Evaluating surface damage behavior of W-(Y0.9La0.1)2O3 composites during spark plasma sintering process improvement

In this study, W-(Y 0.9 La 0.1 ) 2 O 3 composite powders are fabricated by means of a combination of wet chemical method and spark plasma sintering. We systematically study the sintering and densification behavior of W-(Y 0.9 La 0.1 ) 2 O 3 composite powders at different temperatures and pressures. The results indicate that ultrafine tungsten-based composites with a dispersed distribution of (Y 0.9 La 0.1 ) 2 O 3 particles can be achieved under optimized temperature and pressure conditions. The optimized pressure and sintering temperature for W-(Y 0.9 La 0.1 ) 2 O 3 composites are identified to be 75 MPa and 1600 °C, respectively. In addition, the surface damage behavior of W-(Y 0.9 La 0.1 ) 2 O 3 composites induced by the laser thermal shock and helium ion irradiation are also investigated. It is shown that the presence of holes greatly enlarges the helium retention during helium ion irradiation and promotes the melting caused by local overheating during laser thermal shock. We find that the fine-dispersed distribution of (Y 0.9 La 0.1 ) 2 O 3 particles in the tungsten-based composites can effectively improve the resistance of helium ion irradiation and laser thermal shock. We hope that these findings could provide some guidance and reference for the fabrication of large-sized tungsten-based materials in fusion engineering.