Experimental results and numerical modeling of a high-performance large-scale cryopump. I. Test particle Monte Carlo simulation

For the torus of the nuclear fusion project ITER (originally the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, but also Latin: the way), eight high-performance large-scale customized cryopumps must be designed and manufactured to accommodate the very high pumping speeds and throughputs of the fusion exhaust gas needed to maintain the plasma under stable vacuum conditions and comply with other criteria which cannot be met by standard commercial vacuum pumps. Under an earlier research and development program, a model pump of reduced scale based on active cryosorption on charcoal-coated panels at 4.5 K was manufactured and tested systematically. The present article focuses on the simulation of the true three-dimensional complex geometry of the model pump by the newly developed PROVAC3D Monte Carlo code. It is shown for gas throughputs of up to 1000 sccm (similar to 1.69 Pa m(3)/s at T = 0 degrees C) in the free molecular regime that the numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the pumping speeds measured. Meanwhile, the capture coefficient associated with the virtual region around the cryogenic panels and shields which holds for higher throughputs is calculated using this generic approach. This means that the test particle Monte Carlo simulations in free molecular flow can be used not only for the optimization of the pumping system but also for the supply of the input parameters necessary for the future direct simulation Monte Carlo in the full flow regime. (C) 2011 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3585665]