Material properties and design requirements for copper alloys used in ITER

Copper alloys are proposed for use in the high heat flux regions of ITER because of their higher thermal conductivity in relation to other candidate structural materials. Two classes of copper alloys are being considered: precipitation-hardened (PH) and dispersion-strengthened (DS). The DS material is being considered for use on the limiter and primary wall, while the PH material is being considered for use in the divertor. To design a structural component and to determine its relative operational lifetime, one needs to have a detailed and consistent material properties database from which to develop design allowables. Since copper alloys have traditionally been developed for use as casting molds or electrodes, a design database does not exist on these alloys. As a result, a detailed investigation was initiated which included a literature survey along with experimental work to develop this database. The materials investigated were PH CuCrZr and DS CuAl25. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.