75 research outputs found
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Comparative study of surface modification and D retention between beryllium and beryllides under high flux plasma exposure
The microstructures and deuterium (D) retention properties were investigated for beryllium intermetallic compounds (beryllides), such as Be12Ti and Be12V, compared to pure beryllium (Be), exposed to high density pure D and helium (He) mixed plasmas. TEM cross-sectional observations revealed the formation of cone structures on the Be surface exposed to the plasmas at a moderate temperature of 573 K. The crystal structure of the cones and the mass loss caused by the plasma exposure implied that the cone structures were generated by sputtering. The Ti or V surface enrichment was observed on both beryllides with no cone structures developed. TDS measurements indicated that He seeding to D plasma caused a ~ 4 times reduction of the D retention for both beryllides, while no reduction was observed for Be. As a result, the beryllide samples exposed to D + He mixture plasmas showed a lower total D retention than in Be
The occurrence and damage of unipolar arcing on fuzzy tungsten
This research investigated whether unipolar arcing in the divertor of fusion reactors is a potential cause for enhanced wear of the divertor. It was found that 1 µm of nano-fuzz growth is sufficient to initiate arcing, mainly depending on the sheath potential drop and electron density. The average mass loss rate induced by the arc was determined from mass loss measurements and found to be consistent with the value estimated from the arc current. The average arc track erosion depth was estimated by using the measured mass loss and damaged surface area and was found to be one tenth of the fuzzy layer thickness. Due to melting of the fuzzy structures the actual depth is larger and some arc tracks occasionally appeared to even reach the bulk beyond the fuzzy layer. The conclusion of this study is therefore that arcing in the divertor of future tokamaks (e.g. ITER) potentially is an important cause for surface damage and plasma pollution
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