Spinodally reinforced W-Cr fusion armour
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Here, we introduce a discontinuous spinodal reinforcement strategy in the novel candidate plasma facing material (PFM) of tungsten-chromium alloys. Thermal ageing of a W-34wt%Cr alloy at 1250 °C causes nano-scale lamellae 200–600 nm to form heterogeneously from grain boundaries, which progressively grow into the matrix fully, then coarsen to 1–2 µm after 100 h. The dual-phase microstructure confers exceptional high temperature compressive strength, maintaining 900 MPa at 1000 °C - double that of polycrystalline tungsten. Further, the chromium alloying promotes a dense oxide scale that confers a 2 orders of magnitude improvement in resistance against oxidation at 1000 °C compared to W, which is an important consideration for PFMs under loss of vacuum accident conditions. The dual-phase W-Cr alloy concept's combination of high strength and oxidation resistance represents a new scalable alternative to tungsten, with wide scope for further alloying and process optimisation.
Date Issued
2024-12
Date Acceptance
2024-09-07
Citation
Applied Materials Today, 2024, 41
ISSN
2352-9415
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Applied Materials Today
Volume
41
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmt.2024.102430
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
102430
Date Publish Online
2024-09-12