Lithium alloy chemical reactivity with reactor materials: current state of knowledge

Corradini, Michael L.; Jeppson, D.W.

doi:10.1016/0920-3796(91)90011-e

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The relative hazard of Li or PbLi reactions with water depends on the contact mode; five such modes are identified by [38]. These essentially fall into two categories: "pouring" which results in little mixing or stratified layers, and sprays, which can be either water/steam jets into Li/PbLi, or Li/PbLi sprays into water or air.…”

Section: Liquid Metal Breedersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The use of water in a fusion power core

Tillack

Humrickhouse

Malang³

et al. 2015

Fusion Engineering and Design

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a b s t r a c tWater has both advantages and disadvantages as a coolant in conceptual designs of future fusion power plants. In the United States, water has not been chosen as a fusion power core coolant for decades. Researchers in other countries continue to adopt water in their designs, in some cases as the leading or sole candidate. In this article, we summarize the technical challenges resulting from the choice of water coolant and the differences in approach and assumptions that lead to different design decisions amongst researchers in this field.

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Section: Liquid Metal Breedersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lithium, though less reactive than other liquid metals such as sodium [37], does react with oxygen, nitrogen, or water, and this reaction can be violent at high temperature. Lithium reactions with steam also produce hydrogen, via the reactions [38]:…”

Section: Liquid Metal Breedersmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of water in a fusion power core

Tillack

Humrickhouse

Malang³

et al. 2015

Fusion Engineering and Design

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“…As a result, reaction with air is not a serious issue in terms of chemical energy production or combustible gas generation. At temperatures up to 9008C, no violent reaction was observed in experiments 26 due to an oxide layer that develops on the surface of the PbLi pool. This leaves as the key concern for this event the release of 210 Po and 203 Hg from the PbLi during a spill.…”

Section: Iiie Chemical Reactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safety Assessment of the ARIES Compact Stellarator Design

Merrill

El-Guebaly

Martin

et al. 2008

Fusion Science and Technology

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“…Additionally, it has very high tritium solubility and thus, the tritium permeation levels are very low [1]. Nevertheless, lithium metal can chemically react with both water and air, produce hydrogen, and create an explosion hazard on the plant [2]. The goal of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is to find a lithiumbased alloy that reduces the fire hazards while retaining the attractive characteristics of pure lithium.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of tritium breeding ratio and energy multiplication factor of lithium-based ternary alloys in IFE blankets

Jolodosky

Fratoni

Meier

et al. 2015

2015 IEEE 26th Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE)

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) developed an inertial fusion energy (IFE) chamber concept that uses liquid lithium as the tritium breeder and primary coolant. Lithium metal has multiple benefits including high tritium breeding capability and excellent heat transfer properties. Nevertheless, lithium highly reacts with air and water to create an alkali metal fire. As a result, LLNL is now conducting research and development to identify lithiumbased ternary alloys that will keep the favorable attributes of lithium while reducing the chemical reactivity and fire hazards. 3-D Monte Carlo calculations of a simplified model of the laser IFE reactor were performed for the assessment of two characteristics: tritium breeding ratio (TBR) that is the ratio of tritium produced in the system to tritium consumed, and the fusion energy multiplication factor (EMF) that is the ratio of the total power deposited in the blanket and other regions outside the IFE chamber by neutrons, gammas, and alpha particles to the fusion power. The TBR and EMF were calculated for each ternary combination as a function of the alloy composition varying the atomic percent of each element in the mixture from 0 to 100% by increments of 5%. Mixtures that guarantee a TBR of at least 1.02 and an EMF of at least 1.10 were considered viable. It was found that (1) alloys containing bismuth or lead offer the wider range of acceptable compositions; (2) ternary alloys made of lithium, with either lead or bismuth, and a third element of zinc, strontium, barium, or copper can reduce the lithium concentration below 20%. In evaluating the overall performance of the blanket coolant, it is important to maintain the lithium concentration at a minimum to reduce chemical reactivity in lithium.

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Lithium alloy chemical reactivity with reactor materials: current state of knowledge

Cited by 21 publications

References 2 publications

The use of water in a fusion power core

The use of water in a fusion power core

Safety Assessment of the ARIES Compact Stellarator Design

Characterization of tritium breeding ratio and energy multiplication factor of lithium-based ternary alloys in IFE blankets

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