국립 부경대학교

PKNU develops a structural material evaluation system for Korean fusion reactors

Professor Noh Sang-Hoon

Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-Soo) is drawing attention from the public as it begins to develop a core performance verification and evaluation system for structural materials for Korean nuclear fusion reactors.

Pukyong National University announced that it is selected for the nuclear fusion leading technology development project of 2022 supervised by the Ministry of science and ICT to carry out the research task of 'developing an ion irradiation test and evaluation system for nuclear fusion materials'.

Including Pukyong National University (research led by prof. Noh Sang-Hoon), which oversees and supervises research, the university of Ulsan, the Korea atomic energy research institute, Kookmin university, Hanyang university, etc. individually manages R&D tasks. From this month to December 2026, a government grants of 5.7 billion won will be invested in this research project.

The goal of this study is to build a neutron and ion-irradiation test system for reduce activation ferritic martensitic (RAFM) steels, which is a structural material of key parts in a fusion reactor used for fusion power generation, with our own technology

Currently, Korean ferritic martensitic steel for fusion reactor design has been developed in Korea and various characteristics are being evaluated, and especially, neutron and ion-irradiation tests and the development for material property database are essential.

Accordingly, including Pukyong National University began to develop ion irradiation test technology for reduced activation structural materials and welding joint materials and to build a test evaluation system, the university of Ulsan develops a test method for changes in microstructure and mechanical properties by neutron and ion irradiation of nuclear fusion structural materials.

The Korea atomic energy research institute will upgrade the high energy ion beam irradiation room based on heavy ion accelerators for testing and evaluating nuclear fusion structural materials and secure operational stability, accordingly, Kookmin university and Hanyang university plan to develop multidimensional simulations of damage caused by ion beam irradiation of fusion structural materials, and analysis and prediction technology for defect generation.

Professor Noh Sang-Hoon said, "Through this research project, I expect that our university will be able to secure advanced testing facilities and systems and directly use them for research and development of fusion materials and contribute to the development of domestic fusion materials technology and securing international competitiveness in the field of extreme environment materials."