On the potential of tungsten–vanadium composites for high temperature application with wide-range thermal operation window

Fracture behaviour of tungsten–vanadium and tungsten–tantalum alloys and composites

“…Independent of the exact design of divertors, either for experimental or demonstrational reactors, connections between tungsten structures and steel structures will have to be realised at some point. Generally, there is of course the option to use materials with low thermal expansion coefficients to decrease thermal stresses resulting from constrained thermal strains, as pointed out by Hohe and Gumbsch [2]. They also proposed to use functionally graded tungsten-vanadium composites.…”

“…oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steels, and hence a decrease in thermal stresses in the region of joining would help to produce a better connection of tungsten and steel. In [2], the production of a tungsten-vanadium composite via a powder metallurgical route using hot isostatic pressing is described. There, tungsten particles are embedded in a vanadium rich matrix.…”

Microstructure and temperature dependence of the microhardness of W–4V–1La2O3 and W–4Ti–1La2O3

“…Further, the potential of W-V composites as a wide OTW material for high-temperature applications has been investigated by numerical simulation. Simulation results, and preliminary toughness and creep measurements performed on a trial W-V composite, suggest a plausible capability of V to improve the mechanical characteristics of W at low temperatures [10]. Also, it is noteworthy that Y 2 O 3 addition to W-V alloys appears to inhibit the growth of grains having sizes larger of 1 lm [11].…”

Tungsten–vanadium–yttria alloys for fusion power reactors (II): Mechanical characterization

“…In particular, the addition of V to W improves the mechanical properties and reduces irradiation damage. However, this has only been verified by simulations and not experimentally [4]. The addition of Y 2 O 3 improves the mechanical properties at high temperature because it minimizes thermal degradation [5].…”