Great Country Academician

On the other side, Peng Hongxi stood beside Xu Chuan, with some anticipation and nervousness in his turbid old eyes, besides, there was also a trace of worry.

The importance of the first wall material for controllable nuclear fusion technology is beyond doubt.

The high-energy neutron beams produced in the process of deuterium-tritium fusion are a worldwide problem. If it is not solved, there will be no hope for controllable nuclear fusion.

But now, a glimmer of hope is in front of him, which naturally makes him look forward to and nervous.

As for the worry, part of it comes from the experiment in front of them, worrying that the materials they developed may not have such a good anti-neutron radiation effect in high-energy neutron radiation.

But more, it comes from the national treasure-level young scholar in front of him.

Compared with others, as a manager responsible for the daily technical issues related to controllable nuclear fusion, he often discusses various tasks with this person in daily contact, and he also understands this person's thinking to a large extent.

If today's experiment confirms the anti-neutron radiation performance of the zirconia carbon composite material, then the next step is the construction of the demonstration reactor.

This will be the first demonstration reactor in Huaguo and the first demonstration reactor in the world.

You must know that two years ago, controllable nuclear fusion was still manipulating high-temperature and high-density plasma in seconds, but now, in the blink of an eye, the construction of demonstration reactors that can actually generate electricity and be used commercially will begin.

It has to be said that in his opinion, this step is indeed a bit big.

There are still many problems in controllable nuclear fusion technology that have not been fully resolved. For example, although there is an idea for tritium self-sustainment, it has not been specifically perfected, or key issues such as the tearing of the magnetic surface in the tokamak device have only been obtained at present. In addition to suppression, it has not been completely resolved, and even the operation time of the high-density plasma, they have not completed at least 24 hours of operation.

At this point, it is too urgent to start the construction of the demonstration reactor directly.

Of course, in this mind, the older generation is cautious, and the idea of ​​seeking a complete solution before making meritorious deeds also plays a part.

Compared with the younger generation, the older generation has experienced a lot of suffering. When the country had nothing, they walked a road with insufficient funds, materials and personnel, which made them develop a cautious and foolproof mind.

After all, at that time, the motherland was really poor and could not afford all kinds of extravagance.

Of course, nowadays, the motherland is relatively rich and powerful. It is completely feasible to use money, funds and manpower to save time by trial and error, especially in the field of controllable nuclear fusion.

Because the first wall material has not yet been resolved, every start of deuterium-tritium fusion experiment is quite precious, and the time will not be very long.

However, Xu Chuan had great hopes for the materials this time, so he extended the deuterium-tritium fusion time to two minutes at the risk of further damage to the first wall.

The temperature in the Dawn fusion reactor chamber began to drop rapidly as the ICRF heating antennas stopped functioning.

The heat generated by the fusion of a small amount of deuterium-tritium raw material is not enough to maintain its own reaction, coupled with the operation of the water-cooled divertor, the temperature of the plasma in the chamber quickly fell below the million level, and continued to decrease steadily.

After waiting for the device to cool down completely, under the personal leadership of Zhao Hongzhi, two engineers wearing radiation protection suits quickly entered the reactor chamber and removed the previously deployed material samples and control samples from the first wall.

The external staff took the samples carefully and stored them in corresponding containers.

These sample materials will be sent to the research institute, and the residues of the samples will be tested through special testing equipment.

The most critical thing is the neutron radiation damage test.

Both the value of DPA and the neutron penetration rate of the material determine whether the carbon composite material with zirconia as an additive can really be applied to the first wall.

When the last group of experimental samples was removed, the engineers responsible for overhauling the equipment quickly entered the reactor chamber with testing equipment, and began to evaluate the damage of the first wall material, divertor, and overall structure.

The two-minute fusion reaction of deuterium-tritium raw materials has doubled the longest time they have ever started. No one knows how much damage will be done to the first wall and the fusion reactor structure in this case.

Of course, damage to the Daybreak Fusion Reactor is not the current focus.

At this moment, everyone's attention is focused on the anti-neutron radiation materials sent to the research institute, which is the key to the real fate.

As the materials were sent into the testing room, leaders including Xu Chuan and Peng Hongxi also followed.

The first thing to do is naturally the neutron radiation damage detection.

This is the core.

Under the personal leadership of Professor Zhao Guanggui, it took nearly two hours, and the DPA destructive physical analysis test, neutron penetration and residual test report came out.

When Zhao Guanggui came out with the test report, almost everyone in the laboratory surrounded him.

"what's the result?"

"Is it up to par?"

"How's the test result, Professor Zhao?"

There were endless inquiries, and Zhao Guanggui stood in the crowd, holding the thin test report tightly in his hand, and met Xu Chuan's gaze.

With excitement and excitement in his eyes, he nodded vigorously, and said excitedly and tremblingly: "From the test report, the carbon composite material with zirconia as the catalyst can withstand high-energy neutron irradiation two times. Under the test of 10 minutes, the performance displayed is quite excellent! The neutron radiation damage fully meets the requirements of the first wall material!"

Hearing this, violent cheers erupted in the laboratory.

Peng Hongxi opened his mouth slightly, his eyes were moist.

Gao Hongming was even more delighted than he could be himself.

Everyone had smiles of joy on their faces.

The result of neutron radiation damage is the core key.

There is no problem with this test, which means that the first wall material, did it!

Hearing Zhao Guanggui's report, Xu Chuan also had a smile on his face. He reached out to take the test report from the other party's hand and read it carefully.

[Irradiation conditions: deuterium-tritium fusion, irradiation temperature is 2945.15K]

[Irradiation material: experimental group (zirconia carbon composite material) control group (austen steel + tungsten gold)],

[DPA production rate: experimental group (0.0067%), control group (7.4%)]

[Neutron penetration rate: experimental group (99.958%), control group (59.81%)]

[Self-healing properties of Frenkel crystal defects: experimental group (observed grain boundary reconstruction, current efficiency is 58.92%), control group (no trace of reconstruction detected)]

【.】

The numerical values ​​of each item flashed through his eyes, and the corners of Xu Chuan's mouth curved slightly.

Judging from the test report, the zirconia-carbon composite material still exhibits excellent performance in the face of 14.1 Mev-level high-energy neutron irradiation produced by deuterium-tritium fusion.

Not only is the DPA destructive physics quite excellent in terms of data, but the grain boundary reconstruction ability endowed by atomic cycle technology also shows quite strong performance in materials.

It can repair those neutron irradiation damages and reconstruct the destroyed carbon nanotube zirconium crystals to maintain the stability of the material itself.

As for the neutron penetration rate, although it is slightly reduced in the high-energy level region, it does not affect the overall performance. Compared with the amount of neutrons produced by deuterium-tritium fusion, the lost neutrons are less than a drop in the bucket , is perfectly acceptable.

I have to say that today's experiment was quite successful.

The zirconia-carbon composite material, as expected, exhibited extremely excellent performance.

Staring at the test report in his hand, Xu Chuan thought, with a smile on his lips, the construction of the demonstration reactor can begin.

It's just that I have to write another letter.

After handing over other work to Peng Hongxi, Xu Chuan returned to his office with the test report of the zirconia carbon composite material.

The white letter paper was spread on the table, he pondered for a while, and after organizing his words, the signature pen in his hand landed on the paper.

【Your Excellency:】

[Hello, recently, the Qixia Controllable Nuclear Fusion Project has ushered in a major breakthrough. 】

[I believe you should already know that with regard to the material of the first wall, after the unremitting efforts of many researchers in the Institute, we have found a material suitable for the first wall of the controllable nuclear fusion reactor chamber]

[In terms of controllable nuclear fusion technology, Qixia Controllable Nuclear Fusion Project has mastered many puzzles. First of all, in terms of plasma confinement, the dawn fusion device has completed more than two hours of high-density plasma operation (of course, if necessary, we can do longer), and on the first wall material, we have now also found Appropriate materials, the remaining problems, I believe we have enough ability to solve. 】

[The progress of the dawn fusion device, let us see the hope that the controllable nuclear fusion technology will be realized in the near future, and the dream will come true. There is nothing better than this. 】

[Of course, this is inseparable from the long-term strong support and trust of the country. 】

【.】

After spending some time, Xu Chuan finished writing the letter and handed it to Zheng Hai.

The purpose of writing this letter is not to ask for scientific research funding. The last time the 20 billion funding has not been spent. This time I wrote the letter, on the one hand, to report the good news, and on the other hand, to ask the higher authorities to arrange manpower to handle the construction of the demonstration reactor.

The experimental reactor and the demonstration reactor are two completely different things. The latter is much larger than the former in terms of scale and supporting equipment, and its construction is more cumbersome.

Of course, in addition to this, there are relevant preparations for the above.

With the first wall material resolved, he now has enough information to make controlled fusion possible.

After all, some of the latter problems will never be more difficult than the long-term control of the first wall material and high-temperature and high-density plasma turbulence.

And if the problem of controllable nuclear fusion is really solved, the impact will definitely be shocking.

Not just in the economic and energy sense, but also in the political sense.

Even controlled fusion itself requires proper arrangements and disposal.

PS: There is another chapter in the evening, asking for a monthly pass.