ITER RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT ON BREEDER BLANKET MATERIALS

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) activity includes specific R&D in critical areas to support the ITER design. Several of the critical tasks defined as part of the ITER validating R&D are materials related. This paper presents a summary of the breeder/blanket materials related R&D conducted by the four participating parties; viz., European Community, Japan, Soviet Union and the United States. The current effort includes several subtasks in each of the following four task areas: (i) ceramic breeder materials, (2) lead-lithium breeder, (3) aqueous salt solutions, (4) neutron multiplier materials. The objective and scope of each subtask is stated. Although this work was initiated in late 1988, important results have been obtained in all four areas. The work on ceramic breeders includes properties measurements, compatibility studies, and tritium recovery experiments with Li2O and selected ternary ceramics. Investigations on the lead-lithium breeder have focused primarily on properties, compatibility, and tritium extraction from the 17L-83Pb eutectic alloy. The work on the aqueous salt breeders includes corrosion, solution chemistry, and radiolysis effects in a radiation environment. Investigations defined under the neutron multiplier task are focused on beryllium; however, lead in the lithium lead alloy also serves as a neutron multiplier. The schedule and planned future work in each area are summarized.