Advanced shielding materials for next-generation nuclear fusion power reactors

用于下一代核聚变反应堆的先进屏蔽材料

• 批准号: 2296014
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Imperial College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2296014
• 关键词: Advanced; shielding; materials; next; generation

Our communal goal of clean and sustainable energy could be met by progress in nuclear fusion technology. Depending on this is the development of improved fusion reactor shielding materials. Such materials are particularly critical for the promising spherical tokamak reactor, which is restricted in its space for neutron shielding. A class of advanced materials yielding increased attention are ceramic composites based on the carbides and borides of tungsten [1]. These materials have impressive properties compared to conventional candidate shields [2]. For example, they can be engineered to have high fracture toughness and good manufacturability due to the presence of a small volume fraction of ductile metallic binder. The binder also affords the ability to engineer oxidation resistant coatings, giving the materials impressive safety performance in accident scenarios [3]. Our lab is committed to the development of these materials for fusion power applications [1-3]. We work particularly on understanding the degradation mechanisms of these materials in extreme fusion reactor environments, including severe thermal and mechanical stresses, corrosion and irradiation. The ultimate goal of our work is to inform fusion reactor design and allow the development of materials with enhanced damage-tolerance. These aims are both critical in the eventual deployment of fusion power. There is a vacancy in our team for an experimentalist in materials development, irradiation and mechanical properties. The applicant should have a background in materials science or show strong enthusiasm for learning the discipline. They should support collaboration in a team environment. Their project may consist of fabricating novel materials using powder processing techniques; irradiation experiments at national ion-beam irradiation facilities; and characterisation of irradiated samples. Such characterisation may include state-of-the-art micro-mechanical testing methods and electron microscopy.The successful applicant will benefit from support by Tokamak Energy Ltd, a rapidly growing "technology pioneer" in fusion engineering. They will also benefit from interacting with a vibrant community of researchers and world-class facilities provided by the Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and the Centre for Nuclear Engineering. References:[1] S.A. Humphry-Baker et al, A candidate fusion engineering material, WC-FeCr, Scr. Mater. 155 (2018) 129-133.[2] S.A. Humphry-Baker, George D.W. Smith, Shielding materials in the compact spherical tokamak, Philos. Trans. A. 377 (2019) 20170443. [3] S.A. Humphry-Baker, K. Peng, W.E. Lee, Oxidation resistant tungsten carbide hardmetals, Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater. 66 (2017) 135-143.

我们清洁和可持续能源的共同目标可以通过核聚变技术的进步来实现。取决于此的是改进的聚变反应堆屏蔽材料的开发。这种材料对于有前途的球形托卡马克反应堆尤其重要，该反应堆的中子屏蔽空间受到限制。一类引起越来越多关注的先进材料是基于钨碳化物和硼化物的陶瓷复合材料[1]。与传统候选屏蔽相比，这些材料具有令人印象深刻的特性 [2]。例如，由于存在小体积分数的延性金属粘合剂，它们可以被设计成具有高断裂韧性和良好的可制造性。该粘合剂还能够设计抗氧化涂层，使材料在事故情况下具有令人印象深刻的安全性能[3]。我们的实验室致力于开发这些用于聚变发电应用的材料[1-3]。我们特别致力于了解这些材料在极端聚变反应堆环境中的降解机制，包括严重的热应力和机械应力、腐蚀和辐射。我们工作的最终目标是为聚变反应堆设计提供信息，并允许开发具有增强损伤耐受性的材料。这些目标对于聚变能的最终部署都至关重要。我们的团队有一个空缺职位，需要一名材料开发、辐照和机械性能方面的实验员。申请人应具有材料科学背景或对该学科表现出强烈的学习热情。他们应该支持团队环境中的协作。他们的项目可能包括使用粉末加工技术制造新型材料；国家离子束辐照设施的辐照实验；和辐照样品的表征。这种表征可能包括最先进的微机械测试方法和电子显微镜。成功的申请人将受益于托卡马克能源有限公司的支持，托卡马克能源有限公司是聚变工程领域快速发展的“技术先驱”。他们还将受益于与先进结构陶瓷中心和核工程中心提供的充满活力的研究人员社区和世界一流设施的互动。参考文献：[1] S.A. Humphry-Baker 等，一种候选聚变工程材料，WC-FeCr，Scr。马特。 155(2018)129-133.[2] S.A. 汉弗莱-贝克，乔治 D.W.史密斯，紧凑球形托卡马克中的屏蔽材料，菲洛斯。跨。 A. 377 (2019) 20170443。 [3] S.A. Humphry-Baker, K. Peng, W.E. Lee，抗氧化碳化钨硬质合金，Int。 J.折射。遇见了。辛苦的母亲。 66（2017）135-143。