ECART analysis of the STARDUST dust resuspension tests with an obstacle presence

To validate dust resuspension models in fusion like conditions, different experimental campaigns in the STARDUST facility were performed at ENEA laboratories Frascati (I). In the first campaign, resuspension of Tungsten (W), Carbon (C) and Stainless Steel (SS) dusts was investigated in an “empty tank” configuration, while resuspension of the same dust types in presence of an internal obstacle was studied in the second campaign. In this work, focalized on the ECART code validation, the assessment of the code “force balance” resuspension model against the data obtained during the second campaign is performed. ECART was able to provide a good qualitative and quantitative description of the resuspension phenomena so a further step in its validation has been achieved. Further improvements for the ECART resuspension model have been also highlighted, as the necessity to treat “particle clusters” and their aggregate movements.