Carbon fiber composites application in ITER plasma facing components

Carbon Fiber Composites (CFCs) are one of the candidate armour materials fo r the plasma facing components of the International Thermonuclear Experimen tal Reactor (ITER). For the present reference design, CFC has been selected as armour for the divertor target near the plasma strike point mainly beca use of unique resistance to high normal and off-normal heat loads. It does not melt under disruptions and might have higher erosion lifetime in compar ison with other possible armour materials. Issues related to CFC applicatio n in ITER are described in this paper. They include erosion lifetime, triti um codeposition with eroded material and possible methods for the removal o f the codeposited layers, neutron irradiation effect, development of joinin g technologies with heat sink materials, and thermomechanical performance. The status of the development of new advanced CFCs for ITER application is also described. Finally, the remaining R&D needs are critically discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.