Research and Development Status of China Liquid LiPb Blanket Materials

The liquid Li-Pb blankets have become the most promising conceptual blankets in the world. Materials selection and development are one of the key issues for liquid Li-Pb blankets. Currently, the reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steels are chosen as the candidate structural material and liquid Li-Pb as neutron multiplier and tritium breeder. And in some designs, the flow channel insert (FCI), which can bear high temperature and have low electric conductivity, is adopted as the functional material to enhance the coolant outlet temperature and reduce the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure drop. In order to meet the requirement of liquid blanket development, the China low activation martensitic (CLAM) steel and functional materials for liquid blanket are being developed in Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences under wide collaboration with other institutes and universities in domestic and overseas. Meanwhile, liquid Li- Pb thermal and forced convection loops were designed, manufactured and corrosion experiments were carried out to study the flow characteristics and the compatibility of liquid LiPb with structural and functional materials. In addition, a fusion material data management system was built to be a useful tool to accelerate the research and development on fusion blanket design and material technology.