CFD Analysis of loss of vacuum accident for safety application in experimental fusion reactor facility

In an experimental nuclear fusion facility dust is generated both during normal machine operations and by macroscopic erosion of the plasma facing materials due to intense thermal loads. This dust can be mobilized by air ingress in case of LOVA (Loss of Vacuum Accident) threaten safety of workers and public. A small facility, Small Tank for Aerosol Removal and Dust (STARDUST), was set up in order to perform experiments in which the dust mobilization can be studied in a volume with the initial conditions similar to those existing in fusion reactors. A COMSOL model is being developed at EURATOM-Quantum Electronics and Plasma Physics Research Group of University of Rome “Tor Vergata” in collaboration with ENEA Frascati laboratories