The Plasma Physics Department in MEPhI has worked out a way of metal dust removal from thermonuclear machines with the help of electrostatic probes. In modern thermonuclear machines plasma intensively disperses materials contacting therewith, and a lot of metal dust comes out as a result. In the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) under construction metal dust will adsorb such quantities of tritium that it will be impossible to carry out experiments on it for safety reasons after a short time of exploitation. For measuring the rate of dust formation and precipitation, the research of dust particles parameters, etc. there needs to be a device capable of dust gathering in a thermonuclear machine and bringing out of the machine for future study.

At the Plasma Physics Department (№ 21) the specialists of the ITER have worked out and approbated a unique device (electrostatic probe) for dust gathering in the ITER, its acting model has been made and tested. Under the influence of electric field power applied between the probe and metal surface above which the probe is moving the dust leaves the surface, reaches for the probe and gathers there.

At the test the probe model gathered 95 % of tungsten dust from the surface.

The picture shows the creators of the electrostatic probe.