The nuclear performance of vanadium as a structural material infusion reactor blankets

Abstract

The nuclear performance of vanadium as a structural material in a deuterium-tritium fusion reactor is discussed. For comparison, calculations are also presented for niobium. The areas considered include: (1) tritium breeding; (2) nuclear heating; (3) radiation effects relating to material damage; and (4) neutron-induced activity. It is concluded that: (1) the tritium breeding characteristics of vanadium are somewhat superior to those of niobium; (2) nuclear heating in the first wall of the blanket will be substantially lower with vanadium than with niobium; (3) helium and hydrogen production in the first wall will be significantly greater with vanadium than with niobium; and (4) vanadium will exhibit an afterheat and biological hazard several orders of magnitude lower than that of niobium for times-after-shutdown of ∼ 100 days and greater.

Role of helium in the sliding and mechanical properties of a vanadium grain boundary: A first-principles study

“…Vanadium (V) and V alloys are regarded as the most promising candidates for the structural materials because of their excellent mechanical properties, high thermal conductivity, good resistance to irradiation-induced swelling and damage as well as low activation properties. [2][3][4][5][6] However, as the structural material of fusion reactors, V will be irradiated by high energy neutrons, which leads to large amounts of helium (He) produced from (n, α) transmutation reactions in V. [7,8] Although the solubility of He in metals is extremely low, it can lead to significant changes in microstructure and mechanical properties. [9,10] Consequently, understanding the role of He in the V system is a critical issue in the development of structural materials in fusion reactors.…”