Laboratory-scale lithium research's relevance to fusion devices

Lithium is a low Z-material which offers huge benefits as a wall or divertor target material: low recycling, high edge temperatures, improved plasma confinement, suppressing ELMs etc. However, to gain universal acceptance as a material for use in DEMO or other future experiments, several issues must be addressed. Namely, will a lithium surface be able to withstand erosion, heat fluxes, and J x B forces in a tokomak environment? Three laboratoryscale experiments are underway at the Center for Plasma Material Interactions at the University of Illinois designed to address those points. The Ion Surface InterAction eXperiment (IIAX) examines the physical sputtering, chemical erosion, and vapor pressure of lithium on various materials, including lithiated graphite as used in NSTX. The Divertor Erosion and Vapor Shielding eXperiment (DEVeX) looks at material erosion and vapor shielding due to energetic plasma flows similar to disruptions or ELMS striking the target. The Solid/Liquid Lithium Divertor Experiment (SLiDE) studies the flow of liquid lithium driven by thermoelectric magnetohydrodynamic (TEMHD) effects and thermocapillary magnetohydrodynamic (TCMHD) effects.