Macrostructure and microstructure of the carbon fibre composite UAM92-5D-B

A number of methods (TEM, SEM, optical microscopy, EPMA, XRDA) was applied to uncover the architecture and the microstructure of a carbon fibre composite developed in the Russian Federation for application in ITER. The results, especially on microstructure and defects in the different components of this composite enabled the formulation of relations between the microstructural features and the manufacturing procedures which should be representative also for other multidirectional CFCs. Because of their importance for fusion application, special emphasis was devoted (a) to the influence of the different types of inner free surfaces in CFCs on their hydrogen absorption and retention and (b) to the effect of irradiation on microstructural features which govern the mechanical properties, as, for example, toughness. Copyright (c) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.