Corrosion test using ARAA in the experimental loop for a liquid breeder

Abstract

Korea plans to test a Helium Cooled Ceramic Reflector (HCCR) Test Blanket Module (TBM) in ITER. Ferritic-martensitic steel (FMS) was considered a structural material, and a commercial-scale Advanced Reduced Activation Alloy (ARAA) was developed as an HCCR TBM structural material. A liquid-type TBM, i.e., a Helium Cooled Molten Lithium (HCML) TBM, is a candidate TBM for KO DEMO. In this concept, helium (He) and liquid lithium (Li) were used as a coolant and breeder, respectively. However, according to our strategy for developing a liquid breeder TBM and its more relevant DEMO concept, liquid breeders not only consider liquid lithium but also lead-lithium (PbLi). An Experimental Loop for a Liquid breeder (ELLI) was constructed for the purpose of validating the electromagnetic (EM) pump design, which we designed and fabricated ourselves, as well as for testing the effects of magneto-hydro-dynamics (MHD), and investigating the compatibility of PbLi using structural materials such as ferritic martensitic steel. Performance tests on each component such as the heaters and control systems for heating the loop were conducted, and characteristic tests using a magnet and EM pump were carried out. Corrosion tests using ELLI were conducted using grade 91 FMS steel and ARAA for a 250-hour period. In this study, a commercial FMS with grade 91 and developed ARAA steel was used for corrosion test-specimens to compare the corrosion characteristics in the flowing PbLi loop. A corrosion test was conducted for investigating the compatibility of PbLi using structural materials.