Development of thick copper claddings on SS316L steel for In-vessel components of fusion reactors and copper-cast iron canisters
By Singh, Surinder; Kumar, Manoj; Sodhi, Gurvinder Pal Singh; Buddu, Ramesh Kumar; Singh, Harpreet
Published in Fusion Engineering and Design
2018
Abstract
Plasma vertical stabilization is a serious concern during Tokamak operation, which may cause melting of in-vessel components. To improve the vertical stability of plasma, pure copper layer/cladding of 3 mm-thickness has been recommended. Owing to this large thickness, development of such coatings is a challenging task. In this work, Cu-claddings of thickness 1 mm and 3 mm were developed using copper powder of particle sizes <63 ?m and >63 ?m respectively by laser cladding process on an in-vessel component material (SS316L). The deposited claddings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray radiography analysis. The cross-sectional microstructure of both the claddings was characterized with the help of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscope (OM). Various mechanical properties such as micro-hardness, tensile strength, % elongation, adhesion strength, yield strength, Young