Degradation of tungsten under the action of a plasma jet

The degradation of the surface and structure of single-crystal tungsten and sintered powder tungsten during the action of a pulsed plasma jet is studied. It is shown that the degradation of a tungsten target during the action of a plasma jet with an energy flux density of 0.25–1 MJ/m$^2$ is accompanied by surface evaporation and melting and the fracture of surface layers on scales of 150–250 $\mu$m. The results of a numerical simulation of the thermomechanical processes that occur in a tungsten target during the action of a plasma jet are presented. The degradation of tungsten during the action of a plasma jet is shown to proceed almost continuously from the action (evaporation, melting) to the times that are more than three orders of magnitude longer than the action time, which is caused by the thermomechanical processes occurring in the tungsten target. Moreover, the action of thermal stresses leads to structural and morphological changes throughout the sample volume, and these changes are accompanied by recrystallization in adiabatic shear bands.