Kinetic modeling of plasma-material interactions by coupling particle-in-cell and binary collision approximation codes

Plasma-material interactions are vastly important to the study of plasma physics -- in fact, laboratory plasmas could not exist without them. Thermionic emission, secondary electron emission, the development of plasma sheaths, and ion-material interactions such as reflection, sputtering, and chemical or morphological changes brought about by implantation are but a few of the microscopic interactions that can have a macroscopic effect on plasma. Due to their complexity, plasma-material interactions are often analyzed using reduced models, such as empirical formulas for the sputtering yield or simplifying assumptions such as the logical sheath; however, the use of reduced models obscures much of the complexity of the interaction. To accurately model the plasma-material interface, near-first-principles models must be developed. Most promising among these in terms of feasible computation are the particle-in-cell kinetic plasma model and the binary collision approximation ion-material interactions model. By directly coupling these two models, a fully kinetic, widely applicable model of plasma-material interactions can be developed without resorting to reduced models or overly simplifying assumptions. In order to fill this role, I have developed RustBCA, a from-scratch, high-performance, modern BCA code, and with it, bindings for coupling that have allowed its integration into an advanced particle-in-cell code. Additionally, novel RustBCA features such as arbitrary attractive-repulsive potentials and 3D morphology will allow higher fidelity modeling of the plasma-material interface than has been available previously. In this work, the design and development of RustBCA, its novel features, and the construction of a coupled particle-in-cell and binary collision approximation code will be covered. A validation exercise comparing results to real-time boronization experiments at DIII-D will highlight the practical applications of the model.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nuclear, Plasma, Radiolgc Engr

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Drobny, Jon

Contributors dc:contributor

• Curreli, Davide
• Sankaran, Mohan
• Rovey, Joshua L
• Ruzic, David N

• Plasma
• Binary Collision Approximation
• Bca
• Plasma-material Interactions
• Pmi
• Particle-in-cell
• Pic
• Integrated Modeling
• Fusion
• Fusion Materials
• Boron

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 by Jon Drobny. All rights reserved.

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120217

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F120217