Imperial College London
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Dr Sam Humphry-Baker

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Materials

Lecturer in Ceramics
 
 
 
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Contact

 

s.humphry-baker

 
 
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Location

 

LM.04DRoyal School of MinesSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Athanasakis:2020:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152062,
author = {Athanasakis, M and Ivanov, E and del, Rio E and Humphry-Baker, SA},
doi = {10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152062},
journal = {Journal of Nuclear Materials},
pages = {1--10},
title = {A high temperature W2B–W composite for fusion reactor shielding},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152062},
volume = {532},
year = {2020}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - We have developed a new material for neutron shielding applications where space is restricted. W2B is an excellent attenuator of neutrons and gamma-rays, due to the combined gamma attenuation of W and neutron absorption of B. However, its low fracture toughness (3–4MPam1/2) and high melting point (2670°C) prevent the fabrication of large fully-dense parts with adequate mechanical properties. Here we meet these challenges by combining W2B with a minor fraction (43vol%) of metallic W. The material was produced by reaction sintering W and BN powders. The mechanical properties under flexural and compressive loading were determined up to 1900°C. The presence of the ductile metallic W phase enabled a peak flexural strength of ∼850MPaat 1100°C, which is a factor of 2–3 higher than typical monolithic transition-metal borides. It also enabled a ductile-brittle transition temperature of ∼1000°C, which is not observed in monolithic borides. Compression tests showed hardening below ∼1500°C and significant elongation of the phase domains, which suggest that by forging or rolling, further improvements in ductility may be possible. These results have implications for W2B–W shield design; neutronics performance will likely improve with increased boron content, however this study suggests mechanical properties and manufacturability will degrade.
AU  - Athanasakis,M
AU  - Ivanov,E
AU  - del,Rio E
AU  - Humphry-Baker,SA
DO  - 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152062
EP  - 10
PY  - 2020///
SN  - 0022-3115
SP  - 1
TI  - A high temperature W2B–W composite for fusion reactor shielding
T2  - Journal of Nuclear Materials
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152062
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022311519315326?via%3Dihub
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/76912
VL  - 532
ER  -
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