Liquid gallium jet–plasma interaction studies in ISTTOK tokamak

Abstract Liquid metals have been pointed out as a suitable solution to solve problems related to the use of solid walls submitted to high power loads allowing, simultaneously, an efficient heat exhaustion process from fusion devices. The most promising candidate materials are lithium and gallium. However, lithium has a short liquid state temperature range when compared with gallium. To explore further this property, ISTTOK tokamak is being used to test the interaction of a free flying liquid gallium jet with the plasma. ISTTOK has been successfully operated with this jet without noticeable discharge degradation and no severe effect on the main plasma parameters or a significant plasma conta…