FAbrication of Tungsten using HOt isostatic pressing and AM
FATHOM seeks to develop new design and manufacturing routes to produce more efficient cooled plasma-facing tungsten shields for the nuclear fusion industry. The project brings together expertise from the Advanced Materials and Processing Laboratory (AMPLab) at the University of Birmingham and Metamorphic.
The development of nuclear fusion power plants is a very important step towards meeting the net zero targets set by the UK government through the creation of a sustainable clean energy source. The development of fusion compliant materials that can withstand the harsh fusion conditions remains a key hurdle. Tungsten and its alloys have been the material of choice for fabricating plasma-facing components. Tungsten is typically processed using powder metallurgy (P/M) techniques (press and sinter), which are rather limited in their ability to produce complex shaped components that can withstand high temperature (>1000°K) for long periods of time (>107 s) within the reactor.
The team at AMPLab, led by Prof. Moataz Attallah, will investigate laser-based metal 3D printing and net shape powder hot isostatic pressing (HIPping) of tungsten to unlock possibilities for high-performance designs that cannot be manufactured conventionally. The successful development of these manufacturing solutions for tungsten is going to be a true gamer-changer for the nuclear fusion technology, as it will help address one of its longstanding challenges.
Metamorphic will demonstrate how this new geometric freedom enabled by AM and HIPping can be leveraged to provide novel solutions for thermal management, alongside part consolidation and mass reduction. We will be using our expertise in advanced computational design tools and CFD to improve on the current state-of-the-art of plasma-facing tungsten shields.
FATHOM is funded by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) as part of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) to encourage innovation in the fusion industry with novel and innovative heating and cooling systems, materials, manufacturing and technologies.
