Recent progress in small specimen test technology

Materials to deliver the promise of fusion power – progress and challenges

“…Research is currently ongoing to determine the best material choices for a number of plasma diagnostics. The technologies Table 1 Summary of some of the major fusion materials achievements accomplished within past 10 years [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Demonstrated via experiments and MD simulations that fusion defect production 'source term' is similar to that for fission (validates the use of fission reactors for initial testing and screening) [5] Provisional operating windows have been established for all three classes of reduced activation structural materials, based on radiation embrittlement, thermal creep, thermal conductivity, and void swelling considerations [6][7][8][9] (fusion-relevant He/dpa condition still to be probed) Fundamental procedures for fabricating and joining all three classes of structural materials have been established [5,[10][11][12] Development of miniaturized specimen test techniques: evolution from qualitative screening guide to quantitative data generation [5,[13][14][15] Application of Master Curve technique to unify fracture data obtained on different specimen geometries, strain rate, constraint factor, etc. [16] Operating limits for irradiated Cu alloys defined [9,17,18] Determined that permanent radiation-included electrical degradation is not of significant concern for ceramic insulators in next-step machines such as ITER [19,…”

“…[16] Operating limits for irradiated Cu alloys defined [9,17,18] Determined that permanent radiation-included electrical degradation is not of significant concern for ceramic insulators in next-step machines such as ITER [19,20] Developed radiation-resistant SiC/SiC composites, based on fundamental information obtained from systematic studies on irradiated fibers, monolithic SiC, and SiC composites [21,22] for fabricating complex, reactor-relevant scale components and the experience obtained from operations in ITER will provide a strong foundation from which to build toward Demo. Table 1 summarizes some of the major fusion materials achievements accomplished within the past 10 years, encompassing both fundamental and applied research [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. The ITER-specific accomplishments summarized in the preceding paragraphs are not included in Table 1.…”

Use of the failure assessment diagram to deduce ductile fracture toughness of the RAFM steel EUROFER97

“…Development of Small Specimen Testing Technologies (SSTT) is of essential importance in a view of qualification of irradiated structural materials for future fusion power plants [1]. The key SSTT criteria are reduced specimen size and reliably scalable experimental results.…”

From materials development to their test in IFMIF: an overview

“…Indeed, many different techniques using small specimens have been developed to assess the mechanical response of materials after irradiation. These tests include: tension, fatigue, Charpy impact, creep and stress corrosion cracking experiments as well as non-standard tests [50]. In the following, the discussion is restricted to the current development of one test technique for ultra-small specimens, which has the potential to extract the constitutive behaviour precisely.…”