Current experimental activities for solid breeder development

Abstract

I. INTRODUCTION it ,ium containing ceramics are among the principal materials being considered for tritium production 1n future fusion reactors. To ensure a data base adequate for optimization of solid breeder materials, ongoing experimental studies are focused on resolving critical issues related to thermochemical and mechanical behavior, to tritium transport and release, and to material response to a neutron environment. Thermochemical data provide information on tritium solubility and adsorption-desorption characteristics from the ceramic surface. Low solubility is a prerequisite to ensuring low tritium Inventory. Mechanical properties measurements will focus on Young's modulus and elastic stress strain relationships. Neutron Irradiation of candidate materials in closed capsules 1s an approprUV life-test methodology. Both mixed spectrum and hard spectrum Irradiation facilities can be used advantageously. Purge flow 1n-s1tu tritium recovery experiments can be used to test tritium recovery performance of candidate materials. Along with diffusivity data, this Information 1s critical to developing a firm understanding of the ease of tritium recovery. In this paper we will discuss current laboratory and Irradiation experiments for evaluation of candidate breeder materials. Work supported by the U.S. Department of tnergy, Office of l-usion Energy, under contract no. W-31-109-Eng-38.

Preparation and characterization of lithium–titanate pebbles by solid-state reaction extrusion and spherodization techniques for fusion reactor

“…Lithium-containing ceramics such as lithium oxide (Li 2 O), lithium aluminates (LiAlO 2 ), lithium-titanate (Li 2 TiO 3 ), lithium silicate (Li 4 SiO 4 ) and lithium zirconate (Li 2 ZrO 3 ) have been considered as tritium breeding materials for the ITER test blanket module (TBM) and also for DEMO reactor [1][2][3]. Li 2 TiO 3 is one of the suitable material for TBM [4,5] due its attractive properties, such as the high lithium density, high thermal stability, tritium release at low temperature, and high thermal conductivity [6] as compared with lithium-zirconates (Li 2 ZrO 3 ), and lithium-silicate (Li 2 SiO 4 ).…”

Synthesis & fabrication of lithium-titanate pebbles for ITER breeding blanket by solid state reaction & spherodization

“…The probable Li-ceramics are lithium-silicate (Li 2 SiO 3 ), lithium-zirconate (Li 2 ZrO 3 ) and lithium titanate (Li 2 TiO 3 ) [2,3]. It is reported that Li 2 TiO 3 is the most preferred material for TBM [4,5] for its attractive characteristics, such as the high lithium density, high thermal stability, tritium recovery at low temperature, and thermal conductivity [6] compared to lithiumzirconates (Li 2 ZrO 3 ) and lithium-silicate (Li 2 SiO 3 ). To date, much work has been done on the synthesis and fabrication of Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles, characterization of pebbles, tritium release behavior [7,8] and developing a database [9] of the properties.…”

Control of particle size and density of Li2TiO3 pebbles fabricated by indirect wet processes

“…In the development of tritium breeding blankets for fusion reactors, lithium-containing ceramics such as Li 2 O, LiAlO 2 , Li 2 ZrO 3 , Li 2 TiO 3 and Li 4 SiO 4 were recognized as promising tritium breeders [1,2]. Recently, lithium titanate (Li 2 TiO 3 ) has attracted attention of many researchers from viewpoints of good tritium recovery at low temperature, chemical stability, low tritium inventory and other good properties [3][4][5][6].…”