Device for characterising a liquid material

A device for characterising at least one liquid material includes an analysis head and a rotating mechanical mixer. The mixer includes a central part having an internal cavity which forms an analysis chamber, a first end connected to the analysis head, and a plurality of stirring blades which are connected to a second end that is hollow so as to ensure fluid communication between the internal cavity and the liquid bath. The mechanical stirring blades are intended to be totally submerged, the central part comprises one or more openings intended to be partially submerged, and each mechanical stirring blade comprises at least one stirring flange oriented at a non-zero angle of orientation

Device for characterising a liquid material

A device for characterising at least one liquid material includes an analysis head and a rotating mechanical mixer. The mixer includes a central part having an internal cavity which forms an analysis chamber, a first end connected to the analysis head, and a plurality of stirring blades which are connected to a second end that is hollow so as to ensure fluid communication between the internal cavity and the liquid bath. The mechanical stirring blades are intended to be totally submerged, the central part comprises one or more openings intended to be partially submerged, and each mechanical stirring blade comprises at least one stirring flange oriented at a non-zero angle of orientation

Thermomechanical analysis of tungsten-copper joints for fusion applications using digital image correlation

AbstractThe European DEMOnstration Fusion Power Plant DEMO represents a significant milestone in the progression towards sustainable fusion energy and a critical phase between ITER and commercial fusion reactors, aiming to demonstrate sustained net positive electricity production. Thanks to its properties, tungsten is a promising material for divertor armor. Coupled with copper alloys as heatsinks, they offer robust thermal management properties to deal with intense thermomechanical loads and irradiation damage. Understanding the thermomechanical behaviour of tungsten-copper joints during their application is then necessary for divertor design.This study presents experimental analysis on tungsten-copper brazed materials subjected to thermomechanical solicitations to simulate mono-block conditions with heat fluxes expected to reach 20 MW/m2 and so to face potential creep-fatigue failure. The experimental tests were coupled with Digital Image Correlation up to 400 °C to analyse the thermomechanical behaviour of these joints, providing insights into their thermal behaviour, structural integrity, damage accumulation, joint failure and identification of strains required for creep-fatigue assessment using design codes

Mechanical stirring: novel engineering approach for in situ spectroscopic analysis of melt at high temperature

International audienceThis paper proposes a novel engineering approach to control molten metals at high temperatures considering the industrial environment of such materials. To reduce analysis time and cost, in-line analysis techniques are more advantageous as they provide real-time information about melt composition. For this reason, recent research works focus on the development of new devices based on LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy). These devices allowed for analyzing impurities inside molten metals with great performance. However, improvements related to the immersion probe conception are still required. Indeed, the previous design used bubbling inside the melt, leading to spatial instabilities of the surface analyzed by LIBS. The solution presented here is mechanical stirring by innovative rotary blades which will be a part of an immersion LIBS probe. Their rotation will generate a representative, renewed, and stable surface that will be targeted by spectroscopic techniques in general and particularly by LIBS laser for molten metal monitoring at high temperatures. This solution was validated using experimental tests based on particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) in water at room temperature and then applied to silicon melt at high temperatures. To do so, it was necessary to design a system that allows the introduction of the blade in the melt and controls its rotation

Life Assessment of Metals Used in Fusion Using R5 and RCC-MRX

In the European DEMOnstration Fusion Power Plant (DEMO) fusion reactor, in-vessel components face significant thermomechanical loads. They can experience severe damage due to high thermal load cycles, coupled with severe electromagnetic loading and unprecedented levels of irradiation damage. Cooling fluids are used to extract the heat to reduce operating temperatures and for energy production. Other elements, like the shielding liner and reflector plate supports, may also experience severe creep-fatigue and irradiation damage. To assess the high-temperature structural integrity of such components, procedures in R5 and RCC-MRx are used to assess creep-fatigue, whereby fatigue is assumed from pulsed reactor operation and creep from sustained load at high temperatures. This project aims to conduct a creep-fatigue assessment of a representative joint, tungsten-to-tungsten via copper brazing (WCu). However, due to a lack of data on such fusion-specific joints, two more conventional joints are studied: a 316L similar metal weld; and a 316L-to-10CrMo9-10 dissimilar metal weld Methodologies used for creep-fatigue assessments within R5 and RCC-MRx are detailed and compared, then applied to each material using the appropriate materials data. The two procedures share similar underlying approaches however, some subtle differences may become important within an assessment

Improvement of Digital Image Correlation for the analysis of the fracture behaviour of Refractories

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