American engineers from the University of Wisconsin in Madison have developed a new material to protect the core of a thermonuclear reactor, in which plasma heated to ultra-high temperatures circulates. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Physica Scripta (PS).
Scientists used a cold spraying process to coat stainless steel with a layer of tantalum, a heat-resistant rare earth metal. It turned out that the resulting coating is not only refractory, but also able to well trap hydrogen particles, which is important for compact thermonuclear devices.
Creating a coating using cold spray is similar to using a can of spray paint. It involves throwing particles of the coating material onto the surface at supersonic speed. Upon impact, the particles flatten like pancakes and cover the entire space, while maintaining nano-sized boundaries between them. The researchers found that these tiny gaps make it easier for hydrogen particles to be captured.
The plasma temperature in thermonuclear reactors can be tens of times higher than the temperature of stars and can reach 150 million °C. Such conditions are necessary to initiate the fusion process of hydrogen nuclei, due to which a large amount of energy is released. During nuclear fusion, some hydrogen ions can escape from the plasma, causing loss of reaction power and making it very difficult to maintain the temperature inside the substance.
Previously in China started The world’s first thorium nuclear reactor.
Source: Gazeta
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