Two phase liquid helium flow testing to simulate the operation of a cryocondensation pump in the DIII-D tokamak

Abstract A liquid helium-cooled cryocondensation pump has been installed in the DIII=D tokamak fusion energy research experiment at General Atomics. The pump is located within the tokamak vacuum chamber beneath the divertor baffle plates and is utilized for plasma density and contamination control. Two-phase helium flows through the pump at 5 to 10 g/s utilizing the beat transfer and constant temperature characteristics of boiling liquid helium. The pump is designed for a pumping speed of 32,0001/s. Extensive testing was performed with a prototypical pump test fixture. Several pump geometries (simple tube, coaxial flow plug, and coaxial slotted insert) were tested, in an iterative process, to determine which was the most satisfactory for stable cryocondensation pumping. Results from the different tests illustrating the temperature distribution and flow characteristics for each configuration are presented.