Effects of supra-thermal particle impacts on Tore Supra plasma facing components

Actively cooled plasma facing components (PFCs) for Tore Supra (TS) have been designed basically for heat exhaust of ‘normal’ (convected and radiated) plasma power. However, in some cases, fast particles have been observed, which locally increased the power flux density, leading to damage of these PFCs and other inner vessel components. Three different examples for irreversible component damage, such as component melting and water leaks, are described involving runaway and supra-thermal particle strikes. In view of the capability for TS to handle larger input powers and to control the particles over long pulse durations, inner vessel components have been completely redesigned. The improved design concepts retained for the CIEL upgrade and preliminary results in the new configuration are presented.