Overview of damage to beryllium limiters by unmitigated disruptions and runaway electrons in the JET tokamak with metal walls

I. Jepu; A. Widdowson; G. F. Matthews; J. Coad; Jari Likonen; S. Brezinsek; M. Rubel; G. Pintsuk; P. Petersson; E. Fortuna-Zalesna; J. Grzonka; C. Porosnicu; P. Dinca; O. Pompilian; B. Butoi; S. G. Moga; S. Silburn; S. Kuksenko; E. Alves; N. Catarino; R. A. Pitts; L. Chen; S. Ratynskaia; JET Contributors

doi:10.1088/1741-4326/ad6614

Overview of damage to beryllium limiters by unmitigated disruptions and runaway electrons in the JET tokamak with metal walls

I. Jepu^*, A. Widdowson, G. F. Matthews, J. Coad, Jari Likonen, S. Brezinsek, M. Rubel, G. Pintsuk, P. Petersson, E. Fortuna-Zalesna, J. Grzonka, C. Porosnicu, P. Dinca, O. Pompilian, B. Butoi, S. G. Moga, S. Silburn, S. Kuksenko, E. Alves, N. CatarinoR. A. Pitts, L. Chen, S. Ratynskaia, JET Contributors

^*Corresponding author for this work

BA4511 Fusion energy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Joint European Torus (JET) fusion reactor was upgraded to the metallic wall configuration in 2011 which consisted of bulk beryllium (Be) tiles in the main chamber and bulk tungsten (W) and W-coated CFC tiles in the divertor (Matthews G.F. et al 2011 Phys. Scr. T148 014001). During each campaign, a series of wall damages were observed; on the upper dump plates (UDP) positioned to the top part of the vessel walls and on the inner wall—mainly affecting the inner wall guard limiters (IWGL). In both cases, it was concluded that the causes of these damages were unmitigated plasma disruptions. In the case of JET with the metallic wall configuration, most of these plasma disruptions were intentionally provoked. The overall objective was to study the behaviour of these phenomena, in order to assess their impact on the wall, improve understanding of morphological material changes, and—based on that—to develop, implement and test mitigation techniques for their prospective use on ITER. The current results bring additional information on the effects of the unmitigated plasma disruptions on the UDPs and are a significant extension of work presented in (Jepu et al 2019 Nucl. Fusion 59 086009) where the scale of the damage after three operational campaigns on the Be top limiters of JET was highlighted. In addition, new data is presented on the damaging effect that the high energetic runaway electrons had on the Be IWGL in JET.

Original language	English
Article number	106047
Journal	Nuclear Fusion
Volume	64
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ad6614
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2024
MoE publication type	A2 Review article in a scientific journal

Funding

The research used UKAEA\u2019s Materials Research Facility, which has been funded by and is part of the UK\u2019s National Nuclear User Facility and Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials. This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium, funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Programme (Grant Agreement No 101052200\u2014EUROfusion) and from the EPSRC [Grant Numbers EP/W006839/1]. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission or the ITER Organization. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

Keywords

beryllium
JET
material damage
plasma disruptions
runaway electrons

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

Jepu, I., Widdowson, A., Matthews, G. F., Coad, J., Likonen, J., Brezinsek, S., Rubel, M., Pintsuk, G., Petersson, P., Fortuna-Zalesna, E., Grzonka, J., Porosnicu, C., Dinca, P., Pompilian, O., Butoi, B., Moga, S. G., Silburn, S., Kuksenko, S., Alves, E., ... JET Contributors (2024). Overview of damage to beryllium limiters by unmitigated disruptions and runaway electrons in the JET tokamak with metal walls. Nuclear Fusion, 64(10), Article 106047. https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ad6614

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title = "Overview of damage to beryllium limiters by unmitigated disruptions and runaway electrons in the JET tokamak with metal walls",

abstract = "The Joint European Torus (JET) fusion reactor was upgraded to the metallic wall configuration in 2011 which consisted of bulk beryllium (Be) tiles in the main chamber and bulk tungsten (W) and W-coated CFC tiles in the divertor (Matthews G.F. et al 2011 Phys. Scr. T148 014001). During each campaign, a series of wall damages were observed; on the upper dump plates (UDP) positioned to the top part of the vessel walls and on the inner wall—mainly affecting the inner wall guard limiters (IWGL). In both cases, it was concluded that the causes of these damages were unmitigated plasma disruptions. In the case of JET with the metallic wall configuration, most of these plasma disruptions were intentionally provoked. The overall objective was to study the behaviour of these phenomena, in order to assess their impact on the wall, improve understanding of morphological material changes, and—based on that—to develop, implement and test mitigation techniques for their prospective use on ITER. The current results bring additional information on the effects of the unmitigated plasma disruptions on the UDPs and are a significant extension of work presented in (Jepu et al 2019 Nucl. Fusion 59 086009) where the scale of the damage after three operational campaigns on the Be top limiters of JET was highlighted. In addition, new data is presented on the damaging effect that the high energetic runaway electrons had on the Be IWGL in JET.",

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author = "I. Jepu and A. Widdowson and Matthews, {G. F.} and J. Coad and Jari Likonen and S. Brezinsek and M. Rubel and G. Pintsuk and P. Petersson and E. Fortuna-Zalesna and J. Grzonka and C. Porosnicu and P. Dinca and O. Pompilian and B. Butoi and Moga, {S. G.} and S. Silburn and S. Kuksenko and E. Alves and N. Catarino and Pitts, {R. A.} and L. Chen and S. Ratynskaia and {JET Contributors}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 Crown copyright, UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)",

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Jepu, I, Widdowson, A, Matthews, GF, Coad, J, Likonen, J, Brezinsek, S, Rubel, M, Pintsuk, G, Petersson, P, Fortuna-Zalesna, E, Grzonka, J, Porosnicu, C, Dinca, P, Pompilian, O, Butoi, B, Moga, SG, Silburn, S, Kuksenko, S, Alves, E, Catarino, N, Pitts, RA, Chen, L, Ratynskaia, S & JET Contributors 2024, 'Overview of damage to beryllium limiters by unmitigated disruptions and runaway electrons in the JET tokamak with metal walls', Nuclear Fusion, vol. 64, no. 10, 106047. https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ad6614

TY - JOUR

T1 - Overview of damage to beryllium limiters by unmitigated disruptions and runaway electrons in the JET tokamak with metal walls

AU - Jepu, I.

AU - Widdowson, A.

AU - Matthews, G. F.

AU - Coad, J.

AU - Likonen, Jari

AU - Brezinsek, S.

AU - Rubel, M.

AU - Pintsuk, G.

AU - Petersson, P.

AU - Fortuna-Zalesna, E.

AU - Grzonka, J.

AU - Porosnicu, C.

AU - Dinca, P.

AU - Pompilian, O.

AU - Butoi, B.

AU - Moga, S. G.

AU - Silburn, S.

AU - Kuksenko, S.

AU - Alves, E.

AU - Catarino, N.

AU - Pitts, R. A.

AU - Chen, L.

AU - Ratynskaia, S.

AU - JET Contributors

PY - 2024/10/1

Y1 - 2024/10/1

N2 - The Joint European Torus (JET) fusion reactor was upgraded to the metallic wall configuration in 2011 which consisted of bulk beryllium (Be) tiles in the main chamber and bulk tungsten (W) and W-coated CFC tiles in the divertor (Matthews G.F. et al 2011 Phys. Scr. T148 014001). During each campaign, a series of wall damages were observed; on the upper dump plates (UDP) positioned to the top part of the vessel walls and on the inner wall—mainly affecting the inner wall guard limiters (IWGL). In both cases, it was concluded that the causes of these damages were unmitigated plasma disruptions. In the case of JET with the metallic wall configuration, most of these plasma disruptions were intentionally provoked. The overall objective was to study the behaviour of these phenomena, in order to assess their impact on the wall, improve understanding of morphological material changes, and—based on that—to develop, implement and test mitigation techniques for their prospective use on ITER. The current results bring additional information on the effects of the unmitigated plasma disruptions on the UDPs and are a significant extension of work presented in (Jepu et al 2019 Nucl. Fusion 59 086009) where the scale of the damage after three operational campaigns on the Be top limiters of JET was highlighted. In addition, new data is presented on the damaging effect that the high energetic runaway electrons had on the Be IWGL in JET.

AB - The Joint European Torus (JET) fusion reactor was upgraded to the metallic wall configuration in 2011 which consisted of bulk beryllium (Be) tiles in the main chamber and bulk tungsten (W) and W-coated CFC tiles in the divertor (Matthews G.F. et al 2011 Phys. Scr. T148 014001). During each campaign, a series of wall damages were observed; on the upper dump plates (UDP) positioned to the top part of the vessel walls and on the inner wall—mainly affecting the inner wall guard limiters (IWGL). In both cases, it was concluded that the causes of these damages were unmitigated plasma disruptions. In the case of JET with the metallic wall configuration, most of these plasma disruptions were intentionally provoked. The overall objective was to study the behaviour of these phenomena, in order to assess their impact on the wall, improve understanding of morphological material changes, and—based on that—to develop, implement and test mitigation techniques for their prospective use on ITER. The current results bring additional information on the effects of the unmitigated plasma disruptions on the UDPs and are a significant extension of work presented in (Jepu et al 2019 Nucl. Fusion 59 086009) where the scale of the damage after three operational campaigns on the Be top limiters of JET was highlighted. In addition, new data is presented on the damaging effect that the high energetic runaway electrons had on the Be IWGL in JET.

KW - beryllium

KW - JET

KW - material damage

KW - plasma disruptions

KW - runaway electrons

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DO - 10.1088/1741-4326/ad6614

M3 - Review Article

AN - SCOPUS:85204212142

SN - 0029-5515

VL - 64

JO - Nuclear Fusion

JF - Nuclear Fusion

IS - 10

M1 - 106047

ER -

Overview of damage to beryllium limiters by unmitigated disruptions and runaway electrons in the JET tokamak with metal walls

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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