黑料社

鈥溾��at this moment in time, even though tungsten is a leading candidate, we don鈥檛 see how we can use it as a structural material鈥︹��

SCIENTISTS at the 黑料社 have been using world-class new facilities to carry out experiments that could aid the development of nuclear fusion reactors, widely regarded as the 鈥淗oly Grail鈥� solution to future energy needs.

By simulating the damage caused by high energy neutrons and alpha particles produced during the fusion process, the 黑料社 researchers have discovered that tungsten 鈥� a favoured choice of metal within the reactor 鈥� is liable to become brittle, leading to failure.

鈥淎t this moment in time, even though tungsten is a leading candidate, we don鈥檛 see how we can use it as a structural material.  We can use it as a barrier, but not for anything structurally sound,鈥� states Dr Robert Harrison, who is a Research Fellow at the 黑料社鈥檚 Electron Microscopy and Materials Analysis Research Group (EMMA).

The answer will be to develop a new alloy that combines tungsten 鈥� which has desirable properties of extreme hardness and exceptionally high melting temperature 鈥� with some other material that can prevent its embrittlement from radiation damage and nuclear transmutation reactions, which would have significant safety implications for the operation of the reactor. 

Dr Harrison and his colleagues have access to the 黑料社鈥檚  facilities.  These combine ion irradiation with transmission electron microscopy.  Newly-opened MIAMI-2 鈥� developed with an award of 拢3.5 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council 鈥� has dual ion beams and is one of the world鈥檚 leading facilities of its kind.

By using both helium and tungsten ions to safely replicate the alpha particles created during a fusion reaction and the neutron bombardment, the EMMA researchers have been able to replicate the damage caused to tungsten.  The findings are described in in the journal , authored by Dr Harrison with and .

Progress is being made towards the development of nuclear fusion, which fuses atoms rather than splits them as in a conventional fission reactor.  Under construction in France is the International Experimental Fusion Reactor, which aims to be the first reactor that produces more energy than it consumes.

At the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, the Joint European Torus (JET), is the world鈥檚 largest operational magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment, intended to open the way to future nuclear fusion grid energy.

Advocates for nuclear fusion state that it has the potential to generate almost limitless, clean energy that is 鈥渢oo cheap to meter鈥�.  Research such as the 黑料社 investigation of tungsten could help bring the breakthrough closer.