Two-dimensional collisional particle model of the divertor sheath with electron emissive walls

Abstract

A novel two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) code, named Divertor Edge Simulator of Plasma-wall Interaction with Consistent COllisions (DESPICCO) and developed at CNR-ISTP, is capable of simulating the thin plasma layer of several millimeters, adjacent to the divertor tiles of a Tokamak fusion reactor. Here, kinetic effects and non-neutral plasma physics in the Debye sheath can be self-consistently captured by the PIC approach. The code is firstly benchmarked against literature one-dimensional codes and additional theoretical predictions for a magnetized sheath. Then, it is applied to a realistic divertor scenario featuring an attached plasma with monoblocks (MBs) radial misalignment and gaps, to compute the energy flux amplification factor at the exposed MB edge. A non-ambipolar local current density close to the leading edge and an average sheath heat transmission coefficient larger than the one predicted by classical sheath theory, are found. The effects of electron wall emission and plasma-gas collisions on the ion Mach number and on particle and energy fluxes to the walls are finally estimated to determine future guidelines for simulations. Ion collisions with recycled neutrals and both secondary and thermionic electron emission from the wall are found to have a relevant impact, with the overall effect of reducing by 25% the average ion impact energy, and by 15%–20% the total heavy particles energy flux to the walls, with relevant implications on the divertor wall erosion.