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Final Design of the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment

J. Rapp, A. Lumsdaine, A. Aaron, T. M. Biewer, T. S. Bigelow, T. Boyd, J. B. O. Caughman, D. Curry, R. C. Duckworth, R. H. Goulding, A. Hussain, M. Kaufman, C. H. Lau

Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 79 / Number 8 / November 2023 / Pages 1113-1123

Research Article / dx.doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2168443

Received:August 12, 2022
Accepted:January 11, 2023
Published:October 6, 2023

The Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) has completed its design phase. MPEX will be a unique facility to investigate plasma material interactions (PMIs) under fusion prototypic divertor conditions in steady state. This includes plasma exposure conditions expected in a fusion reactor divertor. Materials to be investigated will include solids, liquids, and neutron pre-irradiated materials. Electron and ion heating will allow for a large operational domain ranging from erosion-dominated PMI conditions to deposition-dominated PMI conditions. An overview of the final design for all MPEX systems is given. In particular, it is shown how mission-driven project requirements have led to detailed design choices with innovative solutions. Examples are the water-cooled helicon window, the electron cyclotron heating launcher, the target holder and manipulator, and the autonomous decouplers.