Advancing Fusion Materials via Public and Private Sector Experiments in DIII-D

POSTER

Abstract

A suite of advanced plasma-facing material candidates, including tungsten (W) alloys, additively manufactured and doped W, high-entropy alloys (RHEAs), ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs), SiC-based ceramics, and boron-based materials, was tested in reactor-relevant scenarios in the DIII-D tokamak to guide material selection for future fusion pilot plants. Incident target heat fluxes reached ~2.2–2.4 MW/m² inter-ELM and ~6 MW/m² during ELMs in H-mode on material samples developed by public and private partners. Angled targets saw fluxes up to 11 MW/m² with surface temperatures >800 °C. W-based materials, including cold-sprayed and laser-powder bed AM W-Ta, doped W (K, Re), W-Ti-Cr, Ta-Ti-V-W, and ITER-grade or neutron-irradiated references, showed varied thermal stability; some alloys exhibited improved crack resistance and reduced impurity release. RHEAs revealed constituent-selective erosion and modest impurity release. UHTCs (NbC, ZrC, (Nb,Ta)C) remained intact under transient heat loads. SiCf/SiC samples showed stable thermal behavior and distinct surface changes. B and Si-based ceramics, including pure boron aggregates, underwent measurable physical and chemical sputtering.

The data collected in DIII-D will support material choices for reactor-relevant environments.

*Work supported by US DOE under DE-AC02-09CH11466, DE-NA0003525, DE-AC05-00OR22725, DE-FC02-04ER54698, DE-FG02-07ER54917, DE-SC0023378, DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Publication: J.D. Coburn, F. Effenberg et al 2025 Nucl. Mater. Energy, submitted

Presenters

  • Florian Effenberg

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)

Authors

  • Florian Effenberg

    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
    • Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)

  • Jonathan D Coburn

    • Sandia National Laboratories

  • Robert D Kolasinski

    • Sandia National Laboratories

  • Lauren Nuckols

    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Tyler W Abrams

    • General Atomics

  • Arunodaya Bhattacharya

    • University of Birmingham

  • Simon Corah

    • University of Birmingham

  • Mike Jackson

    • Tokamak Energy

  • Charles A Hirst

    • University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Eric Matthias Hollmann

    • University of California, San Diego

  • Mykola Ialovega

    • GenF
    • University of Wisconsin - Madison

  • Florian M Laggner

    • North Carolina State University

  • Samara Levine

    • Tokamak Energy

  • Erick R Martinez-Loran

    • University of California, San Diego

  • Ria Meston

    • Helion Energy, Inc

  • Xavier X Navarro Gonzalez

    • University of Wisconsin - Madison
    • University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Angelica Ottaviano

    • Thea Energy

  • Andrew J Shone

    • Tokamak Energy
    • Tokamak Energy Inc

  • Sergey Tsurkan

    • Avalanche Energy

  • Tessa Van Volkenburg

    • Helion Energy, Inc

  • Daniel Velazquez

    • Avalanche Energy

  • Aaliyah Zuniga

    • North Carolina State University

  • Jayson L Barr

    • General Atomics

  • Jose Armando Boedo

    • University of California, San Diego

  • Ryan T Hood

    • Sandia National Laboratories

  • Charlie Lasnier

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • Anthony W Leonard

    • General Atomics

  • Roberto Maurizio

    • General Atomics

  • Vincent Mazon

    • IMT Mines Albi

  • Zana Popovic

    • General Atomics

  • Jun Ren

    • University of Tennessee

  • Gilson Ronchi

    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Dmitry L Rudakov

    • University of California, San Diego

  • Dinh Truong

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • Shawn Zamperini

    • General Atomics