The CEA is at the heart of society's challenges, particularly the energy transition. In this field, cutting-edge research is being carried out at the Institut de Recherche sur la Fusion par Confinement Magnétique (IRFM), whose aim is to develop a sustainable, environmentally-friendly energy source based on the use of fusion energy found in stars.
To produce this energy on Earth, we need to heat a medium called plasma to several hundred million degrees in high-tech facilities such as tokamaks. This challenge, rich in industrial and economic prospects, requires major scientific and technological advances that are mobilizing the scientific community. The IRFM operates the WEST tokamak as part of the European fusion program, in preparation for future experiments on the international ITER tokamak currently under construction on the Cadarache site. IRFM researchers, together with their academic partners, are also developing the theoretical and modeling tools needed to understand the phenomena at the heart of fusion plasmas, while engineers and technicians are working on innovative technologies in fields such as cryomagnetism, high-frequency wave heating and new materials for extracting intense heat fluxes.
Matériaux, physique du solide
CDD
Post-doctoral fellow in charge of copermeation measurements in fusion-relevant materials - H/F
Cadre
12
In fusion plants, tritium (the radioactive isotope of hydrogen) will need to be finely monitored to minimize its permeation and retention to comply with safety requirements and to ensure the availability of the fusion fuel. To do so, the transport and trapping properties of the materials used in the fusion plant are needed. Performing permeation experiments is one of the ways to obtain these parameters.
Such experiments are usually performed with a single isotope in first approach. However, to bridge the gap between laboratory studies and reactor conditions, the analysis of copermeation (i.e. competitive permeation between two isotopes at the same time) is required.
The postdoctoral fellow will be in charge of performing copermeation experiments on fusion-relevant materials: tungsten, Eurofer97 and stainless steel 316L using the Hypertomate permeation device in CEA Cadarache/IRFM. To that end, they will adapt the existing experimental protocol and data analysis (fit for single-isotope permeation). The resulting data will be analyzed using MHIMS to simulate hydrogen isotopes transport in materials.
This work will be performed within the GCFPM (Plasma-Facing Components & Materials Group), which has been studying permeation and retention in fusion-relevant materials for several years with a recent emphasis on fusion steels (two publications in Nuclear Materials & Energy, one in Nuclear Fusion; invited talks at ICFRM and PFMC in 2022). The work performed within this position will be dedicated to the non-radioactive isotopes.
In line with CEA's commitment to the integration of disabled people, this position is open to all. The CEA offers accommodation and/or organizational possibilities for the integration of disabled workers.
The proposed work is mostly experimental: experience in vacuum science and performing experiments is required. Good interpersonal and language skills (English written + spoken) are mandatory.
Cadarache
France, Provence-Côte d'Azur, Bouches du Rhône (13)
Anglais (Courant)
PhD in materials physics
01/11/2024