Deuterium and helium ion irradiation of nanograined tungsten and tungsten–titanium alloys

L. Buzi; M. Yeh; Y-W. Yeh; O.K. Donaldson; M.I. Patino; J.R. Trelewicz; N. Yao; R. Doerner; B.E. Koel

Nuclear Materials and Energy (Dec 2019)

Deuterium and helium ion irradiation of nanograined tungsten and tungsten–titanium alloys

L. Buzi,
M. Yeh,
Y-W. Yeh,
O.K. Donaldson,
M.I. Patino,
J.R. Trelewicz,
N. Yao,
R. Doerner,
B.E. Koel

Affiliations

L. Buzi: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Corresponding author.
M. Yeh: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Y-W. Yeh: Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM), Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
O.K. Donaldson: Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
M.I. Patino: Center for Energy Research, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 92093-0417, USA
J.R. Trelewicz: Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Institute for Advanced Computational Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
N. Yao: Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM), Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
R. Doerner: Center for Energy Research, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 92093-0417, USA
B.E. Koel: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 21

Abstract

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Tungsten (W), a primary candidate for the plasma-facing components of nuclear fusion reactors (e.g. the divertor region in ITER) is susceptible to cracks, blisters, bubbles, and other morphological changes when irradiated with energetic particles. This work investigated two new materials, nanograined W and a nanograined W–Ti alloy, for potential use as plasma-facing materials. Their retention properties and morphological changes after exposure to deuterium (D) and helium (He) plasma at 50 eV and surface temperatures of 500 and 1000 K were analyzed. Nanograined W was found to have smaller blisters and be less prone to fuzz formation than commonly-utilized micro-grain polycrystalline W. Additionally, the nanograined W–Ti alloy exhibited a lower concentration of blisters on its surface than pure W, including nanograined W. Keywords: Tungsten, Plasma-facing materials, Deuterium, Helium

Published in Nuclear Materials and Energy

ISSN: 2352-1791 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Technology: Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering: Nuclear engineering. Atomic power
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/nuclear-materials-and-energy/

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