Thermal, electromagnetic and structural analysis of gas baffles for the TCV divertor upgrade

As part of an ongoing divertor upgrade of the TCV tokamak it is planned to add gas baffles to form a divertor chamber of variable closure. The baffles promise to increase the compression of neutral particles in the divertor and, thereby, extend the research on the TCV divertor towards more reactor relevant, highly dissipative divertor regimes. It is foreseen to construct the baffles entirely of polycrystalline graphite that was used for the existing TCV protection tiles. The thermal considerations of the baffle design are based on the heat loads expected during normal operation, where even an extremely large increase in the power carrying plasma channel towards the baffle over the entire 2 second duration of a TCV discharge gives no cause for concern. An electromagnetic analysis considers halo currents flowing through the baffles, which can occur during disruptions, as a worst-case scenario. It is found that a halo current of 250 kA results in an average vertical force in the baffles of up to 950 kN/m3. The fixture of the baffle tiles to the vacuum vessel is designed for a maximum tensile stress of 31 MPa and maximum compressive stress of 60 MPa that remains a factor of two below their respective material limits. The obtained results of the thermal, electromagnetic and structural analysis thus validate the proposed baffle design.