Modelling of deposition and erosion of injected WF₆ and MoF₆ in TEXTOR

Highlights: • MoF₆ and WF₆ injection experiments in TEXTOR have been modelled with the ERO code. • Modelled amounts of deposited Mo and W are significantly larger than measured ones. • In-situ enhanced erosion of deposited Mo and W has to be assumed in ERO. • Enhanced erosion factors are about 10 for Mo and 20 for W. • Sputtering of W and Mo is dominated by impurities (C, O and self-sputtering). - Abstract: Tracer injection experiments in TEXTOR with MoF₆ and WF₆ lead to local deposition of about 6% for Mo and about 1% for W relative to the injected amount of Mo and W atoms. Modelling of these experiments has been done with ERO applying updated data for physical sputtering. The dissociation of the injected molecules has been treated in a simplified manner due to the lack of dissociation rate coefficients. However, with this it was possible to reproduce the observed radial penetration of Mo and W atoms into the plasma. The modelled local deposition efficiencies are about 50% for Mo and 60% for W assuming typical plasma parameters for the experimental conditions used. To reproduce the measured deposition efficiencies an enhancement factor for the erosion of deposited Mo and W has to be assumed (∼10 for Mo and ∼25 for W). Due to the rather low electron temperature T_e of these plasma conditions (T_e∼15 eV at the location of injection), Mo and W are mostly sputtered by impurities whereas sputtering due to deuterium is negligible. A parameter study applying larger electron temperature leads to increased sputtering and thus to reduced local deposition efficiencies of about 30% for Mo and 5% for W. Though, even under these conditions enhanced erosion, albeit with reduced enhancement factors, is needed in the modelling to obtain the small measured deposition efficiencies.