A survey of the properties of copper alloys for use as fusion reactor materials

Tensile and fracture toughness properties of neutron-irradiated CuCrZr

“…Only the tensile data at irradiation temperatures of 60-100°C and at test temperatures near irradiation temperatures were considered. The large variation of tensile stresses for unirradiated CuCrZr is most likely due to its sensitivity to heat treatment [1,3,4]. The yield stress and UTS of unirradiated CuCrZr SAA fall in the scatter band of the ITER MPH data, while the values of yield stress and UTS for irradiated CuCrZr SAA are higher than what were reported in the ITER MPH.…”

“…Heat treatments to achieve high strength of a precipitation-hardened alloy involve solution annealing at high temperature to dissolve alloying elements, water quenching to produce a super-saturated solid solution, and an aging treatment at an intermediate temperature to produce fine precipitates giving rise to high strength. Optimal combination of strength, ductility and thermal conductivity in CuCrZr can be reached by solution annealing at 980-1000°C for 0.5-1 h, water quench, and aging at 450-500°C for 2-4 h [2][3][4]. Slow cooling following the solution heat treatment or aging at high temperatures leads to coarsening of the fine precipitates and degradation of mechanical properties [5][6][7][8].…”

Investigation of thermal transport in composites and ion beam irradiated materials for nuclear energy applications

“…From a thermal conductivity perspective, the primary concern is swelling and emergence of 2nd phase precipitates, as opposed to point defects or extended defect as is the case with oxide or silicon carbide. 80 We show the ability of TR to resolve the conductivity of 2nd phase precipitates. For this demonstration, a sample was chosen that contains 2nd phase precipitates developed during the fabrication process and identified as the oxide phase of uranium.…”

“…Point defects and extended defects do not typically have a strong impact on electronic thermal conductivity, unless the material is cooled to cryogenic temperatures. 80,81 Currently, U 3 Si 2 is used as a fuel in research reactor, where operating temperatures are lower, but the fuel is exposed to higher burn-up. Recently, efforts have been initiated to understand the behavior of this material under irradiation conditions representative of commercial nuclear reactors.…”

Thermal Conductivity of Cu-Cr-Zr-Ti Alloy in the Temperature Range of 300–873 K

“…Cu-Cr-Zr alloy is a candidate material for high heat flux applications like the inner wall of a thrust chamber and the first wall of nuclear reactor owing to its high conductivity and strength [1,2]. The high conductivity of the alloy is attributed to the low solubility of Cr and Zr in copper at room temperature [3], while the strength is due to the precipitation of Cr and Cu 5 Zr in copper matrix [4,5].…”