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The Lithium Evaporation EXperiment (LEEX) investigated helium retention effects induced by in-operando lithium evaporations into the Hybrid Illinois Device for Research and Applications (HIDRA) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Lithium droplets were applied to tungsten samples and then exposed to a 600s helium plasma at different distances from the plasma edge (D=0mm, D=25mm, D=47.5mm). Spectrometers, residual gas analyzers (RGAs), and pressure gauges were employed to characterize the plasma throughout the plasma discharge. LEEX data has confirmed previous results at UIUC of in-operando lithium evaporations producing a low-recycling regime for HIDRA helium plasmas and additionally proves the retained specie is helium. The lithium evaporation from the D=25mm case had an 85.3% ± 1% increase in helium retention in the low recycling regime when compared to the steady state plasma of the LEEX control shot. Data presented substantiates previous helium retention claims and advances research surrounding liquid metal PFCs. A retention mechanism has not been identified, but further research utilizing HIDRA and HIDRA-MAT aims to investigate this. This study's outcomes are thoroughly presented and provide an additional justification for conducting further research on lithium's behavior in fusion environments, given its substantial potential impact on the development of plasma-facing components (PFCs).

The design and implementation of future flowing liquid-lithium plasma-facing components (LLPFCs) will be dependent on several factors. Of course, one of the most important is the need to be able to deal with high heat fluxes incident on the surface of the LLPFCs, but there are also several other important liquid-metal behaviors that have been identified for their critical impact on the feasibility of a LLPFC. One of these is the ability to constantly wet 100% of the plasma-facing component area and the best way to achieve that. Another key point is knowing and understanding the erosion and corrosion of the surfaces subject to a flowing liquid-lithium system and the ability for hydrogen and helium uptake by the system.The Center for Plasma Material Interactions (CPMI) has been tasked with looking at these various issues. The Mock-up Entry module for EAST device was used to investigate wetting and erosion effects and to design a suitable distribution and collection system with a liquid-lithium loop. The vapor shielding effects of lithium on the surface were also modeled and studied. A model coupling CRANE, an open-source global reaction network solver, and Zapdos, a plasma transport solver, is being developed to better understand the dynamics of the vapor cloud. Experiments on the Magnum-PSI at the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research have been carried out to study the vapor shielding effect and obtain experimental benchmarks to verify the model. Also, initial experiments using the Hybrid Illinois Device for Research and Applications have been performed to understand the pumping effects of lithium on helium.Experiments with a drop of liquid lithium (~100 mg) into a helium plasma have shown the ability of lithium to take out the cold recycling helium gas as well as hydrogen and oxygen impurity gases. The improvement in plasma performance was significant, and further understanding of this effect will have impacts on how future LLPFCs will be designed. Further investigation into the exact mechanism for helium pumping by lithium needs to be performed in the future. This paper presents a summary of the results obtained at the CPMI.