Experimental evaluation demonstrates the radiation resistance of sintered boron carbide ceramics in ITER port plugs, indicating readiness for full-scale fusion reactor neutron shielding.
During the work on integrating the diagnostics into the ITER ports, a problem arose with providing the required radiation protection. It was proposed that a large amount of a neutron-absorbing material, boron carbide, be placed in the vacuum chamber in the port plug. The chemical composition and the thermal and vacuum properties of various B4C ceramics from several manufacturers were studied. Sintered ceramics in the form of blocks with holes were selected. A specification for the production of ceramics for ITER ports was agreed upon. Experiments on irradiation of ceramics with neutrons at the VITA accelerator were carried out. The degradation of mechanical properties after prolonged fast neutron irradiation was investigated. Serial production of sintered ceramics was started. The ITER Organization has approved the End of Manufacturing reports on the serial batches of ceramics.
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A.A. et al. (2026) studied this question.
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