Copper matrix composites as heat sink materials for water-cooled divertor target

•Structural design criteria and materials requirements for the heat sink of DEMO divertor target are explained.•Mechanical performance of irradiated CuCrZr alloy and its impact on the structural design of target are described.•An overview on the recent R&D activities for advanced Cu-base composite materials for heat sink application is given.•Engineering achievements are presented in terms of high-heat-flux performance of the composite heat sinks. According to the recent high heat flux (HHF) qualification tests of ITER divertor target mock-ups and the preliminary design studies of DEMO divertor target, the performance of CuCrZr alloy, the baseline heat sink material for DEMO divertor, seems to only marginally cover the envisaged operation regime. The structural integrity of the CuCrZr heat sink was shown to be affected by plastic fatigue at 20 MW/m². The relatively high neutron irradiation dose expected for the DEMO divertor target is another serious concern, as it would cause significant embrittlement below 250 °C or irradiation creep above 350 °C. Hence, an advanced design concept of the divertor target needs to be devised for DEMO in order to enhance the HHF performance so that the structural design criteria are fulfilled for full operation scenarios including slow transients. The biggest potential lies in copper-matrix composite materials for the heat sink. In this article, three promising Cu-matrix composite materials are reviewed in terms of thermal, mechanical and HHF performance as structural heat sink materials. The considered candidates are W particle-reinforced, W wire-reinforced and SiC fiber-reinforced Cu matrix composites. The comprehensive results of recent studies on fabrication technology, design concepts, materials properties and the HHF performance of mock-ups are presented. Limitations and challenges are discussed.