Modification of adhered dust on plasma-facing surfaces due to exposure to ELMy H-mode plasma in DIII-D

Transient heat load tests have been conducted in the lower divertor of DIII-D using DiMES manipulator in order to study the behavior of dust on tungsten Plasma Facing Components (PFCs) during ELMy H-mode discharges. Samples with pre-adhered, pre-characterized dust have been exposed at the outer strike point (OSP) in a series of discharges with varied intra-(inter-) ELM heat fluxes. We used C dust because of its high sublimation temperature and non-metal properties. Al dust as a surrogate for Be and W dust were employed as relevant to that in the ITER divertor. The poor initial thermal contact between the substrate and the particles led to overheating, sublimation and shrinking of the carbon dust, and wetting induced coagulation of Al dust. Little modification of the W dust was observed. An enhanced surface adhesion and improvement of the thermal contact of C and Al dust were the result of exposure. A post mortem “adhesive tape” sampling showed that 70% of Al, <5% of W and C particles could not be removed from the surface owing to the improved adhesion. Al and C but not W particles that could be lifted had W inclusions indicating damage to the substrate. This suggests that non destructive methods may be inefficient for removal of dust in ITER.