Measurement of the surface morphology of plasma facing components on the EAST tokamak by a laser speckle interferometry approach

The laser speckle interferometry approach provides the possibility of an in situ optical noncontacted measurement for the surface morphology of plasma facing components(PFCs),and the reconstruction image of the PFC surface morphology is computed by a numerical model based on a phase unwrapping algorithm.A remote speckle interferometry measurement at a distance of three meters for real divertor tiles retired from EAST was carried out in the laboratory to simulate a real detection condition on EAST.The preliminary surface morphology of the divertor tiles was well reproduced by the reconstructed geometric image.The feasibility and reliability of this approach for the real-time measurement of PFCs have been demonstrated.

Heat Transfer Analysis of Two Kinds of Mechanically Jointed GBST1308/CuCrZr Plasma Facing Components of EAST

Doped graphite GBST1308, mechanically jointed to CuCrZr alloys, will be applied on EAST superconducting as plasma facing material （PFM）. Two joint structures called joint-1 and joint-2 were evaluated by means of thermal response tests using electron beam facility. The experimental results showed that the temperature differences of two joints were not significant, and the maximum surface temperature was about 1055℃ at a load of 4 MW/m^2, which had a good agreement with the simulated results by ANSYS code. The results indicated that the doped graphite GBST1308/CuCrZr mock-up can withstand heat flux deposition of 4 MW/m^2 except at the screw-fastened region, and joint-2 could be more suitable to higher heat flux region such as divertor target. But under the higher heat flux, both joints are unacceptable, an advanced PFM and its integration with the heat sink have to be developed, for example, vacuum plasma spraying tungsten coatings on the CuCrZr might be a good choice.

Processing and characterization of B_4C/Cu graded composite as plasma facing component for fusion reactors

A new approach for fabricating B4C/Cu graded composite by rapid self-resistance sintering under ultra-high pressure was presented, by which a near dense B4C/Cu graded composite with a compositional spectrum of 0-100% was successfully fabricated. Plasma relevant performances of sintered B4C/Cu composite were preliminarily characterized, it is found that its chemical sputtering yield is 70% lower than that of SMF800 nuclear graphite under 2.7keV D+ irradiation, and almost no damages after 66 shots of in situ plasma discharge in HL-1 Tokamak facility, which indicates B4C/Cu plasma facing component has a good physical and chemical sputtering resistance performance compared with nuclear graphite.

Bonding Interface of W-CuCrZr Explosively Welded Composite Plates for Plasma Facing Components

In order to realize the effective jointing of tungsten and Cu Cr Zr alloys manufactured for plasma facing components（PFCs）, explosive welding is employed for its some unique advantages. Different welding characteristics were investigated in this study. The interfacial waveform of the welded plates changed periodically from flat-wavelet to a large wave and finally to a stable wave, which began with the detonation point. The bonding strength of the specimens is higher than 32.9 MPa. Welding hardening and the formation of microcracks occurred at the interface zone. The results demonstrate that the joining reliabilities need to be improved in order to meet the need of applications involving the use of explosive welding to fabricate tungsten-based PFCs.

Numerical Simulation Approaches to Evaluating the Electromagnetic Loads on the EAST Vacuum Vessel

Numerical simulation approaches are developed to compute the electromagnetic forces on the EAST vacuum vessel during major disruptions and vertical displacement events, with the halo current also considered. The finite element model built with ANSYS includes the vacuum vessel, the plasma facing components and their support structure, and the toroidal and poloidal field coils. The numerical methods are explained to convince of its validity. The eddy current induced by the magnetic flux variation and the conducting current caused by the halo current are also presented for discussion. The electromagnetic forces resulting from the numerical simulation are proven to be useful for structure design optimization. Similar methods can be applied in the upgrades of the EAST device.

Coupled thermal-mechanical analysis of two ITER-like first wall mockups under heat shock of plasma disruptions

The first wall of the fusion reactor is a plasma-facing component and is a key link to maintain the integrity of structure during thermal shock induced by plasma disruptions. Be and W/Cu functionally graded materials are two kinds of important plas- ma-facing materials （PFM） of first wall in fusion reactor currently. Previous researches seldom comparatively evaluated the normal servicing and heat shock resistance performance of first walls with those two kinds of PFMs. And also there lacks cou- pled thermal/mechanical analysis on the heat shock process in consideration of multiple thermal/mechanical phenomena, such as material melting, solidification, evaporation, etc., which is significant to further understand the heat shock damage mecha- nism of the first wall with different PFMs. With the aim of learning more detailed mechanical mechanism of thermal shock damage and then improving the thermal shock resistance performance of different first wall designs, the coupled ther- mal/mechanical response of two typical ITER-like first walls with PFM of Be and functionally graded W-Cu respectively un- der the heat shock of 1 2 GW/m2 are computed by the finite element method. Special considerations of elastic-plastic defor- mation, material melting, and solidification are included in numerical models and methods. The mechanical response behaviors of different structures and materials under the normal servicing operation as well as plasma disruption conditions are analyzed and investigated comparatively. The results reveal that heat is mainly deposited on the PFM layer in thc high energy shock pulse induced by plasma disruptions, resulting in complex thermal stress change as well as mechanical itTeversible damage of thermal elastic and plastic expansion, contraction and yielding. Compared with the first wall with Be PFM, which mitigates the damages from heat shock at most only in the PFM layer with cost of whole PFM layer plastic yielding, the first wall with graded W-Cu PFM is demonstrated to be possessed both of higher heat shock resistance performance and normal servicing performance, provided its material gradient and cooling capacity are well optimized under practical loading conditions.