The latest results from ELM-simulation experiments in plasma accelerators

Recent results of ELM-simulation experiments with quasi-stationary plasma accelerators (QSPAs) Kh-50 (Kharkov, Ukraine) and QSPA-T (Troitsk, Russia) as well as experiments in the pulsed plasma gun MK-200UG (Troitsk, Russia) are discussed. Primary attention in Troitsk experiments has been focused on investigating the carbon-fibre composite (CFC) and tungsten erosion mechanisms, their onset conditions and the contribution of various erosion mechanisms (including droplet splashing) to the resultant surface damage at varying plasma heat flux. The obtained results are used for validating the numerical codes PEGASUS and MEMOS developed in FZK. Crack patterns and residual stresses in tungsten targets under repetitive edge localized mode (ELM)-like plasma pulses are studied in simulation experiments with QSPA Kh-50. Statistical processing of the experimental results on crack patterns after different numbers of QSPA Kh-50 exposures as well as those on the dependence of cracking on the heat load and surface temperature is performed.