Verification of design rules for EUROFER under TBM operating conditions

The aim of the activity presented in this work is, firstly, an evaluation of existing design rules considered for austenitic steels exhibiting cycle-by-cycle hardening, in contrast to the reduced-activation ferritic–martensitic steels (RAFM), which soften under cyclic loading. Secondly, we are aimed in a definition of the range of operating temperatures and loads for the current design of the test blanket module (TBM). Results of cycling tests of the EUROFER 97 have been thereby used to adjust material parameters needed for an ABAQUS-own combined non-linear isotropic–kinematic hardening model. Furthermore, a visco-plastic material model considering material damage and implemented recently as an ABAQUS user material (UMAT) has been also applied for simulations. Some important design rules within the elastic route have been evaluated and their predictions have been compared to results of cyclic simulations using the advanced material models mentioned above.