Evidence of damage in carbon fibre composite tiles joined to a metallic heat sink under high heat flux fatigue

The two years experience with Active Metal Casting (AMC) flat bonds shows t hat this technology is suitable for the: heat fluxes expected in Tore Supra (10 MW/m(2)). Tests were pursued up to 3330 cycles, with elements still fu nctional. At higher heat fluxes, fatigue damage is observed, but the bond r esists remarkably well with no tile detachment. Examination of such deliber ately damaged bonds showed distributed cracking, proving the absence of any weak link. The limitations to those higher heat fluxes are more related to the design and the base materials than to the bond itself. (C) 1998 Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.