Beryllium application in ITER plasma facing components

Beryllium is a candidate armour material for the in-vessel components of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), namely the primary first wall, the limiter, the baffle and the divertor. However, a number of issues arising from the performance requirements of the ITER plasma facing components (PFCs) must be addressed to better assess the attractiveness of Be as armour for these different components. These issues include heat loading limits arising from temperature and stress constraints under steady state conditions, armour lifetime including the effects of sputtering erosion as well as vaporisation and loss of melt during disruption events, tritium retention and permeation, and chemical hazards, in particular with respect to potential Be/steam reaction. Other issues such as fabrication and the possibility of in-situ repair are not performance-dependent but have an important impact on the overall assessment of Be as PFC armour. This paper describes the present view on Be application for ITER PFCs. The key issues are discussed including an assessment of the current level of understanding based on analysis and experimental data; and on-going activities as part of the ITER EDA R&D program are highlighted.