Additive manufacturing of tungsten-copper bi-material structures for plasma-facing component applications in fusion devices

Wall Forum

  • Datum: 07.06.2023
  • Uhrzeit: 13:30 - 14:30
  • Vortragender: Robert Lürbke
  • IPP
  • Ort: Seminarraum D3 / Zoom
  • Gastgeber: IPP

In future magnetic confinement fusion reactors, so-called plasma-facing components (PFCs) have to sustain high heat flux loadings and intense neutron irradiation reliably. These harsh operating conditions create the need for the development of corresponding advanced materials and component solutions. Tungsten is currently considered the preferred directly plasma-facing material in fusion devices due to its low hydrogen retention as well as its low physical sputtering yield. Apart from that, tungsten-copper (W-Cu) composite materials are currently of interest as advanced high-temperature heat sink materials for highly loaded PFCs. In this context, additive manufacturing (AM) of W can be regarded a potentially useful tool as it provides a way to realise W parts and preforms for composite structure fabrication with a high degree of design freedom. Hence, this approach opens up new possibilities to realise W-Cu composite structures, e.g. with tailored macroscopic thermophysical/-mechanical properties. However, the AM of W is challenging, due to the properties of W which is an intrinsically brittle refractory metal. Against this background, the contribution will summarise topical results regarding the AM of W by means of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). This will include results of parametric fabrication studies, including the fabrication of delicate lattice-type parts as well as tailored W-Cu interface structures. Apart from that, results regarding the multi-material AM of W and a copper alloy (CuCrZr) will be presented focussing on microstructural analyses.

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