| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Meeting Materials Challenges for the Future of Fusion Energy
|
| Presentation Title |
Impact Dynamics of High-Velocity Tungsten Dust in Fusion Reactors: A Molecular Dynamics Study |
| Author(s) |
Prashant Dwivedi, Alberto Fraile, Tomáš Polcar |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Prashant Dwivedi |
| Abstract Scope |
In fusion reactors, plasma-facing components (PFCs) are critically endangered by high-velocity dust impacts during events like runaway electron terminations, leading to significant material erosion and damage. Existing models predominantly address low-velocity impacts, underscoring a substantial gap in understanding the effects of high-velocity interactions essential for advanced reactors such as ITER and DEMO. To bridge this knowledge gap, our study employs large-scale molecular dynamics simulations (up to 300 million atoms) to examine the impact of tungsten dust on tungsten walls under extreme conditions. We explore velocities ranging from 2.5 to 4.5 km/s, with varying impact angles (0° to 75°) and temperatures (300 to 3000 K). Our findings reveal that the impact angle and temperature critically dictate the morphology of impact craters and ejecta distribution, providing essential insights into the degradation mechanisms under fusion-relevant conditions. This research advances our capability to design more resilient materials for future fusion energy systems. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Modeling and Simulation, Mechanical Properties |