Mechanical and thermomechanical properties of commercially pure chromium and chromium alloys

The mechanical and thermal properties of commercially pure chromium and the chromium-based alloys Cr–5Fe–1Y2O3 and Cr–44Fe–5Al–0.3Ti–0.5Y2O3 have been investigated in order to determine the thermal stress factor of these materials and to assess their capability to withstand high-thermal loads in fusion applications. Especially the alloy Cr–5Fe–1Y2O3 combines sufficient mechanical strength at temperatures up to 1000 °C, high-thermal conductivity and a low-thermal expansion coefficient to yield the lowest thermal stress factor of all metallic candidate materials for first wall and blanket applications. The high-ductile-to-brittle transition temperature may lead to a rather high value for the lower operation-temperature limit.