Abstract
Besides high dose radiation and extreme thermal loads, a major concern for materials deployed in novel nuclear fusion reactors is the formation and growth of helium bubbles. This work investigates the swelling and mechanical property degradation after helium implantation of ultrafine-grained W and nanocrystalline W-Cu, possible candidates for divertor and heat-sink materials in fusion reactors, respectively. It is found that ultrafine-grained W and single crystalline W experience similar volumetric swelling after helium implantation but show different blistering behavior. The W-Cu nanocomposite, however, shows a reduced swelling compared to a coarse-grained composite due to the effective annihilation of radiation-induced vacancies through interfaces. Furthermore, the helium-filled cavity structures lead to considerable softening of the composite.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 114641 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Scripta materialia |
Volume | 213.2022 |
Issue number | May |
Early online date | 2 Mar 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2022 |