Theory and Models of Material Erosion and Lifetime during Plasma Instabilities in a Tokamak Environment

Surface and structural darnage to plasma-facing components (PFCS) due to the frequent loss of plasma confinement remains a serious problem for the tokamak reaetor concept. The deposited plasma energy causes significant surface erosion, possible ~ structural failure, and frequent plasma contamination. vaporization, spa.llation, and liquid splatter of metallic Surface darnage consists of materials. Structural damage includes large temperature increases in structural materirds and at the interfaces between surface coatings and structural members. To evaluate he lifetimes of plasma-facing materials and nearby components and to predict the various forms of damage that they experience, comprehensive models (contained in the HEIGHTS computer simulation