Experience with bulk tungsten test-limiters under high heat loads: melting and melt layer propagation

The paper provides an overview of processes and underlying physics governing tungsten melt erosion in the fusion plasma environment. Experiments with three different bulk tungsten test-limiters were performed in TEXTOR: (i) thermally insulated solid plate fixed on a graphite roof-like limiter heated up by the plasma to the melting point, (ii) macro-brush of the ITER-relevant castellated structure and (iii) lamellae structure developed for the JET divertor. The main objectives were to determine the metal surface damage, the formation of the melt layer and its motion in the magnetic field. PHEMOBRID-3D and MEMOS-1.5D numerical codes were used to simulate the experiment with the roof-like test-limiter. Both experiments and simulation showed that the melting of tungsten can lead to a large material redistribution due to thermo-electron emission currents without ejection of molten material to the plasma.