Etude de la dynamique et contrôle passif des ions lourds produit par linteraction plasma-paroi : vers lélaboration dun modèle prédictif dans la suite de code SOLedge2D-EIRENE à partir des expériences sur le tokamak WEST (thèse 2021 - 2024)
N. Fedorczak, C. Arnas, L. Cappelli, L. Colas, Y. Corre, et al.. Survey of tungsten gross erosion from main plasma facing components in WEST during a L-mode high fluence campaign. Nuclear Materials and Energy, 2024, 41 (4), pp.101758. ⟨10.1016/j.nme.2024.101758⟩. ⟨cea-04816563⟩ Plus de détails...
An initial high fluence campaign was performed in WEST, in 2023, on the newly installed actively cooled tungsten divertor composed of ITER-grade monoblocks. The campaign consisted in the repetition of a 60 s long Deuterium L-mode pulse in attached divertor conditions, cumulating over 10000s of plasma exposure. A maximum deuterium fluence of approximately 5 ⋅ 10 26 m -2 was reached in the outer strike point region, representative of a few high performance ITER pulses. Gross tungsten erosion inferred from visible spectroscopy shows that the most eroded plasma facing component is the inner divertor target with rates ten times larger than on the outer divertor target. The outer midplane tungsten bumpers, located a few centimeters from the plasma, show gross erosion rates two times lower than at the outer divertor. We conclude that the outer midplane bumpers have a negligible contribution to the long range tungsten migration and deposition onto the lower divertor. The cumulated gross erosion rate on the inner divertor translates in an effective gross erosion thickness of about 20 μm, while it is about 2 μm for the outer divertor. Strikingly, these orderings coincide with the thickness of deposits found locally on the divertor: the exposed surfaces of high field side monoblocks are covered with several tens of μm tungsten deposits, while on the lower field side, few μm thin tungsten deposits are only found on the magnetically shadowed parts of monoblocks. The strong impact of those deposits on WEST operation, namely perturbation of surface temperature measurement with infra-red thermography, and the emission of flakes causing radiative perturbation of the confined plasma, calls for anticipating similar issues in ITER. In particular, the start of research operation shall consider the definition of a divertor erosion budget in order to anticipate the formation of deleterious deposits.
N. Fedorczak, C. Arnas, L. Cappelli, L. Colas, Y. Corre, et al.. Survey of tungsten gross erosion from main plasma facing components in WEST during a L-mode high fluence campaign. Nuclear Materials and Energy, 2024, 41 (4), pp.101758. ⟨10.1016/j.nme.2024.101758⟩. ⟨cea-04816563⟩
Stefano Di Genova, Alberto Gallo, Luca Cappelli, Nicolas Fedorczak, Hugo Bufferand, et al.. Global analysis of tungsten migration in WEST discharges using numerical modelling. Nuclear Fusion, 2024, ⟨10.1088/1741-4326/ad82f9⟩. ⟨hal-04739577⟩ Plus de détails...
Plasma discharges in the tungsten (W) Environment Steady-state Tokamak (WEST) are strongly impacted by W contamination. In WEST experiments, due to W contamination, the power radiated in the plasma (PRad) is on average, around 50% of the total power injected into the plasma (PTOT). Furthermore, this radiated power fraction (fRad) is almost insensitive to plasma conditions. The causes behind this experimental trend are not fully understood. In this contribution, a 3D numerical model is used to analyze the W migration in the WEST boundary plasma in different plasma scenarios. The WEST experimental database is sampled to obtain a scan of simulation input parameters. These parameters mimic the WEST plasma conditions over a chosen experimental campaign. The simulation results are compared to WEST diagnostics measurements (reflectometry, Langmuir probes, and visible spectroscopy) to verify that the simulated plasma conditions are representative of the WEST database. The W contamination trend is analysed: the W density (nW) strongly decreases when the radial distance between the separatrix and WEST antennas (Radial Outer Gap, ROG) increases. On the other hand, at a given ROG, nW increases proportionally with the power entering the scrape-off layer (PSOL). PRad is estimated with a simple 0D model. For a fixed ROG, fRad is not sensitive to plasma conditions. These trends are qualitatively and, at times, quantitatively comparable to what is observed in WEST experiments: the simulated trends are related to the poorly screened W influx caused by the erosion of the main chamber Plasma-Facing Components (PFCs). Thus, this numerical analysis suggests a possible interpretation of WEST experimental trends.
Stefano Di Genova, Alberto Gallo, Luca Cappelli, Nicolas Fedorczak, Hugo Bufferand, et al.. Global analysis of tungsten migration in WEST discharges using numerical modelling. Nuclear Fusion, 2024, ⟨10.1088/1741-4326/ad82f9⟩. ⟨hal-04739577⟩
L Cappelli, N Fedorczak, Eric Serre. Semi-analytical modelling of prompt redeposition in a steady-state plasma. Nuclear Fusion, 2024, 64 (10), pp.106028. ⟨10.1088/1741-4326/ad6c5e⟩. ⟨hal-04685227⟩ Plus de détails...
A steady-state, 1D semi-analytical model for prompt redeposition based on the separation between redeposition caused by the electric field in the sheath and redeposition related to gyromotion is here described. The model allows for the estimation of not only the fraction of promptly redeposited flux but also the energy and angular distribution of the non-promptly redeposited population, along with their average charge state. Thus, the temperature and mean parallel-to-B velocity of the non-promptly redeposited flux are also available. The semi-analytical model was validated against equivalent Monte Carlo simulations across a broad range of input parameters. In this paper the eroded material under exam was tungsten (W) for which the code demonstrated consistent agreement with respect to numerical results, within its defined validity limits. The model can theoretically provide a solution for any material, temperature and electron density profile in the sheath, monotonic potential drop profile, and sputtered particles energy and angular distribution at the wall. As such, this code emerges as a potential tool for addressing the boundary redeposition phenomenon in fluid impurity transport simulations.
L Cappelli, N Fedorczak, Eric Serre. Semi-analytical modelling of prompt redeposition in a steady-state plasma. Nuclear Fusion, 2024, 64 (10), pp.106028. ⟨10.1088/1741-4326/ad6c5e⟩. ⟨hal-04685227⟩
L. Cappelli, N. Fedorczak, J. P. Gunn, S. Di Genova, J. Guterl, et al.. Study of the erosion and redeposition of W considering the kinetic energy distribution of incident ions through a semi-analytical model. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 2023, 65 (9), pp.095001. ⟨10.1088/1361-6587/ace282⟩. ⟨hal-04190861⟩ Plus de détails...
In today’s nuclear fusion devices, erosion of high-Z metallic plasma-facing materials (PFMs) is mainly caused by physical sputtering. That is, by the exchange of energy between plasma ions and the atoms in the walls. In most of the numerical codes currently in use impinging plasma is approximated as a fluid. By averaging the incident particles’ energy distribution the high-energy population of the eroded material is underestimated. For heavy materials such as W, high-energy eroded particles tend to ionize far from the wall and they are less affected by the sheath electric field hence, not being attracted back to the wall, they have a higher chance to contaminate the core plasma. This could in turn result in an underestimation of the net erosion sources. In this work, a semi-analytical model was developed to include the energy distribution of the incident particles. Then, by Monte Carlo method, the net erosion of tungsten from a smooth PFM was calculated. The results show that the kinetic description in energy is important only for incident particles ionized once. For instance, it is particularly important for plasma ions such as Deuterium. It is seen that Deuterium contribution to the W net sources is not always negligible if compared to light impurities or to tungsten self-sputtering in the range of plasma parameters tested. Finally, results show that the difference between the fluid and kinetic models becomes more pronounced for high-screening plasma conditions.
L. Cappelli, N. Fedorczak, J. P. Gunn, S. Di Genova, J. Guterl, et al.. Study of the erosion and redeposition of W considering the kinetic energy distribution of incident ions through a semi-analytical model. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 2023, 65 (9), pp.095001. ⟨10.1088/1361-6587/ace282⟩. ⟨hal-04190861⟩
