DURABLE Project Focuses on Additive Manufacturing for Fusion Reactor Wall Component Redesign
The DURABLE project utilizes additive manufacturing to redesign fusion reactor plasma-facing components. The focus is on optimizing geometries and internal cooling channels to enhance performance and reduce costs.
Current designs using tungsten monoblocks and copper cooling pipes face issues with brittleness and cracking. New techniques like laser metal deposition aim to create dense tungsten parts with built-in cooling, improving heat removal and extending maintenance intervals.
The project runs from November 2024 to October 2027, managed by VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH and funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. Key partners include toolcraft AG and Forschungszentrum Jülich, among others, working on nine main packages to industrialize the designs.
