Selection of plasma facing materials for ITER

Abstract

ITER will be the first tokamak having long pulse operation using deuterium-tritium fuel. The problem of designing heat removal structures for steady state in a neutron environment is a major technical goal for the ITER Engineering Design Activity (EDA). The steady state heat flux specified for divertor components is 5 MW/m/sup 2/ for normal operation with transients to 15 MW/m/sup 2/ for up to 10 s. The selection of materials for plasma facing components is one of the major research activities. Three materials are being considered for the divertor; carbon fiber composites, beryllium, and tungsten. This paper discusses the relative advantages and disadvantages of these materials. The final selection of plasma facing materials for the ITER divertor will not be made until the end of the EDA.