Experimental investigation of disruption-induced aerosol mobilization in accident scenarios of ITER

Electrothermal (ET) plasma sources, such as the SIRENS facility at North Carolina State University, have been used to simulate disruption heat loads because magnitudes and physical mechanisms of heat transfer in the ET source are similar to those in a tokamak disruption. Changes to the SIRENS facility at NCSU have allowed experiments in which material is vaporized within the ET source and allowed to expand into a large chamber. This expansion generates aerosol particles in a fashion similar to those expected from hard disruptions expected in ITER. Particulates of ITER-relevant metals (copper, stainless steel 316, tungsten, and aluminum) in the size range of 0.075-25 μm have been produced in SIRENS in a simulated disruption heat load of 2.8 MJ/m² over a 50 μs heat pulse. Particle size distributions have been determined and are presented in this paper