A liquid metal dropper for experiments on the wettability of liquid metals on plasma facing components

A liquid metal dropper has been developed as a part of the Ion-Gas-Neutral Interactions with Surfaces 2 (IGNIS-2) facility at The Pennsylvania State University. The dropper has the capability of directly applying drops to candidate plasma facing materials for nuclear fusion reactors to enable measurements of their liquid metal wetting properties. The results presented here are specific to the use of lithium in the dropper. This paper discusses the design choices of the liquid metal dropper and its chamber, including the heating and temperature control and the dropper’s motorized operation. Lithium drops of masses ranging from 0.05 g up to 0.13 g, equivalent to drop diameters between 5.6 mm to 1 cm, have been consistently dispensed by the dropper. A new algorithm is developed and used to automate the analysis of the contact angle between the liquid drops and substrate material for efficient analysis of video data recorded to study the wetting properties of candidate plasma-facing components.

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in [A liquid metal dropper for experiments on the wettability of liquid metals on plasma facing components. Review of Scientific Instruments 94, 10 (2023)] and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0165646.

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Work Title A liquid metal dropper for experiments on the wettability of liquid metals on plasma facing components
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. C. López Pérez
  2. T. Marchhart
  3. J. P. Allain
  4. K. Kawashimo
  5. M. Nieto-Perez
  6. M. S. Parsons
  7. H. Schamis
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Review of Scientific Instruments
Publication Date October 16, 2023
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0165646
Deposited April 21, 2024

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Version 1
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  • Created
  • Added Dropper_Paper-3-1.pdf
  • Added Creator C. López Pérez
  • Added Creator T. Marchhart
  • Added Creator K. Kawashimo
  • Added Creator M. Nieto-Perez
  • Added Creator M. S. Parsons
  • Added Creator H. Schamis
  • Added Creator J. P. Allain
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated Creator K. Kawashimo
  • Updated Creator M. Nieto-Perez
  • Updated Creator M. S. Parsons
  • Updated Creator H. Schamis
  • Updated Creator J. P. Allain