In this article the properties of nonmetallic materials are reviewed with regard to potential applications in fusion reactors. Among the variety of materials carbon and carbides show the best potential for use. TiC and isotopically purified B4C are candidates for 1–2 mm thick protective coatings for the first wall. The plasma spray technique would provide the potential for in-situ repair of the coatings. In addition to the use on steel structures, the low activation of such coatings would well match with low activation V-alloys in later reactors. With regard to bulk materials the neutron damage behaviour of CFCs and of SiC/SiCs was reviewed and limits for plasma facing applications with regard to surface heat flux and neutron fluence are suggested. CFCs would reach the fluence goal for the ITER Physics Phase, but miss the fluence goal for the ITER Technology phase by a factor of two. SiC/SiCs which have been advocated as fusion reactor materials in the past few years, would reach the fluence goals for moderate heat flux components of ITER, but may be not yet be ready for use in ITER from a technology point of view. They miss the fluence goals for DEMO by a factor of about 3 and those of a prototype reactor by a factor of 10. With regard to structural applications of SiC/SiC, the use in receeded areas of the blanket with softer neutron spectrum would possibly allow operation to reasonable lifetimes of the component. Issues, as the poor hermeticity of SiC/SiC and the joining technology of ceramic components remain to be solved.
本篇文章综述了非金属材料在聚变反应堆中的潜在应用。在众多材料中，碳和碳化物显示出最佳的应用前景。TiC和同位素纯化的B4C可作为第一壁1–2 mm厚保护涂层的候选材料。等离子喷涂技术有望实现涂层的原位修复。除了用于钢结构外，此类涂层的低活化特性也使其与未来反应堆中低活化钒合金具有良好的匹配性。对于块体材料，综述了CFC和SiC/SiC的中子损伤行为，并提出了面向等离子体应用时关于表面热流和中子注量的限制条件。CFC能够达到ITER物理阶段的中子注量目标，但在ITER技术阶段的中子注量目标上相差两倍。SiC/SiC在过去几年中被倡导作为聚变反应堆材料，其能够达到ITER中等热流部件的中子注量目标，但从技术角度来看，可能尚不足以直接用于ITER。对于DEMO，SiC/SiC的中子注量目标相差约三倍，而对于原型堆则相差十倍。关于SiC/SiC的结构应用，在包层中子能谱较软的区域内使用，或许能够实现合理的部件寿命。然而，SiC/SiC的气密性差以及陶瓷部件的连接技术问题仍有待解决。