Coated boron layers by boronization and a real-time boron coating using an impurity powder dropper in the LHD

In the Large Helical Device(LHD),diborane(B2H6)is used as a standard boron source for boronization,which is assisted by helium glow discharges.In 2019,a new Impurity Powder Dropper(IPD)system was installed and is under evaluation as a real-time wall conditioning technique.In the LHD,which is a large-sized heliotron device,an additional helium(He)glow discharge cleaning(GDC)after boronization was operated for a reduction in hydrogen recycling from the coated boron layers.This operational time of 3 h was determined by spectroscopic data during glow discharges.A flat hydrogen profile is obtained on the top surface of the coated boron on the specimen exposed to boronization.The results suggest a reduction in hydrogen at the top surface by He-GDC.Trapped oxygen in coated boron was obtained by boronization,and the coated boron,which has boron-oxide,on the first wall by B-IPD was also shown.Considering the difference in coating areas between B2H6 boronization and B-IPD operation,it would be most effective to use the IPD and B2H6 boronization coating together for optimized wall conditioning.

Study of the tungsten sputtering source suppression by wall conditionings in the EAST tokamak

The steady fusion plasma operation is constrained by tungsten(W)material sputtering issue in the EAST tokamak.In this work,the suppression of W sputtering source has been studied by advanced wall conditionings.It is also concluded that the W sputtering yield becomes more with increasing carbon(C)content in the main deuterium(D)plasma.In EAST,the integrated use of discharge cleanings and lithium(Li)coating has positive effects on the suppression of W sputtering source.In the plasma recovery experiments,it is suggested that the W intensity is reduced by approximately 60%with the help of~35 h Ion Cyclotron Radio Frequency Discharge Cleaning(ICRF-DC)and~40 g Li coating after vacuum failure.The first wall covered by Li film could be relieved from the bombardment of energetic particles,and the impurity in the vessel would be removed through the particle induced desorption and isotope exchange during the discharge cleanings.In general,the sputtering yield of W would decrease from the source,on the bias of the improvement of wall condition and the mitigation of plasmawall interaction process.It lays important base of the achievement of high-parameter and longpulse plasma operation in EAST.The experiences also would be constructive for us to promote the understanding of relevant physics and basis towards the ITER-like condition.

Higher resolution helium measuring system for deuterium plasma on EAST tokamak via normal Penning gauge

Although the deuterium and helium have almost the same mass,a Penning Optical Gas Analyzer（POGA） system on the basis of the spectroscopic method and Penning discharging has been designed on EAST,since 2014.The POGA system was developed successfully in 2015,it was the first time that EAST could detect helium partial pressure in deuterium plasma（wall conditioning and plasma operation scenario）.With dedicated calibration and proper adjustment of the parameters,the minimum concentration of helium in deuterium gas can be measured as about 0.5% instead of 1% on the other tokamak devices.Moreover,the He and D2 partial pressures are measured simultaneously.At present,the measurable range of deuterium partial pressure is 1×10^-7 mbar to 1×10^-5mbar,meanwhile the range of helium is 1×10^-8 mbar to 1×10^-5 mbar.The measurable range can be modified by means of the adjustment of POGA system＇s parameters.It is possible to detect the interesting part of the gas with a time resolution of less than 5 ms（the 200 ms because of conductance of transfer pipe at present）.The POGA system was routinely employed to wall conditioning and helium enrichment investigation in2015.Last but not the least,the low temperature plasma of POGA is generated by normal penning gauge Pfeiffer IKR gauge instead of Alcatel CF2 P,which has been suspended for a few years and was used for almost all the POGA systems in the world.

The effect of nitrogen concentration on the properties of N-DLC prepared by helicon wave plasma chemical vapor deposition

Nitrogen-doped diamond-like carbon(N-DLC)films were synthesized by helicon wave plasma chemical vapor deposition(HWP-CVD).The mechanism of the plasma influence on the N-DLC structure and properties was revealed by the diagnosis of plasma.The effects of nitrogen doping on the mechanical and hydrophobicity properties of DLC films were studied.The change in the ratio of precursor gas flow reduces the concentration of film-forming groups,resulting in a decrease of growth rate with increasing nitrogen flow rate.The morphology and structure of N-DLC films were characterized by scanning probe microscopy,Raman spectroscopy,and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy.The mechanical properties and wettability of N-DLC were analyzed by an ultra-micro hardness tester and JC2000DM system.The results show that the content ratio of N^(+)and N_(2)^(+)is positively correlated with the mechanical properties and wettability of N-DLC films.The enhancement hardness and elastic modulus of N-DLC are attributed to the increase in sp3 carbon–nitrogen bond content in the film,reaching 26.5 GPa and 160 GPa respectively.Water contact measurement shows that the increase in the nitrogen-bond structure in N-DLC gives the film excellent hydrophobic properties,and the optimal water contact angle reaches 111.2°.It is shown that HWP technology has unique advantages in the modulation of functional nanomaterials.

The application of a helicon plasma source in reactive sputter deposition of tungsten nitride thin films

A reactive helicon wave plasma(HWP)sputtering method is used for the deposition of tungsten nitride(WNx)thin films.N_(2)is introduced downstream in the diffusion chamber.The impacts of N_(2)on the Ar-HWP parameters,such as ion energy distribution functions(IEDFs),electron energy probability functions(EEPFs),electron temperature(Te)and density(ne),are investigated.With the addition of N_(2),a decrease in electron density is observed due to the dissociative recombination of electrons with N_(2)^(+).The similar IEDF curves of Ar+and N_(2)^(+) indicate that the majority ofN_(2)^(+) stems from the charge transfer in the collision between Ar+and N_(2).Moreover,due to the collisions between electrons and N_(2)ions,EEPFs show a relatively lower Tewith a depletion in the high-energy tail.With increasing negative bias from 50 to 200 V,a phase transition from hexagonal WN to fcc-WN0.5is observed,together with an increase in the deposition rate and roughness.

Investigation on the granulation behavior of iron ore fine in a horizontal high-shear granulator

High-shear granulation is widely used in many particulate industries for its good capability to improve the size,strength and composition uniformity of powder substances.This work conducted an experimental study to investigate the granulation behavior of iron ore fine in a horizontal high-shear granulator,such as granules size distribution,granules growth rate,and permeability of the granules bed.The results show that the granule size and permeability of packed granules bed increase gradually with increasing the granulation time,and the growth of granules can be divided into three stages:the rapid growth stage,the slow growth stage and the relatively stable stage.Both the higher rotational speed and larger number of impellers increase the kinetic energy and collision frequency of the particles,which causes the increase of average granule size,growth rate and permeability of granules packed bed.On the other hand,the shear damage effect of the impellers on the granules is also enhanced with the increase of rotational speed and impeller number,resulting in significant granule size segregation.