Fusion Reactor Structural materials: Mechanical Properties and Brittle/Ductile Transitions Outline Experimental Programme

Structural components of commercial fusion power plants will be exposed to high fluxes of 14 MeV fusion neutrons. The most promising candidate materials for such applications are low-activation ferritic/martensitic steels, typically containing about 9 % Cr and smaller quantities of W, V and Ta. These steels show a high resistance to void swelling. However they exhibit low-temperature, irradiation produced hardening which may make their use problematic at temperatures below 400ºC. The hardening is believed to be due to the accumulation of radiation damage. This proposal concerns experimental studies of the development of radiation damage in the generic class of ferritic materials based on Fe-Cr, and of studies of the efficacy of damage clusters in impeding the motion of dislocations. This experimental project is intended to complement and feed into parallel multi-scale modelling studies for which funding is being sought from EPSRC under the “materials modelling initiative”. That application, for a £1.1M programme linking modelling activities at five Universities and at UKAEA Culham, has passed the outline application stage, and is one of eight (out of an original field of 46) being considered for funding. The overall aim of thes