Rosatom scientists have completed the first stage of testing a special steel designed for a tokamak with reactor technologies. The material was created at TsNIITMASH and in the future will allow the manufacture of a vacuum chamber and the power structure of the electromagnetic system of a thermonuclear facility.
The development was carried out taking into account strict operational requirements: the steel must maintain strength at cryogenic temperatures, withstand significant mechanical loads and neutron irradiation, while remaining magnetically neutral – so as not to affect the field holding the plasma.
The engineers took Soviet developments as a basis, reproduced the technology in the laboratory, and adapted it to modern design tasks.
According to Ivan Ivanov, Director for Innovative Projects at TsNIITMASH, the result was not a simple copy of previous solutions. Specialists revised the chemical composition, microstructure of the alloy, and production modes, including parameters of thermomechanical and heat treatment. This approach made it possible to simultaneously increase the strength of the material and maintain its low magnetic susceptibility – two characteristics that are usually difficult to combine.
The sample obtained under laboratory conditions passed the initial check. The next stages of testing will confirm the steel's readiness for industrial application in the creation of key components of a new generation thermonuclear reactor.
