International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Research Applications and Utilization of Accelerators

4-8 May 2009, Vienna

AP/DM-04

Application of a Plasma Accelerator of the Dense Plasma Focus Type in Simulation of Radiation Damage and Testing of Materials for Nuclear Systems

V.A. Gribkov1,2, V.N. Pimenov2, E.V. Demina2, and M. Scholz3

1A.I. Alikhanov Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP), Rosatom, Moscow, Russia
2A.A. Baikov Institute of Metallurgy and Material Sciences (IMET), Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia
3Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion (IPPLM), KBN, Warsaw, Poland

Corresponding Author: elenadyom@mail.ru

We present some results of our experiments with use of a number of plasma accelerators of the Dense Plasma Focus type, namely PF-5M (IMET, bank energy – 5 kJ), PF-6 (IPPLM, 7 kJ), PF-10 (ITEP, 10 kJ), and the largest in the world DPF facility operating with deuterium as a working gas PF-1000 (IPPLM, 1.2 MJ). We use this set of devices for application in the field of radiation material sciences, in particular for Simulation of Radiation Damage and Testing of Materials intended for use in Thermonuclear Reactors (TNR) of both types – with magnetic plasma confinement (MPC) and with inertial plasma confinement (IPC).

These devices can produce directed streams of the same types of radiation and having the same parameters (density, temperature, spectrum, energy of fast particles, etc.), which are expected on the walls of the reactors’ chambers, independently of their bank energy (it is clear that on different areas of a sample). Power flux density of plasma and fast ion/electron streams on the sample’s surface during the experiments, which simulate conditions on plasma-facing components inside thermonuclear fusion reactors [1], may reach on the target’s surface (on the face of a specimen under test) as much as 1010 W/cm. It is about those expected in the reactors with the inertial plasma confinement and much higher than those with the magnetic plasma confinement.

We describe results on the interaction of powerful deuterium plasma and fast ion/electron streams with specimens made of ferritic and austenitic steels, different alloys, tungsten, carbon-fibercomposites, various optical and ceramic materials, etc., which are counted as a candidate materials for use as plasma facing and construction components of TNR with MPC and IPC. In our analysis of the irradiation consequences we apply optical, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, X-Ray elemental and structure analysis, ERDA, tribological methods, etc. Taking into consideration that the above materials are the main construction and plasma facing resources for I and NIF facilities, the results received are fruitful for estimations of prospects of their use in these reactors as well as in the next generation of nuclear fusion reactors. Some recommendations on the use of these materials will be presented.

[1] V.N. Pimenov, E.V. Demina, S.A. Maslyaev, L.I. Ivanov, V.A. Gribkov, A.V. Dubrovsky, Yu.E. Ugaste, T. Laas, M. Scholz, R. Miklaszewski, B. Kolman, A. Tartari, Damage and Modification of Materials produced by Pulsed Ion and Plasma Streams in Dense Plasma Focus Device, Nukleonika, 53, No. 3, (2008) 111-121.



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