Effect of induction heating on flaw generation and expansion

Abstract

During acceptance tests phase of plasma facing components, main performance requirements are checked. For divertor application, it is important to achieve an adequate heat exhaust capability. For ITER divertor, defects localized at tungsten to compliant layer interface are defects impacting such capability. For this reason, acceptance tests, of ITER divertor components, mainly consist in using ultrasonic testing (US) and high heat flux (HHF) tests. If a defect is detected by US tests, it is mandatory to validate that detected defect as no detrimental impact on component heat exhaust capability. At present, HHF tests can assess this performance. In this paper, we describe a test, called STING (thermomechanical STamping by Induction heatiNG), which aims to evaluate, before HHF tests, the heat exhaust evolution of plasma facing components after a moderate thermal solicitation. This paper is focused on the effect of STING solicitation on flaw generation and expansion.