Plasma facing component with built-in tungsten wires and a W-Cu functionally graded layer: A finite element assessment

A new model for a plasma-facing component with built-in tungsten wires and a W-Cu functionally graded layer is proposed and investigated. Using ABAQUS software on the basis of finite element method, the distributions of temperature and thermal stress in different first wall models under normal ITER operation condition are simulated. The result shows that W-Cu functionally graded layer instead of Cu layer can significantly reduce the high thermal stress at the interface of tungsten and copper. Inclusion of W wires further decreases the thermal stress in W-Cu functionally graded layer. A variety of comparative simulations are performed to achieve the optimal design of this model, especially the diameter and spacing of tungsten wires.