Research and development on vanadium alloys for fusion applications

The current status of research and development on unirradiated and irradiated V-Cr-Ti alloys intended for fusion reactor structural applications is reviewed, with particular emphasis on the flow and fracture behavior of neutron-irradiated vanadium alloys. Recent progress on fabrication, joining, oxidation behavior, and the development of insulator coatings is also summarized. Fabrication of large (>500 kg) heats of V-4Cr-4Ti with properties similar to previous small laboratory heats has now been demonstrated. Impressive advances in the joining of thick sections of vanadium alloys using GTA and electron beam welds have been achieved in the past two years, although further improvements are still needed.

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