Mobilization of tungsten dust by electric forces and its bearing on tritiated particles in the ITER tokamak

S. Peillon (1) , Moustapha Sow (1) , C. Grisolia (2) , F. Miserque (3) , F. Gensdarmes (1)

1 IRSN - Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire
2 IRFM - Institut de Recherche sur la Fusion par confinement Magnétique
3 CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives

Experimental investigations on the electric field strength required to overcome the adhesion forces of micron size tungsten metallic dust as well as silver and aluminum oxide in powdery form deposited on a conductive surface are presented. The results reveal a strong influence of particulate surface properties on the detachment threshold, especially for tungsten particles which exhibit a thin surface oxide layer that screens their electrical conductivity. Such tungsten particles makes possible that electrostatic self-charging occurs when tritiated because of their dielectric properties even if there are deposited on a conductive grounded surface. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

Domaines: Physique [physics]

S. Peillon, Moustapha Sow, C. Grisolia, F. Miserque, F. Gensdarmes. Mobilization of tungsten dust by electric forces and its bearing on tritiated particles in the ITER tokamak. Journal of Electrostatics, 2017, 88, pp.111-115. ⟨10.1016/j.elstat.2017.01.020⟩. ⟨hal-02553387⟩