July_August_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 9 4 6 iTSSe TSS iTSSe TSS A ccording to the International Energy Agency, worldwide electricity demand rose by 4% in 2018 and could in- crease by 57% over the next 30 years [1] . The push to abandon environmentally unfriendly power generation tech- nologies such as fossil fuels is creating immense pressure to find sustainable, reliable energy sources with minimal envi- ronmental impact. This raises the question of whether nuclear energy could be the best answer. Currently, two main routes are considered suitable for the task—generation IV fission reactors and torus-shaped fu- sion reactors called tokamaks. The word comes from the Rus- sian abbreviation denoting a toroidal chamber with magnetic coils (Fig. 1). Both methods offer significant advantages over HARNESSING FUSION POWER: W AND W-Cr ARMOR COATINGS FOR PLASMA FACING COMPONENTS IN TOKAMAKS Radio-frequency inductively coupled plasma spray is a promising method for producing mechanically strong, oxidation resistant coatings as facing on tokamak vessel surfaces. Jan Cizek and Jakub Klecka Institute of Plasma Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague traditional energy sources, with the latter approach represent- ing an inherently safe energy process. In addition, fusion is clean with little radioactive waste and, considering the abun- dance of fuel, relatively inexpensive. NUCLEAR FUSION In nuclear fusion, two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a different nucleus and subatomic particles, neutrons or protons. Due to the difference in binding energy of the atomic nuclei, a significant amount of energy is released in the reac- tion—an amount surpassing even that of nuclear fission. The reaction currently considered the most promising for future tokamaks is fusion of two hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and Fig. 1 — Current tokamak Compass vessel (left) and planned upgrade to Compass-U (right) at the Institute of Plasma Physics in Prague. FEATURE 6