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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
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New coolants, new fuels: A new generation of university reactors
Here’s an easy way to make aging U.S. power reactors look relatively youthful: Compare them (average age: 43) with the nation’s university research reactors. The 25 operating today have been licensed for an average of about 58 years.
Yue Xu, Xiaoping Tian, Hongyan Tan, Haiying Fu, Zheng Gong, Junjie Ni, Laima Luo
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 81 | Number 4 | May 2025 | Pages 321-330
Regular Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2024.2397220
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In steady-state operation of fusion reactors, eroded materials and contaminations, especially carbon (C), may deposit on the surface of plasma-facing components. In this work, the effects of C deposition on hydrogen isotope permeation behavior through tungsten (W)–coated reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel were systematically investigated by plasma-driven permeation (PDP) measurements in the temperature range of 633 to 893 K. A C deposition layer with thickness of ~200 nm was prepared by magnetron sputtering to simulate the formation of C impurities in the first-wall area of tokamaks. The implantation depth of incident deuterium (D) ions was estimated to be <10 nm at incident energy of 114 eV. Deuterium effective diffusion coefficients (Deff’s) for W-coated RAFM steel with/without a C layer were obtained. It was found that the C layer tended to increase Deff in the low-temperature region of ~675 to 820 K. At high temperature, however, Deff was measured be lower than that without a C layer. Nevertheless, the addition of a C layer had no significant effect on Deff compared to the W coating alone with respect to bare RAFM steels. For steady-state D-PDP flux, it was found that the C layer significantly decreased D permeation flux at low temperature. But, the permeation flux difference between the samples with/without a C layer became smaller with increasing temperature, indicating that the influence of C deposition on D permeation was negligible at high temperature. Similar D-PDP behavior was detected as increasing the incident ion flux by means of increasing plasma discharge power. Surface reemission of absorbed D as well as the D concentration gradient throughout the sample was found to be influenced by C deposition; therefore, D permeation flux changed correspondingly.