Materials

We develop and produce novel multicomponent materials that would have superior thermal and mechanical properties upon exposure to reactor-relevant heat loads and radiation doses. Development uses numerical simulations and additive manufacturing (3D printing). Following the first prototype tests, the studied material solutions and their production methods will be scaled to products or mock-ups for fusion reactors and fusion-relevant environments. In these studies, VTT collaborates with Finnish SMEs in the fields of additive manufacturing and production of coatings.

The work also aims to find new material solutions to shield sensitive electronics, optical components, and sensors from damages that extreme heat and particle and radiation loads may induce on them during the operation of fusion reactors. Here, intelligent materials in active or adaptive multifunctional systems with inherent capabilities for self-sensing, diagnostic and control capabilities are foreseen.

VTT’s approach is multi-physical in terms of design methods, i.e., modelling and simulation methods that are primarily micromechanical in origin are proposed that can assess behaviour with superior accuracy and predictive capability. These methods VTT has been developing in-house. The capabilities can be utilised to identify performance critical characteristics and evaluate viable solutions or routes for mitigation to drive forwards robust concepts and techniques.

Materials research focuses on the study of the behaviour of materials under the proposed operating conditions in fission and fusion reactors. Hot cells at the VTT Centre for Nuclear Safety (Espoo) are dedicated to complete testing of the mechanical properties of materials and materials research.

Hot cell facilities are designed to comprehensively cover the experiments of non-irradiated and irradiated materials research, from the fabrication of diverse types and shapes of test specimens to mechanical tests, and the preparation of metallographic samples to fractography analyses by using various microscope techniques.

Industrial contribution is essential in the development and construction of the magnet systems of large fusion reactors. Finland has strong references from ITER. Luvata is a group company of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, which employs over 27,000 people globally. Luvata is a combination of metallurgical expertise, application know-how and close customer relationships coming together to make the most of copper-based metals, and its products are used in current and future energy, health care, automobile, electrical, and consumer product industries. Luvata employs 1,400 people at 12 plants in 7 countries. Luvata Pori Oy in Finland is the group’s main plant and employs 350 professionals.

We develop and produce novel multicomponent materials that would have superior thermal and mechanical properties upon exposure to reactor-relevant heat loads and radiation doses. Development uses numerical simulations and additive manufacturing (3D printing). Following the first prototype tests, the studied material solutions and their production methods will be scaled to products or mock-ups for fusion reactors and fusion-relevant environments. In these studies, VTT collaborates with Finnish SMEs in the fields of additive manufacturing and production of coatings.

The work also aims to find new material solutions to shield sensitive electronics, optical components, and sensors from damages that extreme heat and particle and radiation loads may induce on them during the operation of fusion reactors. Here, intelligent materials in active or adaptive multifunctional systems with inherent capabilities for self-sensing, diagnostic and control capabilities are foreseen.

Importantly, VTT can provide a platform for Finnish companies to tailor their processes in producing different fusion relevant materials. This integrates the companies into the European network so that they will have the opportunity to be involved in tendering processes for ITER and DEMO.