186,252 research outputs found
Assessment of corrosion phenomena in liquid lithium at T < 873 K. A Li(d,n) neutron source as case study
No full textThe corrosion induced by alkali metals in steels has been the subject of long decades of intense studies under both nuclear fission and fusion research programs. Li or its eutectic Pb-17Li is the liquid metal coolant choice for fusion blankets due to the tritium breeder capability of Li. Non-metal impurities enhance corrosion, but only N becomes potentially a problem given its high solubility in liquid Li and the depletion of Cr through ternary nitrides Li-Cr-N. The low solubility of C and O allow its cold trapping to values <10 wppm, however N can only be hot trapped demanding temperatures typically of 873 K. The inherent difficulties of experimentation on physicochemical kinetics related with alkali metals lead to a confusing divergence of results available in the literature; however, the understanding of the corrosion phenomena of RAFM steels exposed to flowing Li up to 873 K is mature. Next decade, 14 MeV neutrons will be available for fusion materials testing through Li(d,n) nuclear reactions. In such a facility, a concave RAFM steel backplate will be channelling 523 K flowing Li in the region where the 40 MeV deuteron beam will be impacting. If RAFM steels are considered, two main concurrent mechanisms will take place: a) mass transport of alloying elementsalong the loop and b) depletion of Cr through formation of Li9CrN5. Fortunately, the mass transport phenomena of Cr within the ΔT = 350 K in the loop is limited due to the poor solubility of Cr in liquid Li (0.21 wppm at 873 K). In turn, at 523 K Li the activity of N to form the ternary compound is negligible. However, the high solubility of Ni in Li (2144 wppm at 873 K), suggests the presence of mass transport phenomena of Ni from the stainless steel piping; unfortunately, the physicochemical kinetics are not fully understood. Lifus 6, in operation in Brasimone (ENEA) since the end 2015, will close in a definitive manner remaining open questions. © 2017 Elsevier B.V
IFMIF: Overview of the validation activities
No full textThe Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities (EVEDA) for the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF), an international collaboration under the Broader Approach Agreement between Japan Government and EURATOM, aims at allowing a rapid construction phase of IFMIF in due time with an understanding of the cost involved. The three main facilities of IFMIF (1) the Accelerator Facility, (2) the Target Facility and (3) the Test Facility are the subject of validation activities that include the construction of either full scale prototypes or smartly devised scaled down facilities that will allow a straightforward extrapolation to IFMIF needs. By July 2013, the engineering design activities of IFMIF matured with the delivery of an Intermediate IFMIF Engineering Design Report (IIEDR) supported by experimental results. The installation of a Linac of 1.125 MW (125 mA and 9 MeV) of deuterons started in March 2013 in Rokkasho (Japan). The world's largest liquid Li test loop is running in Oarai (Japan) with an ambitious experimental programme for the years ahead. A full scale high flux test module that will house ∼1000 small specimens developed jointly in Europe and Japan for the Fusion programme has been constructed by KIT (Karlsruhe) together with its He gas cooling loop. A full scale medium flux test module to carry out on-line creep measurement has been validated by CRPP (Villigen). © 2013 IAEA, Vienna
Chemistry and relevant thermophysical properties of Pb84.3Li15.7 liquid solutions: Updated view and identification of new and coherent values
No full textThe liquid breeding blanket concept of a fusion reactor is based on the employment of the eutectic Lead-Lithium solution (LLE), where Lithium, enriched in 6Li, has the purpose of regenerating Tritium by reacting with neutrons, while Lead enhances the process acting as neutrons multiplier. Anyway, despite the huge interest on this binary system, LLE is not characterized yet by a fully consolidated description of its basic thermophysical properties and, in many cases, the spread of values reported so far in literature remains still significant. The purpose of this paper is hence to check again the many data available in literature, with a special attention to the ones more recently published, trying to explain and solve their inhomogeneity. Taking into account the general features of the Pb-Li interaction and particularly the not ideal behaviour of the Pb-Li liquid solutions, the following thermophysical properties of the LLE are dealt in detail: specific heat; density and volumetric thermal expansion coefficient; thermal conductivity and diffusivity; electrical resistivity; Sieverts' constant of Hydrogen. Based on the deep analysis of all the reported experimentation and through the adoption of several comparison criteria, the most trustable correlation is sought for each of the above properties; additionally, when a robust correlation couldn't be retrieved, a new, optimized, one has been proposed, capable also to foresee correctly the effect of small composition variations and to assure the internal coherence among linked properties. Specific heat and density values resulted at the end accurately described and not needing for additional experimentation; thermal properties and electrical resistivity can be evaluated with decent confidence, even if their uncertainty could be somehow reduced by future investigations; for Sieverts' constant it has not possible yet to identify a unique, trustable correlation, anyway the range of values correctly assumed up to 900K has been significantly restricted
Progress in IFMIF engineering validation and engineering design activities
No full textThe International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) Engineering Design and Engineering Validation Activities (EVEDA) are being developed in a joint project in the framework of the Broader Approach (BA) Agreement between EU and Japan. This project has now entered into a crucial phase as the engineering design of IFMIF is now being formulated in a series of 3 subsequent phases for delivering an Interim IFMIF Engineering Design Report (IIEDR) by mid of 2013. Content of these phases is explained, including the plant configuration detailing the 5 IFMIF facilities and their systems. Together with the Engineering Design Activities, prototyping sub-projects are pursued in the Engineering Validation Activities which consist of the design, manufacturing and testing of the following prototypical systems: Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc), EVEDA Lithium Test Loop (ELTL), and High Flux Test Module (HFTM) with the prototypical helium cooling loop (HELOKA). Highlights are described from recent experiments in the Engineering Validation Activities. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Overview of the IFMIF/EVEDA project
No full textin turn, the commissioning of the 5 MeV beam is due to start during 2017. The D+ beam through the superconducting cavities is expected to be achieved within the Broader Approach Agreement time frame with the superconducting cryomodule being assembled in Rokkasho. The realisation of a fusion-relevant neutron source is a necessary step for the successful development of fusion. The ongoing success of the IFMIF/EVEDA involves ruling out concerns about potential technical showstoppers which were raised in the past. Thus, a situation has emerged where soon steps towards constructing a Li(d,xn) fusion-relevant neutron source could be taken, which is also justified in the light of costs which are marginal to those of a fusion plant. © 2017 IAEA, Vienna.IFMIF, the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility, is presently in its engineering validation and engineering design activities (EVEDA) phase under the Broader Approach Agreement. The engineering design activity (EDA) phase was successfully accomplished within the allocated time. The engineering validation activity (EVA) phase has focused on validating the Accelerator Facility (AF), the Target Facility and the Test Facility (TF) by constructing prototypes. The ELTL at JAEAc, Oarai successfully demonstrated the long-term stability of a Li flow under the IFMIF's nominal operational conditions keeping the specified free-surface fluctuations below 1 mm in a continuous manner for 25 d. A full-scale prototype of the high flux test module (HFTM) was successfully tested in the HELOKA loop (KIT, Karlsruhe), where it was demonstrated that the irradiation temperature can be set individually and kept uniform. LIPAc, designed and constructed in European labs under the coordination of F4E, presently under installation and commissioning in the Rokkasho Fusion Institute, aims at validating the concept of IFMIF accelerators with a D+ beam of 125 mA continuous wave (CW) and 9 MeV. The commissioning phases of the H+/D+ beams at 100 keV are progressing and should be concluded in 201
The design status of the liquid lithium target facility of IFMIF at the end of the engineering design activities
No full textThe International Fusion Material Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) is an experimental facility conceived for qualifying and characterizing structural materials for nuclear fusion applications. The Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activity (EVEDA) is a fundamental step towards the final design. It presented two mandates: the Engineering Validation Activities (EVA), still on-going, and the Engineering Design Activities (EDA) accomplished on schedule in June 2013. Five main facilities are identified in IFMIF, among which the Lithium Target Facility constituted a technological challenge overcome thanks to the success of the main validation challenges impacting the design. The design of the liquid Lithium Target Facility at the end of the EDA phase is here detailed. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times': A tale of detention in time of emergency
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