EAST installs actively-cooled plasma-facing components
EAST has recently finished the installation of actively-cooled Plasma Facing Components (PFCs). The PFCs consist of upper and lower divertors, high and low field side plates, and passive plates, made of B-Si-Ti-doped graphite tiles bolted to actively-cooled CuCrZr heat sinks. Altogether more than 8500 tiles, 270 heat sinks and 300 supports over 50,000 pieces have been used and it is expected that the divertor could withstand heat loads of maximum 2MW/m2. New electromagnetic coils for better plasma measurements and control, and a circular inner cryopump, directly mounted under the lower divertor, were also installed.
The EAST vacuum vessel is scheduled to be closed before the end of May, then pumped, leak-checked and cooled down in the following weeks. Operation will begin around late of June and will last one month.