Investigations of the origins of deposited carbon species in gaps between divertor tiles using a kinetic code system

In order to investigate the origins of deposited carbon species in gaps, the simulations have been performed using a kinetic code system. At low plasma temperatures, the deposited carbon species mainly originate from top surfaces of the tile, while at high plasma temperatures the deposited carbon species are basically derived from side surfaces of the tile. A substantial variation of the deposition rate of carbon species originating from side surfaces is obtained due to physical sputtering and topography advantage. The deposited carbon species derived from top surfaces and side surfaces demonstrate different deposition characteristics for physical sputtering and chemical erosion: (i) for deposited carbon species from top surfaces, the deposition ratio for physical sputtering increases evidently and deposition rate virtually increases by one order of magnitude with increasing plasma temperature; and the deposition ratio for chemical erosion reduces correspondingly and deposition rate decreases gradually; (ii) for deposited carbon species from side surfaces, the deposited carbon species principally arise from physical sputtering; the deposition rates for chemical erosion are of the order of magnitude of 1015 m−2 s−1 for all studied plasma temperatures, and the deposition rates for physical sputtering can be two to three orders of magnitude greater than that for chemical erosion.

► We model deposition of eroded carbon species in gaps using a kinetic code system.
► The deposited carbon species are mainly from top surface at low plasma temperature.
► At high plasma temperature the deposited carbon species are mainly from side surface.
► The deposition features for physical sputtering and chemical erosion are different.