Deuterium retention in TiC and TaC doped tungsten at high temperatures

Abstract

Samples made of tungsten doped either with titanium carbide (W-1.1TiC) or tantalum carbide (W-3.3TaC) were either exposed to D 2 gas at a pressure of 100 kPa at 800963 K or irradiated by 38 eV/D ions at 800 K. The deuterium (D) inventory in the samples was examined by nuclear reaction analysis and thermal desorption spectroscopy. The D bulk concentration and total retention in W-3.3TaC were comparable in all cases to that in pure polycrystalline W. The D bulk concentration in W-1.1TiC was more than one order of magnitude higher than that in pure W after exposure to D 2 gas, and was also several times higher than that in W-1.1TiC after irradiation at 800 K. It is suggested that D trapping inside the carbide precipitates in W-1.1TiC becomes essential at high temperatures.

Powder Metallurgy Processing of a WxTaTiVCr High-Entropy Alloy and Its Derivative Alloys for Fusion Material Applications

“…The chemical composition of xW s fulfills the reduced-activation criteria (which are commonly followed for producing reduced-activation steels (Section S1)) 105, 106, 113 . However, the analysis of reduced-activation behavior, irradiation resistance 149 , hydrogen retention 22 and high temperature mechanical properties 90 will be necessary prior to its utilization as an armor material in future fusion reactors including DEMOnstration power station (DEMO), where it can be applied as an armor material for ‘divertor’ and ‘first wall’ to face fusion plasma, neutron flux, tritium and plasma dust at a temperature level which has never been seen before.…”

Tungsten-Based Composites for Nuclear Fusion Applications

“…Indifferently, toughness and flexural strength increases with TiC up to 20% then again decreases [68]. The addition of 0.1wt%TiC to W produces a composite having a recrystallization temperature of 1500°C [69] but 0.1wt%TiC and 1.1wt%TiC/W don't affect deuterium retention capabilities of W [69,70].…”

“…High agglomeration of TaC particles and brittleness in the resultant composites were observed [20]. In addition to powder injection molding, attempts to produce TaC/W composites with enhanced properties using SPS, hot rolling followed by annealing [60] and mechanical alloying with subsequent hot isostatic pressing have been used [61].…”

“…Thermal desorption spectroscopy revealed slightly higher deuterium retention in 1.1%TiC/W as compared to pure W after exposure to D 2 gas. However, it was significantly higher after D ion irradiation [61]. The deuterium retention properties of TiC/W when examined by irradiating TiC/W composite samples with 200 eV/D ions at fluence levels ranging from 1×10 22 to 1×10 24 D/m 2 at a temperature of 37°C or with 38 eV/D ions at fluence levels ranging from 6×10 22 to 6×10 24 D/m 2 at temperatures of 27 and 327°C were examined.…”

Physical Properties and Microstructural Characterization of Mechanically Alloyed and Sintered W-2wt%B4C-xwt%C (x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 1) Composites

“…With a density of 19.25 g/cm 3 , W is also among the heaviest metals. W matrix composites reinforced with carbide, boride, and oxide particles are quite attractive for different structural applications and for some nuclear applications at high temperatures and at severe service conditions [1][2][3][4][5][6].…”