Observation of a reduced-turbulence regime with boron powder injection in a stellarator

In state-of-the-art stellarators, turbulence is a major cause of the degradation of plasma confinement. To maximize confinement, which eventually determines the amount of nuclear fusion reactions, turbulent transport needs to be reduced. Here we report the observation of a confinement regime in a stellarator plasma that is characterized by increased confinement and reduced turbulent fluctuations. The transition to this regime is driven by the injection of submillimetric boron powder grains into the plasma. With the line-averaged electron density being kept constant, we observe a substantial increase of stored energy and electron and ion temperatures. At the same time, the amplitude of the plasma turbulent fluctuations is halved. While lower frequency fluctuations are damped, higher frequency modes in the range between 100 and 200 kHz are excited. We have observed this regime for different heating schemes, namely with both electron and ion cyclotron resonant radio frequencies and neutral beams, for both directions of the magnetic field and both hydrogen and deuterium plasmas.

Quality assessment of AL-C-B coatings on steel surfaces obtained by electro spark alloying

Problem. As a rule, during the operation of the product, the surface layers of materials are most affected. These can be parts that work in aggressive environments, at high temperatures, various force actions, the presence of abrasive particles, etc. Under such conditions, different types of steels and alloys are used, and, most commonly, it is high-alloy, which significantly complicates the manufacturing process and increases the cost of the finished product. Diffusion coating methods are the most widespread in the industry, which is due to the best study and ease of these processes. However, there are alternative methods of surface treatment, which are devoid of the disadvantages of diffusion methods. The goal is to develop a method of obtaining boron-containing coatings of the Al-C-B system by the electro spark alloying (ESA), applying STS to the treated surface, to study the processes of structural and phase formation of surface layers depending on the energy processes of ESA and substrate material. Methology. Samples made of steel 20 and 40 were used for the study, on which a coating consisting of their sulfur ointment, aluminum powder, amorphous boron powder was applied. Without waiting for drying, the ESA surfaces of the samples were carried out with a graphite electrode on an installation with a discharge energy of 0.13, 0.55 and 4.9 J. The surface roughness after treatment was determined on a profilograph-profilometer by removing and processing profilograms. Metallographic analysis of coatings was performed using an MIM-7optical microscope, and durometric studies were made on the PMT-3 device according to standard methods. Results: the article presents the original method for obtaining boron-containing coatings of the Al-C-B system by the ESA method, which involves applying a coating consisting of sulfur ointment, aluminum powder, amorphous boron powder on the treated surface, followed by electric spark doping with a graphite electrode.

Charge and elemental composition of plasma generated by sputtering of powder target from amorphous boron

One of the effective and widespread methods of surface hardening of metal products is an ion-plasma saturation of the surface of machine parts and mechanisms with various elements (nitrogen, oxygen, carbon). Less investigated method is the process of ion-plasma saturation of the metals and alloys surface with boron. The purpose of the present work is to develop a method for the formation and study of parameters (electron temperature, plasma potential and concentration), elemental and charge composition of plasma generated at sputtering of a target from amorphous boron powder. To achieve the stated goal, a discharge system with a hot anode made of powder boron, as well as a pulse arc evaporator with a hot cathode made of sintered boron powder, was developed, designed, created and tested. Charge and elemental composition of boron-containing plasma generated during powder target sputtering from amorphous boron are defined by optical spectrometry method. It is shown that the generated plasma contains mainly neutral atoms and single-charge boron ions, as well as iron, silicon, copper and argon particles.

Deposition of boron films using a discharge system with a hot boron anode

This work describes a discharge system for heating and evaporation of a boron powder target based on a non-self-sustained arc discharge with a filament, a hollow cathode and a hot combined anode. The measurements of the current-voltage characteristics of the discharge with a hot anode and the dependence of the anode temperature on the discharge parameters are presented. The modes of deposition of boron films have been determined.

Synthesis and Property Characterization of Ternary Laminar Zr2SB Ceramic

In this paper, Zr2SB ceramics with high relative density (99.03%) and high purity of 82.95 wt% (containing 8.96 wt% ZrB2 and 8.09 wt% zirconium) were successfully synthesized from ZrH2, sublimated sulfur and boron powder by spark plasma sintering at 1300 ℃. The reaction mechanism, microstructures, physical properties and mechanical properties of Zr2SB ceramic were systematically studied. The results show that Zr2SB was obtained by the reaction of zirconium sulfide, zirconium and boron, and ZrB2 coexisted in the sample as a symbiotic impurity phase. The average grain size of Zr2SB was 12.46 μm in length and 5.12 μm in width, and the mean grain sizes of ZrB2 and zirconium impurities were about 300 nm. In terms of physical properties, the measured thermal expansion coefficient was 7.64 × 10-6 K-1 from room temperature to 1200 ℃, and the thermal capacity and thermal conductivity at room temperature were 0.39 J·g−1·K−1 and 12.01 W∙m−1∙K−1, respectively. The room temperature electrical conductivity of Zr2SB ceramic was measured to be 1.74 × 106 Ω−1∙m−1. In terms of mechanical properties, Vickers hardness was 9.86 ± 0.63 GPa under 200 N load, and the measured flexural strength, fracture toughness and compressive strength were 269 ± 12.7 MPa, 3.94 ± 0.63 MPa·m1/2, and 2166.74 ± 291.34 MPa, respectively.

Structural Phase States and Surface Properties of Steel 45 after Electroexplosive Borocoppering and Electron-Beam Treatment

The paper concerns improving the microhardness and wear resistance of steel 45 by the combined treatment of electroexplosive borocoppering with the subsequent electron-beam treatment. It is found that surface roughness at the area of the electroexplosive treatment increases along with the absorbed power density and the mass of boron powder. The electron-beam treatment leads to a decrease of roughness and appearance of craters instead of radial melt flow traces. The depth structure of the electroexplosive alloying area with a thickness of 25 µm includes a coating layer, near-surface, intermediate, and boundary layers. The surface microhardness and the depth of the hardening zone after the electroexlosive alloying increase along with the absorbed power density and boron concentration and reach the values of 1400 HV The electron-beam treatment causes merging of the coating and the surface layers and increases the hardening zone depth up to 80 µm. A cellular or dendritic crystallization structure is formed near the surface, and a grain structure is formed in the depth. The inhomogeneous distribution of alloying elements over the volume of the alloying area and its adjustment during the electron-beam treatment are established. The inter-dendritic distances and grain diameters increase as the absorbed power density becomes higher with the increase of the electron-beam treatment exposure time. Also, the size of martensite needles increases in the depth. The combined treatment produces the sub microcrystalline strengthening phases-borides FeB, Fe2B, FeB2, carboboride Fe23 (C, B)6 , and carbide B4C. The microhardness level is reduced to 800 HV, and the wear resistance increases up to five times when compared to the wear resistance of the base.