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For the next step fusion reactor the use of tungsten is inevitable to suppress erosion and allow operation at elevated temperature and high heat loads. Tungsten fibre-reinforced composites overcome the intrinsic brittleness of tungsten and its susceptibility to operation embrittlement and thus allow its use as a structural as well as an armour material. That this concept works in principle has been shown in recent years. In this contribution we present a development approach towards their use in a future fusion reactor. A multilayer approach is needed addressing all composite constituents and manufacturing steps. A huge potential lies in the optimization of the tungsten wire used as fibre. We discuss this aspect and present studies on potassium doped tungsten wire in detail. This wire, utilized in the illumination industry, could be a replacement of the so far used pure tungsten wire due to its superior high temperature properties. In tensile tests the wire showed high strength and ductility up to an annealing temperature of 2200 K. The results show that the use of doped tungsten wire could increase the allowed fabrication temperature and the overall working temperature of the composite itself.

Plasma-facing materials and components in a fusion reactor are the interface between the plasma and the material part. The operational conditions in this environment are probably the most challenging parameters for any material: high power loads and large particle and neutron fluxes are simultaneously impinging at their surfaces. To realize fusion in a tokamak or stellarator reactor, given the proven geometries and technological solutions, requires an improvement of the thermo-mechanical capabilities of currently available materials. In its first part this article describes the requirements and needs for new, advanced materials for the plasma-facing components. Starting points are capabilities and limitations of tungsten-based alloys and structurally stabilized materials. Furthermore, material requirements from the fusion-specific loading scenarios of a divertor in a water-cooled configuration are described, defining directions for the material development. Finally, safety requirements for a fusion reactor with its specific accident scenarios and their potential environmental impact lead to the definition of inherently passive materials, avoiding release of radioactive material through intrinsic material properties. The second part of this article demonstrates current material development lines answering the fusion-specific requirements for high heat flux materials. New composite materials, in particular fiber-reinforced and laminated structures, as well as mechanically alloyed tungsten materials, allow the extension of the thermo-mechanical operation space towards regions of extreme steady-state and transient loads. Self-passivating

Tungsten materials are candidates for plasma-facing components for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and the DEMOnstration power plant because of their superior thermophysical properties. Because these materials are not common structural materials like steels, knowledge and strategies to improve the properties are still under development. These strategies discussed here, include new alloying approaches and microstructural stabilization by oxide dispersion strengthened as well as TiC stabilized tungsten based materials. The fracture behavior is improved by using tungsten laminated and tungsten wire reinforced materials. Material development is accompanied by neutron irradiation campaigns. Self-passivation, which is essential in case of loss-of-coolant accidents for plasma facing materials, can be achieved by certain amounts of chromium and titanium. Furthermore, modeling and computer simulation on the influence of alloying elements and heat loading and helium bombardment will be presented.

Abstract. Tungsten is a promising candidate for the plasma-facing components of a future fusion reactor, but its use is strongly restricted by its inherent brittleness. An innovative concept to overcome this problem is tungsten fibre-reinforced tungsten composite. In this article we present the first mechanical test of such a composite material using a sample containing multiple fibres. The in-situ fracture experiment was performed in a scanning electron microscope for close observation of the propagating crack. Stable crack propagation accompanied with rising load bearing capacity is observed. The fracture toughness is estimated using the test results and the surface observation.

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Tungsten-fibre reinforced tungsten composites (W f /W) are supposed to enable enhanced toughness owing to extrinsic energy dissipation mechanisms such as interface debonding and plastic deformation of fibre. In particular, the latter is an effective source of toughening, since ductile tungsten fibre can absorb considerable amount of plastic work. For a precise evaluation of the toughening capability, the energy dissipation mechanisms need to be analysed in detail. To this end, single-fibre tungsten composite specimens are fabricated and the stress-strain behaviour of the tungsten fibre bridging a matrix crack is measured by means of in-situ high energy synchrotron micro-tomography during an uniaxial tension test. Despite the high X-ray attenuation in tungsten a sufficiently high resolution is achieved and clear images of crack extension and deformation are obtained. The amount of absorbed energy due to plastic deformation of the tungsten fibre is determined and compared with values obtained conventionally from single-fibre tension tests.

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