| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2023 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Powder Materials Processing and Fundamental Understanding
|
| Presentation Title |
Manufacturing of Porous Tungsten via Place-Holder Spark Plasma Sintering for Nuclear Fusion Applications |
| Author(s) |
Trevor Marchhart, Camila Lopez-Perez, Martin Nieto-Perez, Jean Paul Allain |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Trevor Marchhart |
| Abstract Scope |
In a fusion reactor environment, plasma-facing components (PFCs) are exposed to extreme heat fluxes, large neutron loading, energetic particle bombardment, and high mechanical stresses. A potential PFC configuration in fusion reactors is porous tungsten with liquid lithium, which combines the benefits of high-Z and low-Z materials. 40-70% dense tungsten was manufactured via partial spark plasma sintering (SPS) of 800nm powders. Initial SEM images of the internal geometry show incomplete necking between particles. A high-temperature place-holder SPS (PHSPS) method is being developed which utilizes a secondary constituent particle that is present during sintering but removed afterwards in order to leave pores behind. PHSPS with tungsten introduces challenges due to tungsten’s high melting point and thus sintering temperature. However, this novel method is conjectured to produce much stronger porous tungsten, while providing much greater control over the pore structures. Work supported by DOE Contract DE-SC0021119. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Powder Materials, High-Temperature Materials |