Morphological and nanomechanical alteration of tungsten in extreme environments, like those in edge localized modes in nuclear fusion environments, up to 46.3 GWm⁻² heat fluxes were experimentally simulated using electrothermal plasma. Surface and subsurface damage to the tungsten is seen mainly in the form of pore formation, cracks, and resolidified melt instabilities. Mirco voids, rosette-type microfeatures, core-shell structure, particle enrichment, and submicron channels all manifest in the damaged subsurface. The formation of voids in the subsurface was determined to originate from the ductile fracture of hot tungsten by plastic flow but not developed to cracking. The voids were preferentially settled in grain boundaries, interfaces. The directionality of elongated voids and grains is biased to the heat flow vector or plasma pathway, which is the likely consequence of the thermally driven grain growth and sliding in the high-temperature conditions. The presence of a border between the transient layer and heat-affected zone is observed and attributed to plasma shock and thermal spallation of fractural tungsten at high temperature. Plasma peening-like hardening effects in tungsten were observed in the range of 22.7–46.3 GWm⁻² but least in the case of the lowest heat flux, 12.5 GWm⁻².

钨在极端环境下的形态和纳米力学变化，例如在核聚变环境下边缘局部模式下的变化，高达46.3 GWm ^-2使用电热等离子体对热通量进行了实验模拟。钨的表面和亚表面损伤主要表现为孔形成，裂纹和再凝固的熔体不稳定性。Mirco空隙，玫瑰花型微特征，核-壳结构，颗粒富集和亚微米通道都表现在受损的地下。确定了在地下形成空隙的原因是塑性流动导致了热钨的韧性断裂，但没有发展成裂纹。空隙优先沉积在晶界，界面上。细长的空隙和晶粒的方向性偏向于热流矢量或等离子路径，这是热驱动晶粒生长和在高温条件下滑动的可能结果。观察到在过渡层和热影响区之间存在边界，这归因于等离子体冲击和高温下断裂钨的热散裂。在22.7–46.3 GWm的范围内观察到钨中的等离子体喷丸样硬化效应^-2，但至少在最低热通量的情况下为12.5 GWm ^-2。