Influence of plasma impurities on the effective performance of fusion relevant materials
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Date
2014-02-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Australian Institute of Physics
Abstract
The development of a sustainable source of power derived from fusion energy is presently
constrained by the limited number of materials capable of operating under such extreme
conditions. Plasma facing components within magnetically confined fusion reactors must
withstand extremes of temperature and loads, while maintaining a high tolerance to radiation
damage from energetic particles or neutrons. More specifically, factors of sputtering yield,
thermal conduction, electrical conduction and retention of fuel can all degrade the
performance of the reactor and hence detrimentally lower the efficiency. In aiming to improve
our understanding of materials capable of operating within the fusion environment, it is
essential to establish how present generation materials become degraded.
Use of ion beam accelerators and linear plasma devices simulate the respective impact of
energetic neutron damage (14.1 MeV) and plasma erosion (H+, D+, He+) within a
magnetically confined fusion environment. Methods of characterising changes in the local
structure and chemistry of surface and near surface regions of fusion relevant materials
quantify material degradation resulting from the uptake of plasma impurities. While
complementary density functional theory (DFT) simulations have identified possible
mechanisms for degradation of material performance. An overview of material evaluation
methods will also be presented.
Description
Keywords
Plasma, Impurities, Thermonuclear reactors, Power, Power generation, Materials, Temperature range, Physical radiation effects, Nuclear fuels, Sputtering, Yields, Density functional method
Citation
Riley, D. P., Guenette, M., Deslandes, A., Middleburgh, S. C., Lumpkin, G., Thomsen, L., & Corr, C. (2014). Influence of plasma impurities on the effective performance of fusion relevant materials. Poster presented to the 38th Annual Condensed Matter and Materials Meeting 2014, Waiheke Island Resort, Waiheke, Auckland, New Zealand 4th February - 7th February, 2014. Retrieved from: https://physics.org.au/wp-content/uploads/cmm/2014/Wagga2014proceedings.pdf