Modelling of plasma facing component erosion, impurity migration, dust transport and melting processes at JET-ILW

Abstract

Abstract An overview of the modelling approaches, validation methods and recent main results of analysis and modelling activities related to the plasma-wall interaction in JET experiments, including the recent H/D/T campaigns is presented in the 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 the detailed description of melting and splashing of PFC induced by transient events at JET. 2D plasma edge transport codes like SOLPS-ITER code as well as plasma-surface interaction (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 presents also a perfect test-bed for the investigation and modelling of melt material dynamics, its splashing and droplet ejection mechanisms. At that we attribute the second group of processes rather for the transient events as for the steady state and, thus, treat those as an independent addition outside the interplay with the first group.