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Investigation of microstructure and deuterium retention in the reduced activation tungsten-steel brazed joint

  • Metals & corrosion
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Abstract

The combination of reduced-activation ferritic–martensitic steels (RAFM) and tungsten is suggested for plasma-facing components in future fusion reactors, but joining these materials is challenging. One promising method is a brazing technique that uses a Ta interlayer and a fully reduced activation brazing alloy, TiZr4Be. The initial microstructure of the Rusfer/TiZr4Be/Ta/TiZr4Be/W joint and transformations caused by exposure to D2 gas at elevated temperatures and a pressure of 1 Pa were assessed using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), synchrotron X-ray diffraction analysis and secondary ion mass spectrometry. The joining layer was the main center of deuterium accumulation, but there were no changes in the microstructure after D2 exposure at 300 °C. The total D retention after D2 exposure at 600 °C was lower, but it was concentrated in the W/TiZr4Be/Ta seam, and the formation of an additional ZrFe2D2.66 phase was observed.

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Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge Tescan Russia for the microstructural analysis. SIMS measurements were carried out and using equipment of the Center for Collective Use Diagnostics of Microstructures and Nanostructures.

Funding

Sample characterization using the Synchrotron was done with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Agreement No. 075-15-2021-1352).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Kashirskoe Shosse 31, Moscow, Russia, 115409

    J. Gurova, D. Bachurina, I. Kozlov, V. Efimov, O. Krutikova, A. Suchkov, A. Spitsyn & Y. Gasparyan

  2. Yaroslavl Branch, Valiev Institute of Physics and Technology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Yaroslavl, Russia, 150007

    V. Bachurin & S. Simakin

  3. NRC “Kurchatov Institute”, Ak. Kurchatov sq., 1, Moscow, Russia, 123182

    N. Bobyr & A. Spitsyn

Authors
  1. J. Gurova
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Contributions

The combination of reduced-activation ferritic–martensitic steels (RAFM) and tungsten are suggested for plasma facing components in future fusion reactors, but joining of these materials is challenging. One of promising ways is a brazing technique using a Ta interlayer and a fully reduced activation brazing alloy TiZr4Be. The initial microstructure of the Rusfer/TiZr4Be/Ta/TiZr4Be/W joint and transformations caused by exposure in D2 gas at elevated temperatures and the pressure of 1 Pa were assessed using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SynXRD) analysis and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). The joining layer was the main center of deuterium accumulation, but there were no changes in the microstructure after D2 exposure at 300 °C. The total D retention after D2 exposure at 600 °C was lower, but it was concentrated in the W/TiZr4Be/Ta seam and formation of an additional ZrFe2D2.66 phase was observed.

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Correspondence to J. Gurova.

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Gurova, J., Bachurina, D., Kozlov, I. et al. Investigation of microstructure and deuterium retention in the reduced activation tungsten-steel brazed joint. J Mater Sci 58, 14879–14888 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-08946-x

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