Irradiation-induced gas production in REBCO-based magnet materials used for future compact fusion reactors
Abstract
Nuclear fusion is an enticing alternative to current sources of energy, with multilayered Rare-Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) coated conductors deemed pivotal in the race toward fully realized, commercially viable, and magnetic confinement fusion reactors. In this study, we simulated the ion spectrum expected to evolve from REBCO's nickel-based Hastelloy C-276 substrate and copper stabilizer in an affordable robust compact-like reactor. We then emulated this gas production through helium implantation to investigate changes in materials and superconducting properties. Our results revealed that the substrate and stabilizer are capable of producing protons energetic enough to recoil throughout the tape thickness in appreciable doses, and alphas energetic enough to deposit 7.54 × 1014 ions/cm2 or 50.1 helium appm in the superconducting layer over a 30-year reactor lifetime. The superconducting layer of SuperPower® tapes exhibited at least double the swelling rate of the other major layers, and both SuperPower and Fujikura Ltd. tapes displayed microstructural changes in the REBCO layer not observed in isotropic metals. For the estimated lifetime fluence, the Fujikura tapes showed a ∼1 K reduction in critical temperature and a 32% degradation in critical current for compact reactor-relevant conditions (16 T, 20 K). Nuclear transmutation, low-temperature solder implantations, gas-ion evolution, the influence of gas production on vortex dynamics, and other related considerations are also discussed.
Article Details
Journal Info
Journal of Applied Physics
American Institute of Physics
Authors (15)
Chris Reis
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California 1 , Berkeley, California 94709,
Chase Gesteland
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California 1 , Berkeley, California 94709,
Mehdi Balooch
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California 1 , Berkeley, California 94709,
Kooknoh Yoon
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California 1 , Berkeley, California 94709,
Jonathan Lee
Masami Iio
High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) 5 , Tsukuba 305-0801,
Toru Ogitsu
High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) 5 , Tsukuba 305-0801,
Makoto Yoshida
Hamilton Parrish
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California 1 , Berkeley, California 94709,
Ella Yarossi
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California 1 , Berkeley, California 94709,
Tengming Shen
Accelerator Technology and Applied Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 1 , Berkeley, California 94720,
YongQiang Wang
Lee Bernstein
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California 1 , Berkeley, California 94709,
Soren Prestemon
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2 , Berkeley, California 94720,
Peter Hosemann
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California 1 , Berkeley, California 94709,