Hydride-based shielding materials for compact fusion power reactors

由于中子屏蔽空间有限，核聚变反应堆的稳定化取决于先进材料的发展。显示出有希望的中子衰减效率的一类材料是第III族和第IV族金属氧化物，例如基于钇、锆和铪的那些。它们的优异性能是由于金属原子的伽马射线衰减和氢的中子慢化的结合。我们的实验室致力于通过新方法处理这些材料并了解它们在极端聚变反应堆环境中的降解机制来开发这些材料[1]。这些条件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容限的材料。

The miniaturisation of nuclear fusion reactors is dependent on the development of advanced materials, due to the restricted space for neutron shielding. One class of material that shows promising neutron attenuation efficiency is the group group III and IV metal hydrides, such as those based on yttrium, zirconium, and hafnium. Their outstanding performance is due to the combined gamma ray attenuation of the metal atom and neutron moderation of hydrogen.Our lab is committed to the development of these materials by processing these materials by new methods and understanding their degradation mechanisms in extreme fusion reactor environments [1]. These conditions include 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.