Resolidification-controlled melt dynamics under fast transient tokamak plasma loads
S. Ratynskaia, E. Thorén, P. Tolias, R.A. Pitts, K. Krieger, L. Vignitchouk, Daniel Iglesias
Abstract
Abstract Studies of macroscopic melt motion induced by fast transient power loads and the ensuing damage to plasma-facing components are critical for ITER. Based on state-of-the-art experiments, heat transfer is argued to be strongly entangled with fluid dynamics. The physics model of the MEMOS-U code is introduced. Simulations are reported of recent tokamak experiments concerning deliberate transient melting of beryllium main chamber tiles (JET) and tungsten divertor components (ASDEX Upgrade, JET). MEMOS-U is demonstrated to capture the main physics responsible for melt dynamics and to reproduce the observed surface deformation. The intricate role of resolidification is elucidated.