich — 2Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics — 3University of Ulm — 4Jožef Stefan Institute — 5University of Ljubljana
Subcooled flow boiling in fusion-device cooling channels can occur under conditions far beyond those of conventional nuclear applications, with plasma-facing components exposed to heat fluxes up to 40 MW m−2 and mass fluxes approaching 20,000 kg m−2 s−1. This study compares several wall-boiling models, including the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) model and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Boiling (MITB) model, together with multiple bubble-parameter correlations, against fusion-relevant high heat- and mass-flux experiments. The RPI model shows intrinsic limitations at high mass fluxes, producing non-physical negative boiling-curve slopes within the partially developed nucleate boiling regime. It is suggested that this behaviour cannot be corrected by adjusting bubble-parameter correlations. The MITB model mitigates these issues through a sliding-conduction mechanism that scales with flow velocity, which is particularly important at high mass fluxes. This leads to more physically consistent behaviour and reduces the mean absolute error by approximately 65% compared to generic wall-boiling formulations.
Keywords: Heat transfer; High heat flux; Subcooled flow boiling; Wall boiling models; Fusion