Modeling of runaway electron damage for the design of tokamak plasma facing components

The effects of high-energy electrons (greater than 20 MeV) on plasma-facing materials and components, are computationally modeled and experimentally simulated. In particular, this model can be used to compare and predict existing and future runaway electron data. The results from computer models of experiments performed to simulate runaway electrons are compared with the actual experimental results. One experiment used samples of graphite, copper, molybdenum, and stainless steel to test the thermal and structural response from high-energy electron impact on different fusion materials. A second experiment used an electron beam incident on six different diameter graphite rods with eight copper rings around each rod to simulate runaway electrons scattering through a plasma-facing surface (graphite) into an internal structure (copper). Both experiments were modeled with the PTA code package to better understand the experimental results and to prove that PTA is an accurate method of modeling high-energy electrons