Development of finely dispersed Ti- and Zr-doped isotropic graphites for the divertor of next step fusion devices

Finely dispersed Ti- and Zr-doped isotropic graphites have been manufactured using three different starting raw materials. The aim is to obtain doped fine grain isotropic graphites with reduced chemical erosion, high thermal shock resistance and low cost, which aim to be competitive with present carbon-based candidate materials for next step fusion devices. First ITER relevant thermal shock loads were applied on test specimens of these materials. The brittle destruction behaviour of graphite is greatly improved by doping with Ti or Zr, most probably due to a significant increase of thermal conductivity related to the catalytic effect of TiC and ZrC on the graphitization. Doped graphites manufactured with the synthetic mesophase pitch 'AR' as raw material showed the best performance from the three investigated raw materials due to its higher graphitability. The eroded surfaces of doped graphites exhibit a thin solidified carbide layer, probably caused by the segregation of liquid carbide during the thermal shot