The development and the tests of the electrostatic probe for dust particle collection in thermonuclear reactors

Abstract

Formation of dust particles in thermonuclear reactors can greatly affect the plasma parameters and lead to accumulation of tritium. The rates of formation and deposition of dust need to be measured, and the parameters of formation of dust particles and clusters need to be studied. A model of a device for collection of fine conductive particles capable of removing them from the reactor chamber for future research is proposed in this paper. The dust collector's operation is based on a principle of applied electrostatic field. The model was tested in different operating conditions: in vacuum, at the atmospheric pressure in the atmosphere of air and dry nitrogen. The experiments were conducted with a stationary system and with the dust collector in motion relative to the dusty surface. It is shown that, during the probe moving relative to the surface, it can remove up to 95% of fine tungsten particles with sizes ranging from 1 to 10 μm.