Challenges and opportunities of modeling plasma–surface interactions in tungsten using high-performance computing

Journal Article · Wed Nov 26 04:00:00 EST 2014 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.11.072· OSTI ID:1348310

Wirth, Brian D. ^[1]; Hammond, K. D. ^[2]; Krasheninnikov, S. I. ^[3]; Maroudas, D. ^[4]

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1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
2. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
3. Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
4. Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)

The performance of plasma facing components (PFCs) is critical for ITER and future magnetic fusion reactors. The ITER divertor will be tungsten, which is the primary candidate material for future reactors. Recent experiments involving tungsten exposure to low-energy helium plasmas reveal significant surface modification, including the growth of nanometer-scale tendrils of "fuzz" and formation of nanometer-sized bubbles in the near-surface region. The large span of spatial and temporal scales governing plasma surface interactions are among the challenges to modeling divertor performance. Fortunately, recent innovations in computational modeling, increasingly powerful high-performance computers, and improved experimental characterization tools provide a path toward self-consistent, experimentally validated models of PFC and divertor performance. In conclusion, tecent advances in understanding tungsten helium interactions are reviewed, including such processes as helium clustering, which serve as nuclei for gas bubbles; and trap mutation, dislocation loop punching and bubble bursting; which together initiate surface morphological modification.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) (SC-24); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) (SC-21)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725; SC0008875; SC0002060; AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1348310
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Journal Issue: C Vol. 463; ISSN 0022-3115
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING