Failure criteria for fusion reactor first wall structural design

Abstract

The fusion reactor first walls will be operated under severe conditions, i. e., high temperature and high radiation damage conditions. Because of the demanding conditions in which they must operate, fusion first walls can fail by various modes. Structural design rules are presented to guard against four major possible modes of failure; excessive deformation, cyclic damage at elevated temperature, propagation of flaws and radiation damage. Lifetime calculations of fusion first walls based on these design rules are presented to demonstrate the application of these rules.