KATHELO: A new high heat flux component testing facility

In this article a new helium cooled test facility is presented. The loop, KATHELO, is designed to operate at pressures up to 10 MPa and temperatures up to 800 °C in order to be able to provide suitable testing conditions for the helium cooled divertor concept developed at KIT. The general layout of the loop is introduced and the some of the technological solutions adopted for the loop components are discussed. The thermal-dynamic behavior of the loop during start-up and steady state operation for two different scenarios is analyzed using a RELAP-3D model of the circuit. Based on these simulations the heating power needed for high temperature operation is estimated. A particular attention is given to the thermal coupling between the cold and hot leg of the loop with emphasis on overall loop efficiency.

► A new helium testing facility capable of operating at high pressure and temperature is presented. ► KATHELO design provides testing conditions for the qualification of the helium cooled divertor. ► A novel concept for the inline heater capable of operations at 10 MPa and 800 °C is introduced. The impact of the heater design on the thermal balance of the plant is analyzed.