Tensile and impact properties of tungsten-rhenium alloy for plasma-facing components in fusion reactor

Abstract Low temperature brittleness and high ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) are potential drawbacks related to the mechanical properties of tungsten (W) for divertor application in fusion reactors. In the present study, to improve the mechanical properties of W, rhenium (Re) addition has been applied as a solid solution alloying method. In this paper, the effects of Re addition on the tensile and Charpy impact properties of W thick plate fabricated by powder metallurgy and hot rolling were investigated, which has enough volume as the plasma facing material and the microstructural uniformity for mass-production. At the temperature below 1000 °C, the W-3%Re showed 5–30% higher strength, 10–35% higher total elongation, 100 °C lower DBTT, and 16% higher upper shelf energy than those of the pure W.