Mechanical characterization and modeling of brazed EUROFER-tungsten-joints

Within the scope of the European fusion power plant study for development of a He-cooled divertor, a tungsten–steel joint has been considered. A preferable joining technique is high temperature brazing. Brazed joints of dissimilar materials suffer from a mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion. The components of the joint are exposed to mechanical and cyclic thermal loads which give rise to development of high stresses and could lead to failure. Brazed joints of tungsten alloy and ferritic–martensitic steel using different brazing filler materials were studied both experimentally and theoretically. Finite element computations have been performed to calculate the stress distribution and to investigate their evolution within the course of the operational thermal load. Sample joint specimen have been brazed, investigated with respect to their microstructure, and mechanically characterized by performing bend and notched bar impact testing at different temperatures. Some plastic deformation and relatively low impact energies were measured.