Recent results on high thermal energy load testing of beryllium for ITER first wall application

In this paper, progress in the high heat flux (HHF) qualification testing of TGP-56FW beryllium grade for ITER first wall applications is presented. Two actively cooled Be/CuCrZr brazing mock-ups were tested under complex thermal loading conditions in the electron beam facility JUDITH-1 (step 1: vertical displacement event test at 40 MJ m−2, 0.3 s, 1 shot; step 2: disruption tests at 3 MJ m−2, 1 shot, Δt=5 ms; step 3: repetitive fatigue test at 80 MW m−2, 1000 shots, Δt=25 ms). After testing, metallographic investigations on the microstructure and crack morphology were carried out. The results of these studies of Be tiles are reported and discussed. The overall results of TGP-56FW grade qualification testing have demonstrated the reliable performance capability of TGP-56FW for application as the armor of the ITER first wall. In addition, the results of first experiments with TGP-56FW and S-65C beryllium grades in the QSPA-Be plasma gun facility are also reported. In these experiments, beryllium tiles (80×80×10 mm3) were tested in a hydrogen plasma stream (5 cm in diameter) with pulse duration 0.5 ms and heat loads of 0.5–2 MJ m−2. Experiments were performed at room temperature. The evolution of the surface microstructure and mass loss of beryllium exposed to up to 100 shots is presented.