Technological development of the monobloc divertor concept

A technology program devoted to the assessment of the feasibility and the qualification of the monobloc divertor concept for the divertor of the NET/ITER (Next European Torus/International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) machine has been developed. The basic idea guiding the development of the monobloc divertor is discussed. In the first phase the main activities have been devoted to finding a reliable joint between the armor and the cooling pipes. A number of candidate armor materials have been investigated, chosen from among the most promising CFC currently available in combination with molybdenum alloys (T2M and Mo41Re) and dispersion-strengthened copper. Results of the test activity are reported. The design of a large-size model of the NET/ITER divertor plate in the monobloc version has been performed. Results of thermal-mechanical and thermal-hydraulic analyses of the divertor plate tubes under reference operation loads are reported