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  4. Initial experiments to regenerate the surface of plasma-facing components by wire-based laser metal deposition
 
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2024
Journal Article
Title

Initial experiments to regenerate the surface of plasma-facing components by wire-based laser metal deposition

Abstract
Plasma-facing components (PFC) in nuclear fusion reactors are exposed to demanding conditions during operation. The combination of thermal loads, plasma exposure as well as neutron induced damage and activation limits the number of materials suitable for this application. Due to its properties, tungsten (W) is foreseen as plasma-facing material (PFM) for the future DEMOnstration power plant. It is considered suitable due to its exceptionally high melting point, excellent thermal conductivity, low tritium retention and low erosion resistance during plasma exposure. But even tungsten armored PFCs have a limited lifetime due to, among other factors, surface erosion and the resulting thickness reduction of the armor material. In-situ local deposition of tungsten by means of additive manufacturing (AM) could counteract surface erosion and thus increase the service life span of PFCs. After evaluation of the potential AM processes qualified for this task, the wire-based laser metal deposition (LMD-w) process was selected as the most suitable process. First trials were conducted to examine if it is possible to reliably deposit tungsten onto tungsten substrate using the LMD-w process. In these first studies, single welding beads were generated, and in later experiments, entire layers were created from several welding beads which are arranged next to each other. To ensure reproducibility of the results, the substrate temperature was kept constant. Further experiments aimed at the elimination or minimization of problems such as oxidation, occurrence of balling defects, porosity, cracking, surface waviness and insufficient connection to the substrate. To increase the welding bead quality, the input parameters like laser power, deposition velocity, wire feed rate, inert gas flow, as well as the wire position were optimized. Furthermore, stacking of several layers, as well as the remelting of an already created layer, were carried out and investigated. This study represents the first steps in testing the feasibility of an in-situ surface regeneration concept for PFCs.
Author(s)
Tweer, Jannik
Forschungszentrum Jülich  
Day, Robin  
Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnologie IPT  
Derra, Thomas  orcid-logo
Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnologie IPT  
Dorow-Gerspach, Daniel
Forschungszentrum Jülich  
Loewenhoff, Thorsten
Forschungszentrum Jülich  
Wirtz, Marius
Forschungszentrum Jülich  
Linsmeier, Christian
Forschungszentrum Jülich  
Bergs, Thomas  
Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnologie IPT  
Natour, Ghaleb
Forschungszentrum Jülich  
Journal
Nuclear materials and energy  
Open Access
DOI
10.24406/publica-2398
10.1016/j.nme.2023.101577
File(s)
Full text.pdf (8.35 MB)
Rights
CC BY 4.0: Creative Commons Attribution
Language
English
Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnologie IPT  
Keyword(s)
  • Nuclear fusion

  • Additive manufacturnig (AM)

  • Wire-based laser metal deposition (LMD-w)

  • Surface regeneration

  • Tungsten (W)

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