Damage prediction of carbon fibre composite armoured actively cooled plasma-facing components under cycling heat loads

Abstract

In order to predict the lifetime of carbon fibre composite (CFC) armoured plasma-facing components in magnetic fusion devices, it is necessary to analyse the damage mechanisms and to model the damage propagation under cycling heat loads. At Tore Supra studies have been launched to better understand the damage process of the armoured flat tile elements of the actively cooled toroidal pump limiter, leading to the characterization of the damageable mechanical behaviour of the used N11 CFC material and of the CFC/Cu bond. Up until now the calculations have shown damage developing in the CFC (within the zone submitted to high shear stress) and in the bond (from the free edge of the CFC/Cu interface). Damage is due to manufacturing shear stresses and does not evolve under heat due to stress relaxation.For the ITER divertor, NB31 material has been characterized and the characterization of NB41 is in progress. Finite element calculations show again the development of CFC damage in the high shear stress zones after manufacturing. Stresses also decrease under heat flux so the damage does not evolve. The characterization of the CFC/Cu bond is more complex due to the monoblock geometry, which leads to more scattered stresses.These calculations allow the fabrication difficulties to be better understood and will help to analyse future high heat flux tests on various mock-ups.