Space- and Time-resolved Resistive Measurement of Liquid Metal Wall Thickness

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method using a matrix of electrodes to measure the spatial and temporal variations in liquid metal thickness in fusion reactors, demonstrated with Galinstan and applicable to other metals.

Contribution

It develops a theoretical framework and experimental validation for resistive measurement of liquid metal thickness using electrode matrices in fusion environments.

Findings

Electrode matrix provides spatially resolved thickness measurements.

The method is experimentally validated with Galinstan.

Applicable to various liquid metals like Lithium.

Abstract

In a fusion reactor internally coated with liquid metal, it will be important to diagnose the thickness of the liquid at various locations in the vessel, as a function of time, and possibly respond to counteract undesired bulging or depletion. The electrical conductance between electrodes immersed in the liquid metal can be used as a simple proxy for the local thickness. Here a matrix of electrodes is shown to provide spatially resolved measurements of liquid metal thickness in the absence of plasma. First a theory is developed for mxn electrodes, and then it is experimentally demonstrated for 3x1 electrodes. The experiments were carried out with Galinstan, but are easily extended to Lithium or other liquid metals.