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The notable feature of cadmium tungstate (CWO) is quite long ( ∼ 14. 5 μ s ) decay time of its brightest scintillation component. In this paper, the technique and results of high dynamic range measurements of CWO afterglow are discussed. Samples were irradiated by bremsstrahlung of a ∼ 0.5 MeV, 6 μ s electron beam. The afterglow tail of the scintillation curve was measured down to the relative amplitude

Novel concept of the longitudinal plasma flow suppression by active plasma pumping in helicoidal magnetic field in mirror traps was proposed recently. Concept exploration device SMOLA is now being constructed to prove the possibility of the suppression and determine basic scalings of ist effectiveness. Technical solutions of the SMOLA device are described in the article. Vacuum system, magnetic system, plasma source and the source of the radial electric field are discussed. Estimations of the biasing required for optimal confinement are given. Physical program fort he first experiments is also proposed.

The review presents experimental studies of plasma-surface interaction and materials behavior under plasma loads done in the multiple-mirror trap of the GOL-3 facility. In the experiments for the PSI, the energy density in the extracted plasma stream varies from 0.5 to 30 MJ/m2. Parameters of near-surface plasma measured by a set of diagnostics are reviewed. Surface patterns of targets exposed to the plasma are analyzed. The erosion depth depends on the energy loads—it rises from 0 to 600 μm at 0.5 and 30 MJ/m2, correspondingly. Cracking and evolution of graphite and tungsten surface morphology are discussed. The enthalpy of brittle destruction of graphite (10 kJ/g), which determines the threshold of bulk damage of targets irradiated with a charged-particle flux with large penetration depth, was determined. Comparison of different facilities for PSI studies are presented. Heat flux play a key role to the target surface erosion.

The study is devoted to tungsten surface modification after irradiation at the GOL-3 facility with plasma loads corresponding to the ITER type I ELMs. In order to emulate heating with a steady plasma flux in the ITER divertor, some of the tungsten samples were preheated up to 500 °C. It was found out that the behavior of the surface modification (the crack pattern and the number of bubbles) depends on the initial temperature of the targets. While the orientation of major crack networks correlates with the direction of machining of the samples. Afterwards we have observed the process of craters’ formation caused by dust particle impacts.

A novel concept of helical mirror confinement with active axial and radial plasma flow control is discussed. The idea relies on the retarding force that appears when biased plasma experiences rotation in crossed electrical and helical mirror magnetic fields. Preparations for its experimental study started in Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk. Possible parameter space for a concept-exploration-class device SMOLA is identified. Details of numerical optimization of the magnetic structure of the device are presented. The main physical task for the SMOLA experiment will be direct demonstration of the helical mirror performance in simple experimental conditions at reasonably low plasma parameters.

A mathematical model of surface cracking under pulsed heat load was developed. The model correctly describes a smooth brittle–ductile transition. The elastic deformation is described in a thin-heated-layer approximation. The plastic deformation is described with the Hollomon equation. The time dependence of the deformation and stresses is described for one heating–cooling cycle for a material without initial plastic deformation. The model can be applied to tungsten manufactured according to ITER specifications. The model shows that the stability of stress-relieved tungsten deteriorates when the base temperature increases. This proved to be a result of the close ultimate tensile and yield strengths. For a heat load of arbitrary magnitude a stability criterion was obtained in the form of condition on the relation of the ultimate tensile and yield strengths.

The paper presents experimental investigations of tungsten surface modification after plasma loads at the multimirror trap GOL-3. Energy loads on tungsten surface varied from 2 up to 4 MJ/m2 per shot with sets from 1 to 9 repetitive irradiations that corresponds to loads higher than tungsten melting threshold and is close to ITER giant ELM loads. Targets surface modification and transverse microsections after irradiation was studied by optical microscopy, SEM and hardness tester. Formation on tungsten surface of three different crack networks with typical cell sizes of 1000, 10 and 0.3 μm and bubbles are identified. The network of large cracks extend perpendicularly to the irradiated sample surface to a depth of 50–350 μm. Erosion depth depends on energy loads – rises from 20 to 200 μm at 2 and 4 MJ/m2 correspondingly. Cracking, development of tungsten surface morphology and droplets splashing are discussed.

Multimirror approach to plasma confinement for fusion is studied at GOL-3 facility in the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (Novosibirsk, Russia). The presented work is devoted to diagnostics of heavy impurities in plasma of this facility. The main purpose is quantitative measurement of density, degree of ionization of the main heavy impurities in plasma and their contribution to an effective charge of plasma at the GOL-3 facility. Density of interested elements was measured by optical spectroscopy and mass-spectroscopy of residual vacuum. A number of spectroscopic diagnostics has been developed for this purpose. Experimental data were compared with results of numerical calculations of impurities dynamics. As a result it is revealed that the contribution of heavy impurities to effective charge of plasma does not exceed 20%; thus the presence of impurities in plasma of the GOL-3 facility does not influence essentially the plasma confinement at the multimirror trap.

Two-pulse modification of the Thomson scattering system that is used at GOL-3 for studies of fast large-amplitude local density fluctuations is described. Two 1054 nm 20 J pulses are generated with two master oscillators that share the same power amplification chain. First experiments indicate existence of shots with a significant change of electron density at adjacent radial locations at ∼100 ns time scale.

On the basis of the modeling experiments of hot plasma influence on the graphite and tungsten materials performed on the GOL-3 device, an analysis was made of a possibility for explosive erosion to occur under ITER disruption conditions. In this analysis, the threshold value for explosive erosion obtained in the GOL-3 experiments was taken into account. Then the volumetric energy release was calculated for a hot plasma (T = 1–20 keV) reaching the target at the limit of irradiating flux close to the conditions of ITER disruption (an energy flux of up to 140 MJ/m2). It is shown that under such conditions, erosion can reach values much higher than those in the case of erosion under the effect of a plasma with lower temperature but with the same energy density.

The GOL-3 facility was used for exploratory plasma stream target experiments under conditions rather typical for the thermal quench phase of ITER tokamak plasma disruptions. The experiments allowed study of the properties of target plasmas formed from vaporized target materials in front of the target and determination of the target material erosion. Within 2 ps after the onset of the plasma stream a cloud of evaporated material is formed. The cloud expands along magnetic force lines with velocities around lo6 cm/s. Line radiation is observed from the target plasma corona, continuum radiation from the bulk of the cloud. The temperature in the plasma corona is about 1 eV. The black body temperature of the bulk cloud is below 0.5 eV. The erosion for graphite increases sharply upon reaching a threshold value of 1 MJ/m’ for the energy density of the hot plasma stream and achieves very high values.