Radiation Effects and Tritium Technology for Fusion Reactors (Report on the International Conference Gatlinburg 1975

Abstract

The high level of interest in the prediction and evaluation of radiation effects in fusion reactors was underlined by the success of the Gatlinburg Conference. Of the more than 300 total conference attendants, 150 to 200 attended the Radiation Effects sessions. There was a total of 56 papers on radiation effects, contributed from the United States of America (41), the United Kingdom (5), the Federal Republic of Germany (5), Japan (3), Canada (1) and South Africa (1). In classifying the papers by subject, the greatest emphasis was on the examination of the microstructures of irradiated samples, with 18 papers, closely followed by papers that could be grouped as theory, modelling or analytical treatments of radiation effects, with 15 papers. Experimental techniques for the evaluation of radiation effects were highlighted in 7 papers, and 7 papers dealt with radiation-produced changes in physical properties. The fraction of effort devoted to the effect of irradiation on mechanical properties was disappointingly small, with only 5 papers on this important topic. The final subject division of design analysis included 4 papers that considered the effects of different reactor design options on the radiation response of materials.