Design & analysis of the material plasma exposure eXperiment interim dump plate

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INTRODUCTION The Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment 1 (MPEX) is a linear plasma device developed to study plasma-material interactions (PMI) under conditions relevant to future fusion reactors. Components intended for use in fusion environments are subjected to high-density plasma bombardment to evaluate their resilience and performance. The dump plate 2 itself is an optional component used to alter the path of the linear plasma to the target, thus changing the nature of the experiment. This project developed an placeholder design that protected the integrity and functionality of the cooling fittings in the absence of a dump plate. This study focuses on the design and analysis of an interim dump plate that protects critical fittings during plasma exposure tests. Design and Analysis To assess the thermal and structural performance of the dump plate, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) were employed. Using ANSYS FLUENT and Static Structural simulations, evaluations for heat flux, turbulence, and wall stress distributions were performed. The fittings themselves are rated for an absolute maximum temperature of 1000 K but it is ideal to stay under this number such that the fittings do not deform. The Primary challenge of designing this component is that it will experience extreme thermal fluxes whilst its primary method of heat dispersal will be restricted to conduction and radiation 3 on account of operating in a vacuum. The original fittings were projected to reach 697 K during an average experiments runtime. This is due to a passive heat flux of 53 kW/m 2 that will be present in the PMI chamber during experiment runtime and the fittings not having any water running through them. The solution is to connect the two fittings using butt-welded tubing onto the vacuum coupling radius (VCR) fittings to allow active cooling. This model was then imported into ANSYS FLUENT to determine the difference between the active cooling and the previous solution. The actively cooled model reduced peak temperatures to 361 K while maintaining the system’s vacuum integrity. RESULTS Analysis of the interim dump plate design determined that it successfully met the critical performance criteria of: • Peak Temperature reduction from 697 K to 361 K • Maintained vacuum seal integrity • Prevented a magnetic quench These criteria ensure that the fittings will be safe during the initial startup operation of the MPEX device. Such that future iterations of this project can install fluid channels into a target dump plate. Now the next task is to begin designing the aforementioned iterations of the dump plate in accordance to an experiments parameters. REFERENCES 1. A. LUMSDAINE, J. RAPP, “Latest Results from Proto- MPEX and the Future Plans for MPEX” 75(7), Taylor & Francis (2019). 2. A. AARON, T. BOYD, “The Final Design of the Plasma–Material Interaction Chamber for the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment” 52(9), IEEE (2024). 3. A. SABAU, A. HUSSAIN, “Thermohydraulic Design Analysis of the Target Assembly in the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment Facility” 79(8), Taylor & Francis (2023). 4. A. LUMSDAINE, J. RAPP, “The Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment: Mission and Conceptual Design” 156, ScienceDirect (2020).

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