Erlangen 2026 – scientific programme
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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik
P 4: Codes and Modeling I
P 4.5: Talk
Monday, March 16, 2026, 17:45–18:00, KH 01.020
CFD Simulation of Porous Wick Two-Phase Flow in Liquid Metal Heat Pipe for a Divertor Plasma-Facing Component — •Menno Bakker1, Max Voncken2, Alexis Terra1, Seyedmohammad Vafaei1, Yiran Mao1, Jan Willem Coenen1, and Christian Linsmeier1 — 1Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Fusion Energy and Nuclear Waste Management - Plasmaphysics (IFN-1), Jülich 52425, Germany — 2Eindhoven University of Technology, Power&Flow group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Groene Loper 3, 5612 AE Eindhoven, Netherlands
The divertor plasma-facing components (PFCs) in fusion applications must withstand high heat loads that can reach up to 20 MW/m2 in steady state loading conditions. These extreme heat loads must be efficiently exhausted by suitable heat sink systems. In this work, a PFC based on liquid metal heat pipes (LMHP) is proposed (PFC-LMHP). Analytical and numerical models are developed to provide an initial assessment of the heat transfer rate of such PFC-LMHPs. Furthermore, CFD simulations are used to study the two-phase flow within the porous wick. The impact of porosity and the volume fraction of fluid on the liquid mass flow from the condenser to the evaporator of the LMHP is investigated. Preliminary analysis is initiated on commercially available LMHP to validate the models.
Keywords: Heat pipe; Liquid metal; Plasma-facing component; CFD; Two-phase flow