Analysis of RF Sheath-Driven Tungsten Erosion at RF Antenna in the WEST Tokamak

¹ Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN-37831, USA
² University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
³ Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS - Université de Lorraine, 2 allée André Guinier, F-54011 Nancy, France
⁴ CEA, IRFM, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France
⁵ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
⁶ Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08536, USA
⁷ http://west.cea.fr/WESTteam

^* Corresponding author: kumara@ornl.gov

Published online: 7 January 2026

Abstract

This study applies the newly developed STRIPE (Simulated Transport of RF Impurity Production and Emission) framework to analyze tungsten (W) erosion at RF antenna structures in the WEST tokamak. STRIPE integrates SolEdge3x for edge plasma backgrounds, COMSOL for 3D RF sheath potentials, RustBCA for sputtering yields, and GITR for impurity transport and ion energy–angle distributions. Building on prior work by Kumar et al. (2025) Nuclear Fusion, 65, 076039, which validated STRIPE for WEST ICRH discharge #57877, the present study provides a spatially resolved assessment of gross W erosion at both Q2 antenna limiters under ohmic and ICRH conditions. Simulations using 2D SolEdge3x profiles in COMSOL capture rectified sheath potentials exceeding 300 V, leading to strong upper-limiter localization. Both poloidal and toroidal asymmetries are observed and attributed to RF sheath effects, with modeled erosion patterns deviating from experiment—highlighting sensitivity to sheath geometry and plasma resolution. Erosion is driven primarily by high-charge-state oxygen ions (O^6+–O⁸⁺), while D⁺ plays a negligible role. Assuming a plasma composition of 1% oxygen and 98% deuterium, STRIPE predicts a 30-fold increase in gross W erosion from ohmic to ICRH phases, consistent with a >25-fold rise in W-I (400.9 nm) brightness. Quantitative agreement is within 5% in the ohmic phase and 30% under ICRH, demonstrating predictive capability. Importantly, the study shows that the magnitude of ICRH-driven W erosion depends strongly on the concentration of light impurities (O, B, N, C), which drive sputtering through high charge states. Cleaner plasma conditions with reduced impurity content are therefore expected to substantially mitigate antenna W sources in WEST and other toroidal fusion devices. These findings establish STRIPE as a predictive framework for RF-induced plasma–material interactions and support its application to reactor-scale antenna design.