Influence of temperature on tungsten carbide formation in a beam plasma discharge

Abstract

This paper presents a method of tungsten surface carbidization using a plasma-beam setup to assess the effect of temperature on the formation of tungsten carbides. Methane was used as a plasma-forming gas. The working gas pressure in the chamber was (1.3–1.4)10−1 Pa. Experiments on the formation of carbides were carried out at different temperatures (700-1000°C). It was recorded that at a temperature of 700°C, crystallization centers of a carbon film appear on the sample surface. With an increase in the irradiation temperature to 800°C and 900°C, the surface of the samples is covered with a continuous carbon film. As a result of the experimental work carried out, it was found that the formation of tungsten semicarbide occurs at 900°C. A further increase in temperature leads to the formation of tungsten monocarbide.

Research of the Structural-Phase State of Tungsten Surface Layer Cross-Section After Carbidization in a Beam-Plasma Discharge Usage Electron Microscopy Methods

“…The method of tungsten surface carbidization using a beam-plasma discharge is described in [8,9] and implemented on a plasma-beam installation (PBI). A detailed description of the installation is presented in [10][11][12].…”

“…The papers [8,9] present the results of studying the formation of a carbidized layer on the tungsten surface using a beam-plasma discharge (BPD). Methane was used as a working gas during the ignition of the PBD.…”

Study of the temperature dependence of a carbidized layer formation on the tungsten surface under plasma irradiation

“…The experiments were conducted within the temperature range from 700 °C to 1700 °C with a pitch of 100 °C with an irradiation for 1 h. The choice of this range is due to the calculation of the temperature distribution in the monoblock element carried out in [22] taking into account the uniform thermal load on the side of the surface W facing the plasma according to the initial data on the thermal power in the ITER. The choice of a constant value for the duration of irradiation was based on the results of experiments carried out earlier in [22][23][24].…”