Wetting properties of liquid lithium on lithium compounds

摘要

Liquid metal plasma facing components (LMPFC) have shown a potential to supplant solid plasma facing components materials in the high heat flux regions of magnetic confinement fusion reactors due to the reduction or elimination of concerns over melting, wall damage, and erosion. To design a workable LMPFC, one must understand how liquid metal interacts with solid underlying structures. Wetting is an important factor in such interaction, several designs of LMPFC require liquid metal to wet the underlying solid structures. The wetting of lithium compounds (lithium nitride, oxide, and carbonate) by 200 degrees C liquid lithium at various surface temperature from 230 to 330 degrees C was studied by means of contact angle measurements. Wetting temperatures, defined as the temperature above which the contact angle is less than 90 degrees, were measured. The wetting temperature was 257 degrees C for nitride, 259 degrees C for oxide, and 323 degrees C for carbonate. Surface tensions of solid lithium compounds were calculated from the contact angle measurements. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.