L. Reali M.R. Gilbert M. Boleininger S.L. Dudarev
Neutrons interacting with atomic nuclei in most of the materials included in the current fusion reactor designs—notably tungsten, ferritic and stainless steels, copper alloys—generate a γ-photon flux that is comparable in magnitude and e…
Preprint PublishedM. Anderton C. Baus T. P. Davis R. Pearson K. Mukai J. Pollard K. Taylor S. Kirk J. Hagues
Tritium self-sufficiency is one of the fundamental challenges for deuterium-tritium nuclear fusion reactors. The combination of key high temperature radiation shielding materials that possess dense, high neutron absorption cross-section, and moderation properties, and tritium breeding materials could involve interesting design spaces for the centra…
PreprintWilliam Iliffe Simon Chislett-McDonald Fiona Harden Kirk Adams James Tufnail Chris Grovenor Susannah Speller Aidan Reilly Ezzat Nasr
The UKAEA’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) program aims to demonstrate the ability of a low aspect ratio tokamak to generate net electricity from deuterium-tritium fusion. Specifically, its aim is to deliver a prototype fusion power plant, targeting 2040, and a path to the commercial viability of fusion, by engaging with and invig…
PreprintChris Brown Hanni Lux James Cowan
Developments in fusion energy technology and the aspiration to build and run commercial fusion energy power plants has seen the commencement of numerous publicly and privately funded projects in recent years. Megaprojects, like fusion power plants, by their very nature are inherently complex and risky, therefore providing a robust cost estimate in …
PreprintJ. Hargreaves H. Tipping J.C. Eloi L. Harding H. Dominguez Andrade H. Dawson T.L Martin
Severe plasma transients such as disruptions will impose high magnitude, short duration thermal loads on the plasma-facing first wall of the EU’s DEMOnstration tokamak. Repeated over DEMO’s lifetime, these transients may cumulatively alter the microstructure of first wall structural materials, degrading their performance. The effects of repeate…
Preprint PublishedValentine Kanyanta
Fusion is considered as one of the most attractive carbon-free energy sources with the potential to play a vital role in meeting long-term global energy needs. Research into fusion has accelerated over the past few years with more participation now seen from the private sector. Fusion is making an important transition from fundamental research t…
PreprintA. Matejunas L. Fletcher L. Lamberson
Due to the strong rate dependence in their mechanical response, polymers find widespread use in applications subject to impact loading. However, characterizing these materials on microsecond time scales has proven challenging. Traditional experimental techniques rely on satisfying a number of limiting assumptions and typically do not provide direct…
PreprintMark Gilbert
Nuclear data, describing neutron reaction probabilities (cross sections) and decay behaviour, are critical to the design and operation of fusion experiments and future fusion power plants. Equally vital, are the inventory codes that use the data to predict neutron-induced activation and transmutation of materials, which will define the radiologica…
Preprint PublishedB. Poole A. Marsh D. Lunt C. Hardie M. Gorley C. Hamelin A. Harte
Scanning electron microscopy-based is now an established technique, providing full-field strain and displacement measurement at the microscale. Techniques for generating speckle patterns for sub-micron strain mapping are highly substrate dependent but typically rely on applying aggressive conditions which may alter the microstructure of interest…
Preprint PublishedYichen Qian Mark R. Gilbert Lucile Dezerald Duc Nguyen-Manh David Cereceda
Tungsten (W) is considered a leading candidate for structural and functional materials in future fusion energy devices. The most attractive properties of tungsten for magnetic and inertial fusion energy reactors are its high melting point, high thermal conductivity, low sputtering yield, and low long-term disposal radioactive footprint. However, t…
Preprint Published