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MM: Fachverband Metall- und Materialphysik
MM 27: Data Driven Material Science: Big Data and Workflows IV
MM 27.1: Vortrag
Dienstag, 19. März 2024, 13:30–13:45, C 243
A comprehensive screening of plasma-facing materials for nuclear fusion — •Andrea Fedrigucci1, Paolo Ricci1, and Nicola Marzari1,2 — 1École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland — 2Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
Plasma-facing materials (PFMs) represent one of the most significant challenges for the design of future nuclear fusion reactors. Inside the reactor, the divertor experiences the harshest material environment: intense bombardment of neutrons and plasma particles coupled with extremely large and fluctuating heat fluxes. The material chosen to cover this role in the fusion reactor ITER is tungsten. While no other material has shown the potential to match the properties of W, many drawbacks associated with its application remain. This work aims to produce a structured and comprehensive materials screening of candidate PFMs based on known crystal structures. The methodology to identify the most promising PFMs combines peer-reviewed data of inorganic crystals from the Pauling File database and first-principles DFT calculations of two key PFMs properties, namely the surface binding energy and the formation energy of a hydrogen interstitial. The materials that meet the necessary thermal performance to withstand heat loads are critically compared with the state-of-the-art literature, defining an optimal subset where to perform first-principles calculations. The majority of well-known PFMs - such as W, Mo, and carbon-based materials - are captured by this screening process, along with less familiar refractory materials that warrant further investigation.
Keywords: Plasma-facing materials; Fusion; Divertor; Tungsten; Materials screening