New WC-Cu thermal barriers for fusion applications: High temperature mechanical behaviour

The combination of tungsten carbide and copper as a thermal barrier could effectively reduce the thermal mismatch between tungsten and copper alloy, which are proposed as base armour and heat sink, respectively, in the divertor of future fusion reactors. Furthermore, since the optimum operating temperature windows for these divertor materials do not overlap, a compatible thermal barrier interlayer between them is required to guarantee a smooth thermal transition, which in addition may mitigate radiation damage.