Optimization of armour geometry and bonding techniques for tungsten-armoured high heat flux components

AbstractJoining of tungsten with copper-based cooling structure and armour geometry optimization are the major aspects in development of the tungsten-armoured plasma facing components (PFC). Fabrication techniques and high heat flux (HHF) tests of tungsten-armoured components have to reflect different PFC designs and acceptable manufacturing cost. The authors present the recent results of tungsten-armoured mock-ups development based on manufacturing and HHF tests. Two aspects were investigated—selection of armour geometry and examination of tungsten–copper bonding techniques. Brazing and casting tungsten–copper bonding techniques were used in small mock-ups. The mock-ups with armour tiles (20×5×10, 10×10×10, 20×20×10, 27×27×10) mm3 in dimensions were tested by cyclic heat fluxes in the range of (5–20) MW/m2, the number of thermal cycles varied from hundreds to several thousands for each mock-up. The results of the tests show the applicability of different geometry and different bonding technique to corresponding heat loading. A medium-scale mock-up 0.6-m in length was manufactured and tested. HHF tests of the medium-scale mock-up have demonstrated the applicability of the applied bonding techniques and armour geometry for full-scale PFC's manufacturing.