Building new collaborations to develop highly radiation resistant materials for fusion power

建立新的合作关系，开发用于聚变发电的高抗辐射材料

• 批准号: EP/X024091/1
• 负责人: Felix Hofmann
• 金额: $ 5.23万
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FX024091%2F1
• 关键词: Building; new; collaborations; develop; highly

Fusion power promises an environmentally friendly, intrinsically safe and almost limitless energy supply. The scientific feasibility of fusion power generation has been demonstrated, for example by recent record-breaking fusion power generation by the JET tokamak at UKAEA. The big challenge now is to make fusion energy commercially viable. This will require reactors that can operate reliably and safely for tens of years. Current materials for fusion reactor armour and structural armour components are anticipated to show substantial degradation of mechanical properties and dramatic evolution of key physical properties within a few days to months of reactor operation. To make fusion power a reality, new, highly radiation and temperature resistant materials with stable properties are urgently needed. Nano-structured materials have shown some promise for intense irradiation environments, as the dense network of interfaces within them can act as an efficient sink for irradiation damage. However, these materials generally show poor thermal stability and reduced thermal conductivity. An exciting prospect is to design new nano-structured materials that combine enhanced radiation resistance, good thermal stability, suitable mechanical properties and high thermal conductivity.To tackle this challenge a multi-disciplinary team bringing together experts in nano-structured material design and processing, microscopy techniques for probing nano-scale structure and insitu monitoring of property and structure evolution is essential. This must be further underpinned by computational input from experts in material simulations from the nano- to the macro-scale. The goal of this project is to assemble a team to tackle this challenge. It will be built around my group's expertise in the characterisation of structure and properties of fusion reactor materials. I will visit world-leading groups in (a) the insitu study of material structure at longer length-scales and at higher strain rates, (b) environments for testing new materials under reactor-relevant conditions, (c) the manufacture of nano-structured materials using severe plastic deformation approaches, and (d) the simulation of fusion reactor materials and their in-service evolution. The goal of these visits is to form new connections, knowledge exchange on fusion reactor materials and to develop ideas for joint future projects. To ensure this research meets industrial needs and challenges, I will also visit key industrial players in fusion power: Commonwealth Fusion Systems, UKAEA, Tokamak Energy, and First Light Fusion. These visits will be combined with attendance of a key academic conference to disseminate my group's work exploring the degradation of current fusion reactor materials.

核聚变发电有望成为一种环保、本质安全和几乎无限的能源供应。聚变发电的科学可行性已得到证明，例如英国原子能机构JET托克马克最近破纪录的聚变发电。现在最大的挑战是使核聚变能源在商业上可行。这将需要能够可靠和安全运行数十年的反应堆。目前用于聚变反应堆装甲和结构装甲部件的材料预计会在反应堆运行的几天到几个月内显示出机械性能的大幅退化和关键物理性能的急剧变化。为了使核聚变发电成为现实，迫切需要具有稳定性能的新型、高辐射和耐温材料。纳米结构材料在强辐射环境中表现出了一定的前景，因为它们内部密集的界面网络可以作为辐射损伤的有效汇。然而，这些材料通常表现出差的热稳定性和降低的导热性。一个令人兴奋的前景是设计新的纳米结构材料，结合联合收割机增强的抗辐射性，良好的热稳定性，适当的机械性能和高导热性。为了应对这一挑战，一个多学科的团队汇集了纳米结构材料的设计和加工，显微镜技术探测纳米尺度结构和原位监测性能和结构演变的专家是必不可少的。这必须得到从纳米到宏观尺度材料模拟专家的计算输入的进一步支持。这个项目的目标是组建一个团队来应对这一挑战。它将建立在我的团队的专业知识，在结构和特性的聚变反应堆材料。我将访问世界领先的研究小组，（a）在更长的长度尺度和更高的应变率下对材料结构进行原位研究，（B）在反应堆相关条件下测试新材料的环境，（c）使用严重塑性变形方法制造纳米结构材料，以及（d）模拟聚变反应堆材料及其在役演变。这些访问的目的是建立新的联系，就聚变反应堆材料进行知识交流，并为未来的联合项目提出想法。为了确保这项研究满足工业需求和挑战，我还将访问聚变发电领域的主要工业参与者：Commonwealth Fusion Systems，UKAEA，Tokamak Energy和First Light Fusion。这些访问将与出席一个重要的学术会议相结合，以传播我的小组探索当前聚变反应堆材料退化的工作。