Microstructural and mechanical properties of Al-base coated EUROFER-97
Coolant-facing alloys in a tokamak will face harsh environments due to the synergistic effect of flowing coolant, mechanical cyclic loadings, and ionising radiation. Reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAF/M) EUROFER-97 is one of the top structural alloys selected to be used in fusion, however it was not designed to have excellent corrosion properties; therefore, coatings are required to improve both its corrosion properties and act as a H2/T2 permeation barrier (TPB) layer. In this study, Al-base self-passivating coatings have been investigated as possible solution to provide protection against corrosion and act as TPB layer. The aim of this study was to assess the adhesion properties between an Al-base electroplated and two chemical vapour deposited (CVD) coatings on a RAF/M EUROFER-97 steel before and after straining. These studies showed the high ductility of pure Al-coatings, whereas both CVD coatings cracked under the applied strain.