Ablation measurements using a plasma disruption simulator

This paper reports on a plasma disruption simulator (PLADIS) which has been built and is operating at the University of New Mexico. PLADIS is a coaxial plasma gun system, operating in the deflagration mode. The system was designed to give a variable pulse length of 80-500 us and is typically operated with a pulse length of approximately 100 us. The gun is intended to deliver to a target an energy deposition density of 1kJ per cm2. PLADIS should simulate the heat flux of a tokamak plasma disruption on plasma facing components. Data describing the ablation of graphite targets versus energy deposition will be given. Ablation of targets is determined by simple weight measurement. Fast spot pyrometry is currently being implemented and should greatly improve the authors' ability to accurately determine energy deposition