Ladislas Vignitchouk

A computational fluid dynamics model of ELM-induced tungsten melt flow across a gap between misaligned plasma-facing components is validated against data from dedicated leading-edge exposures in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. The macroscopic behavior of the simulated flow in terms of stability and attachment to the underlying solid surface agrees with experimental observations and is consistent with simplified dimensionless criteria based on the balance between fluid inertia and surface tension. Quantitative predictions of the total mass deposited on the downstream side of the gap, along with the characteristic extent of such deposits, are also shown to match the empirical evidence. Furthermore, the accumulation of re-solidified material due to consecutive melt events is found to progressively smooth the gap edge, which promotes better overall flow attachment as well as the growth of overhangs whose dimensions can eventually exceed the gap width.

An integral approach to plasma-wall interaction (PWI) modelling for DEMO is presented, which is part of the EUROfusion Theory and Advanced Simulation Coordination activities that were established to advance the understanding and predictive capabilities for the modelling of existing and future fusion devices using a modern advanced computing approach. In view of the DEMO design, the aim of PWI modelling activities is to assess safety-relevant information regarding the erosion of plasma-facing components (PFCs), including its impact on plasma contamination, dust production, fuel inventory, and material response to transient events. This is achieved using a set of powerful and validated computer codes that deal with particular PWI aspects and interact with each other by means of relevant data exchange. Steady state erosion of tungsten PFC and subsequent transport and re-deposition of eroded material are simulated with the ERO2.0 code using a DEMO plasma background produced by dedicated SOLPS-ITER simulations. Dust transport simulations in steady state plasma also rely on the respective SOLPS-ITER solutions and are performed with the MIGRAINe code. In order to improve simulations of tungsten erosion in the divertor of DEMO, relevant high density sheath models are being developed based on particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations with the state-of-the-art BIT code family. PIC codes of the SPICE code family, in turn, provide relevant information on multi-emissive sheath physics, such as semi-empirical scaling laws for field-assisted thermionic emission. These scaling laws are essential for simulations of material melting under transient heat loads that are performed with the recently developed MEMENTO code, the successor of MEMOS-U. Fuel retention simulations assess tritium retention in tungsten and structural materials, as well as fuel permeation to the coolant, accounting for neutron damage. Simulations for divertor monoblocks of different sizes are performed using the FESTIM code, while for the first wall the TESSIM code is applied. Respective code-code dependencies and interactions, as well as modelling results achieved to date are discussed in this contribution.

An overview of the modeling approaches, validation methods and recent main results of analysis and modeling activities related to the plasma-surface interaction (PSI) in JET-ILW experiments, including the recent H/D/T campaigns, is presented in this paper. Code applications to JET experiments improve general erosion/migration/retention prediction capabilities as well as various physics extensions, for instance a treatment of dust particles transport and a detailed description of melting and splashing of PFC induced by transient events at JET. 2D plasma edge transport codes like the SOLPS-ITER code as well as PSI codes are key to realistic description of relevant physical processes in power and particle exhaust. Validation of the PSI and edge transport models across JET experiments considering various effects (isotope effects, first wall geometry, including detailed 3D shaping of plasma-facing components, self-sputtering, thermo-forces, physical and chemically assisted physical sputtering formation of W and Be hydrides) is very important for predictive simulations of W and Be erosion and migration in ITER as well as for increasing quantitative credibility of the models. JET also presents a perfect test-bed for the investigation and modeling of melt material dynamics and its splashing and droplet ejection mechanisms. We attribute the second group of processes rather to transient events as for the steady state and, thus, treat those as independent additions outside the interplay with the first group.

In future fusion reactors, extended melt pools in combination with strong plasma-induced accelerations, suggest that the metallic melt could reach the gaps between castellated plasma-facing components, potentially accompanied by profound changes in their mechanical response. The first results of a combined experimental and modelling effort to elucidate the physics of melt transport across gaps are presented. Transient melting of specially designed tungsten samples featuring toroidal gaps has been achieved in ASDEX Upgrade providing direct evidence of gap bridging. Detailed modelling with the MEMENTO melt dynamics code is reported. Empirical evidence and simulations reveal that the presence of gaps can be safely ignored in macroscopic melt motion predictions as well as that the re-solidification limited melt spreading facilitates gap bridging and leads to poor melt attachment. The findings are discussed in the context of ITER and DEMO.

The dynamics of remobilized metallic dust are simulated with the MIGRAINe code in low-power ITER discharges meant to emulate reactor start-up environments. The particle size and speed distributions are varied along with plasma profiles to investigate the influence of initial and background parameters on high-Z impurity production by vaporization as well as long-term in-vessel dust inventory evolution over the course of consecutive discharges. Simulation output data regarding beryllium remobilization can be integrated into more global ITER models to guide the operation of dust diagnostics and facilitate the compliance with nuclear safety restrictions, while results on tungsten particles serve as a basis for first assessments of dust dynamics in DEMO.

The dynamics of transient liquid beryllium flows induced on the ITER first wall during the current quench stage of unmitigated vertical displacement events are modelled by means of two-dimensional Navier–Stokes simulations. The study focuses on melt that is driven to the first wall panels’ chamfered edges, where free-surface instabilities are the most likely to be seeded. Beyond their impact on plasma-facing component damage, these instabilities potentially result in material ejection in the form of droplets, which may ultimately solidify into dust and accumulate in the vessel. Based on prior integrated numerical predictions of quenching magnetic equilibria, wall energy deposition and melt-related damage in a concrete worst-case disruption scenario, the simulations suggest that, although the liquid layer is significantly destabilized, only 5% of the total melt mass created on the wall surface is lost through ejection. This result can serve as a basis to refine the estimates of the real transient-induced beryllium dust inventory expected in ITER.

Post-mortem and in situ evidence is presented in favor of the generation of high-velocity solid dust during the explosion-like interaction of runaway electrons with metallic plasma-facing components in FTU. The freshly-produced solid dust is the source of secondary de-localized wall damage through high-velocity impacts that lead to the formation of craters, which have been reproduced in dedicated light gas gun impact tests. This novel mechanism, of potential importance for ITER and DEMO, is further supported by surface analysis, multiple theoretical arguments and dust dynamics modeling.