Comparative analysis of copper alloys for the heat sink of plasma facing components in ITER

Due to their excellent thermal conductivity, copper alloys are the obvious choice for the heat sink of the high heat flux (HHF) components in ITER. In addition to thermal conductivity, other properties have to be taken into c onsideration for the final selection of the alloy system and of the specifi c grade. For comparison, the following parameters have been taken into acco unt: tensile strength and ductility, fracture toughness, allowable strain f or fatigue endurance of 10(4) cycles, thermal stress factor, and thermal co nductivity. An assessment is made of the proposed copper alloys to be used in ITER, precipitation hardened copper alloys (CuCrZr, CuNiBe, CuNiCrSi) an d dispersion hardened copper (CuAl25). The analysis shows that CuAl25 is th e most reasonable choice for the HHF components of the primary wall due to heat resistance and satisfactory design allowable (strength, fatigue and fr acture toughness), CuCrZr is proposed for the divertor where the fatigue an d resistance to fracture are most critical. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.