Melt damage simulation of W-macrobrush and divertor gaps after multiple transient events in ITER

Tungsten in the form of macrobrush structure is foreseen as one of two candidate materials for the ITER divertor and dome. In ITER, even for moderate and weak ELMs when a thin shielding layer does not protect the armour surface from the dumped plasma, the main mechanisms of metallic target damage remain surface melting and melt motion erosion, which determines the lifetime of the plasma facing components. The melt erosion of W-macrobrush targets with different geometry of brush surface under the heat loads caused by weak ELMs is numerically investigated using the modified code MEMOS. The optimal angle of brush surface inclination that provides a minimum of surface roughness is estimated for given inclination angles of impacting plasma stream and given parameters of the macrobrush target. For multiple disruptions the damage of the dome gaps and the gaps between divertor cassettes caused by the radiation impact is estimated. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.