Current status of liquid divertor research

Shimada, Michiya; Miyazawa, Junichi*; Hirooka, Yoshihiko*

Heat flux and plasma particle flux concentrate on the divertor. Therefore the divertor is the most difficult equipment of a fusion reactor. The feasibility of ITER divertor has been established and its construction is in progress. However, in a DEMO reactor the environment will be much more harsh than in ITER. The concept of DEMO divertor is yet to be developed. Liquid metal divertor could provide a feasible solution for DEMO divertor, if a good method of actively convect the liquid metal in magnetic field is established. Liquid metal divertor could also be resilient to disruptions, require less maintenance and contribute to a compact reactor. In this talk, the progress on the liquid metal plasma facing component will be reviewed and remaining issues will be discussed.