Abstract
Tungsten and its alloys are promising candidates for protecting plasma-facing components in fusion reactors such as tokamaks. However, processing is complicated by tungsten’s brittleness, CTE mismatch with copper and steel, susceptibility to grain growth and oxidation above 500 °C, and poor weldability. Given these factors, attention is shifting from conventional methods to powder and additive techniques. In this work, two technologies are employed for consolidation of W and WCr layers: cold kinetic spraying and inductively-coupled plasma spraying. Both methods overcome production challenges by depositing plasma-facing layers directly on structural parts, without the need for joining and the risk of oxidation. The properties of W and WCr coatings obtained by both methods are assessed by means of SEM, XRD, and mechanical and thermal analysis.
