Design of the Wendelstein 7-X inertially cooled Test Divertor Unit Scraper Element

The Wendelstein 7-X stellarator is scheduled to begin operation in 2015, and to achieve full power steady-state operation in 2019. Computational simulations have indicated that for certain plasma configurations in the steady-state operation, the ends of the divertor targets may receive heat fluxes beyond their qualified technological limit. To address this issue, a high heat-flux “scraper element” (HHF-SE) has been designed that can protect the sensitive divertor target region. The surface profile of the HHF-SE has been carefully designed to meet challenging engineering requirements and severe spatial limitations through an iterative process involving physics simulations, engineering analysis, and computer aided design rendering. The desire to examine how the scraper element interacts with the plasma, both in terms of how it protects the divertor, and how it affects the neutral pumping efficiency, has led to the consideration of installing an inertially cooled version during the short pulse operation phase. This Test Divertor Unit Scraper Element (TDU-SE) would replicate the surface profile of the HHF-SE. The design and instrumentation of this component must be completed carefully in order to satisfy the requirements of the machine operation, as well as to support the possible installation of the HHF-SE for steady-state operation.