Surface modification of alloys to reduce Hydrogen permeability in fusion alloys

为了提供安全、可持续的聚变能源，减少氚的损失势在必行。因此，防止氚在反应堆壁中的积聚和渗透至关重要。本项目的目的是了解氢（H），氘（D）和氚（T）在当前聚变合金中的渗透以及微观结构特征/表面改性的影响，以提供屏障。众所周知，不同的合金和金属具有截然不同的渗透性，虽然奥氏体钢和钨的渗透性相当高，但材料本身也需要作为结构材料，同时承受高温下的辐射损伤。虽然已经考虑了几种用于低活化钢和钨的阻挡涂层的选择，但尚未在原子尺度上研究复杂界面和近表面改性的影响。该项目计划使用传统和先进的方法探索和执行Eurofer和钨的表面改性，并随后进行热处理以定制材料特性在这些材料的前10 - 30微米中的缺陷（例如，缺陷、晶界和沉淀物）。热脱附光谱（TDS）、纳米二次离子质谱（Nano-SIMS）和核反应分析（NRA）以及重离子弹性反冲探测分析（HE-ERDA）等技术也将用于推断各种材料特征的结合能，并量化H/D/T的深度分布。氢气氛中的原位TEM也将用于在原子水平上理解H与定制材料特征的相互作用。该实验将利用UKAEA的氢-3先进技术（H3 AT）基础设施，使用德尔菲（低能氢同位素等离子体暴露装置）将材料样品暴露于氢同位素。Primium H和D将被用作T的替代品，但UKAEA的TDS和德尔菲系统与氚兼容

It is imperative to reduce the loss of Tritium to provide safe and sustainable fusion energy. Hence, preventing accumulation and permeation of Tritium in reactor walls is critical. The purpose of this project is to understand Hydrogen (H), Deuterium (D) and Tritium (T) permeation in current fusion alloys and the influence of microstructural features/surface modifications to provide as barrier. It is well known that different alloys and metals have drastically different permeabilities and while these are quite high for Austenitic steels and Tungsten, the materials themselves also need to serve as structural materials while withstanding radiation damage at high temperatures. While several options of barrier coatings have been considered for reduced activation steels and tungsten, the influence of complex interfaces and near surface modifications has not been investigated on an atomic scale.The project plans to explore and perform surface modification of Eurofer and Tungsten using traditional and advanced methods and subsequent heat treatment to tailor material features (e.g.defects, grain boundaries and precipitates) in the first 10 -30 microns of these materials. Techniques like Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy (TDS), Nano-SIMS and Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA) and Heavy Ion Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (HE-ERDA) will also be used to deduce the binding energies of various material features and to quantify the depth profile of H/D/T. In-situ TEM in hydrogen atmosphere will also be used to understand at atomic level, interaction of H with tailored material features.The experiment will utilise the UKAEA's Hydrogen-3 Advanced Technology (H3AT) infrastructure to expose materials samples to hydrogen isotopes using DELPHI (Device for Exposure to Low-energy Plasma of Hydrogen Isotopes). Primarily H and D will be used as a substitute for T, however the UKAEAs TDS and DELPHI systems are tritium compatible