Interactions of bulk-boronized graphites with deuterium plasmas in the Pisces-B facility

Journal Article · Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991 · Fusion Technology; (United States)

OSTI ID:5919702

Hirooka, Y; Conn, R W; Khandagle, M J; Chevalier, G ^[1]; Sogabe, T; Marsuda, T; Ogura, H ^[2]; Toyoda, H; Sugai, H ^[3]

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1. Univ. of California, at Los Angeles, Inst. of Plasma and Fusion Research, Los Angeles, CA (US)
2. Toyo Tanso Co., Ltd., Osaka 555 (JP)
3. Nagoya Univ., Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Nagoya 464 (JP)

Newly developed bulk-boronized graphites and boronized carbon-carbon composites, with a total boron concentration ranging from 3 to 30 wt %, have been bombarded with steady-state deuterium plasmas at temperatures between 200 and 1600{degrees}C in the PISCES-B facility. The erosion yield of bulk-boronized graphite is smaller than that of pyrolytic graphite by a factor of 2 to 3 in regimes of chemical sputtering, physical sputtering, and radiation- enhanced sublimation (RES). Plasma bombardment at elevated temperatures does not noticeably alter the near-surface composition of bulk-boronized graphite. A chemical pinning effect of boron on the migration of interstitial carbon atoms is the key to the reduction of erosion due to RES. Post- bombardment thermal desorption spectroscopy indicates that bulk boronization enhances recombinative desorption of deuterium. The enhanced deuterium desorption is responsible for the suppressed chemical sputtering. Deuterium retention in bulk-boronized graphite at temperatures from room temperature to 800{degrees}C has been measured, and it is maximized at temperatures around 300{degrees}C. The maximized deuterium retention increases by a factor of 2 as the boron concentration changes from 0 to 90%.

• OSTI ID: 5919702
• Journal Information: Fusion Technology; (United States), Vol. 19:4; ISSN 0748-1896
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
Ma
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
CARBON
DIFFUSION
DEUTERIUM
DESORPTION
GRAPHITE
BORON ADDITIONS
INTERACTIONS
PLASMA
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COLLISIONS
MATERIALS TESTING
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
SPECTROSCOPY
SPUTTERING
STEADY-STATE FUSION REACTORS
TEST FACILITIES
ALLOYS
BORON ALLOYS
ELEMENTAL MINERALS
ELEMENTS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MINERALS
NONMETALS
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
RADIATION EFFECTS
STABLE ISOTOPES
TESTING
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
700480* - Fusion Technology- Component Development
Materials Studies- (1992-)
360605 - Materials- Radiation Effects
665300 - Interactions Between Beams & Condensed Matter- (1992-)