Description of a Facility for Vapor Clearing Rates Studies of IFE Reactors Flibe Liquid Chambers

The design and operating characteristics of the ALICE (Advanced Liquid Ionized Condensation Experiment) facility at UCLA are here presented. The goal of this vapor condensation experiment is to rapidly generate an IFE prototypical post-shot vapor density in a control volume using characteristic liquid chamber material (flibe, Li₂BeF₄), and investigate the condensation rates for the proposed schemes. This experimental goal is achieved by: 1) a pulsed electrothermal plasma source that simulates the pellet explosion for rapid vapor generation and 2) an expansion chamber that represents the IFE liquid chamber. This paper reports also on the construction and operation of a furnace for flibe casting. Melting and handling procedures connected with the use of flibe are also discussed. The first flibe liner has been inserted in the plasma source. Results from the first low energy experiments are showed.