Abstract
High heat flux testing is a vital part of engineering component validation for fusion technology. The Heat by Induction to Verify Extremes (HIVE) facility is designed to provide a practical avenue for this aspect of component testing. It provides fast turnaround for smaller concepts and a cost-effective approach by utilising induction heating within a small vacuum vessel. Due to the potential complexity of induced current paths in an induction heating system, the extent and homogeneity of power coupled to a component is difficult to model. This uncertainty increases where components have geometrical features such as the grid pattern castellations that are often present on plasma facing components in fusion reactors. This project investigates the influence of various castellation patterns on the coupling characteristics of HIVE. It shows for example that as the grid density of castellations is increased, the applied heat flux increases from 4.5 MW/m2 to 6.93 MW/m2 for an input power of 30kW over 2 s, due to an improvement in the efficiency of the inductive coupling from 13.4% to 20.8%. Additional experimental factors affecting efficiency and homogeneity of heating are also discussed.
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