Advanced shielding materials for next-generation nuclear fusion power reactors

我们清洁和可持续能源的共同目标可以通过核聚变技术的进步来实现。基于此，改进的聚变反应堆屏蔽材料得到了发展。这种材料对于前景光明的球形托卡马克反应堆来说尤其重要，因为它受限于中子屏蔽空间。基于钨碳化物和硼化物的陶瓷复合材料是一类日益受到关注的先进材料。与传统的候选屏蔽[2]相比，这些材料具有令人印象深刻的性能。例如，由于存在小体积分数的韧性金属粘结剂，它们可以设计成具有高断裂韧性和良好的可制造性。粘合剂还提供了设计抗氧化涂层的能力，使材料在事故场景中具有令人印象深刻的安全性能。我们的实验室致力于为核聚变发电应用开发这些材料[1-3]。我们的工作重点是了解这些材料在极端聚变反应堆环境下的降解机制，包括严重的热应力和机械应力，腐蚀和辐照。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忍度的材料。这些目标对于核聚变的最终部署都是至关重要的。我们团队需要一名材料开发、辐照和机械性能方面的实验员。申请人应具有材料科学背景或表现出学习该学科的强烈热情。它们应该支持团队环境中的协作。他们的项目可能包括使用粉末加工技术制造新材料；国家离子束辐照设施辐照实验；辐照样品的表征。这种表征可能包括最先进的微机械测试方法和电子显微镜。成功的申请人将受益于托卡马克能源有限公司的支持，该公司是聚变工程领域快速发展的“技术先驱”。他们还将受益于一个充满活力的研究人员社区，以及由先进结构陶瓷中心和核工程中心提供的世界级设施。参考文献：[1]S.A. humphrey - baker等，一种候选核聚变工程材料，WC-FeCr, Scr。材料学报，155 (2018):129-133s.a hphrry - baker, George D.W. Smith，紧凑球形托卡马克的屏蔽材料，Philos。反式。A. 377(2019) 20170443。[10]李伟荣，彭坤，李文杰，抗氧化硬质合金材料，j .折射。满足。硬材料，66(2017)135-143。

Our communal goal of clean and sustainable energy could be met by progress in nuclear fusion technology. Depending on this is the development of improved fusion reactor shielding materials. Such materials are particularly critical for the promising spherical tokamak reactor, which is restricted in its space for neutron shielding. A class of advanced materials yielding increased attention are ceramic composites based on the carbides and borides of tungsten [1]. These materials have impressive properties compared to conventional candidate shields [2]. For example, they can be engineered to have high fracture toughness and good manufacturability due to the presence of a small volume fraction of ductile metallic binder. The binder also affords the ability to engineer oxidation resistant coatings, giving the materials impressive safety performance in accident scenarios [3]. Our lab is committed to the development of these materials for fusion power applications [1-3]. We work particularly on understanding the degradation mechanisms of these materials in extreme fusion reactor environments, including 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. These aims are both critical in the eventual deployment of fusion power. There is a vacancy in our team for an experimentalist in materials development, irradiation and mechanical properties. The applicant should have a background in materials science or show strong enthusiasm for learning the discipline. They should support collaboration in a team environment. Their project may consist of fabricating novel materials using powder processing techniques; irradiation experiments at national ion-beam irradiation facilities; and characterisation of irradiated samples. Such characterisation may include state-of-the-art micro-mechanical testing methods and electron microscopy.The successful applicant will benefit from support by Tokamak Energy Ltd, a rapidly growing "technology pioneer" in fusion engineering. They will also benefit from interacting with a vibrant community of researchers and world-class facilities provided by the Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and the Centre for Nuclear Engineering. References:[1] S.A. Humphry-Baker et al, A candidate fusion engineering material, WC-FeCr, Scr. Mater. 155 (2018) 129-133.[2] S.A. Humphry-Baker, George D.W. Smith, Shielding materials in the compact spherical tokamak, Philos. Trans. A. 377 (2019) 20170443. [3] S.A. Humphry-Baker, K. Peng, W.E. Lee, Oxidation resistant tungsten carbide hardmetals, Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater. 66 (2017) 135-143.