TAGS: Aerospace Coatings
Researchers uncover new insights about tungsten's ability to conduct heat. This could lead to materials advancements for fusion reactor and aerospace technologies.
Heat Management by Tungsten
In the pursuit of clean and endless energy, nuclear fusion is a promising frontier. But in fusion reactors, where scientists attempt to make energy by fusing atoms together, mimicking the sun's power generation process, things can get extremely hot. To overcome this, researchers have been diving deep into the science of heat management, focusing on a special metal called tungsten.
New research, led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, highlights tungsten's potential to significantly improve fusion reactor technology based on new findings about its ability to conduct heat. This advancement could accelerate the development of more efficient and resilient fusion reactor materials.
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What excites us is the potential of our findings to influence the design of artificial materials for fusion and other energy applications," said collaborator Siegfried Glenzer, director of the High Energy Density Division at SLAC.
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Our work demonstrates the capability to probe materials at the atomic scale, providing valuable data for further research and development," added Glenzer.
Keeping Cool Under Pressure
Tungsten is not just any metal. It's strong, can handle incredibly high temperatures, and doesn't get warped or weakened by heat waves as much as other metals. This makes it particularly effective at conducting heat away quickly and efficiently, which is exactly what's needed in the super-hot conditions of a fusion reactor. Rapid heat loading of tungsten and its alloys is also found in many aerospace applications, such as rocket engine nozzles, heat shields and turbine blade coatings.
Understanding how tungsten works with heat offers clues on how to make new materials for fusion reactors that are even better at keeping cool under pressure. In this new research, the scientists developed a new way to closely examine how tungsten manages heat at the atomic level.
The research team set out to explore the phenomenon of phonon scattering—a process where lattice vibrations within a solid material interact, playing a critical role in the material's ability to conduct heat.
Traditionally, the contribution of phonons to thermal transport in metals was underestimated, with more emphasis placed on the role of electrons. Through a combination of modeling and state-of-the-art experimental techniques, the research team shed light on the behavior of phonons in tungsten.
Source: Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science