Material analyses of foam-based SiC FCI after dynamic testing in PbLi in MaPLE loop at UCLA

Maria Gonzalez; David Rapisarda; Angel Ibarra; Cyril Courtessole; Sergey Smolentsev; Mohamed Abdou

doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2016.03.047

Material analyses of foam-based SiC FCI after dynamic testing in PbLi in MaPLE loop at UCLA

Maria Gonzalez, David Rapisarda, Angel Ibarra, Cyril Courtessole, Sergey Smolentsev, Mohamed Abdou

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7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Foam-based SiC flow channel inserts (FCIs) developed and manufactured by Ultramet, USA are currently under testing in the flowing hot lead-lithium (PbLi) alloy in the MaPLE loop at UCLA to address chemical/physical compatibility and to access the MHD pressure drop reduction. UCLA has finished the first experimental series, where a single uninterrupted long-term (∼6500 h) test was performed on a 30-cm FCI segment in a magnetic field up to 1.8 T at the temperature of 300 °C and maximum flow velocities of ∼ 15 cm/s. After finishing the experiments, the FCI sample was extracted from the host stainless steel duct and cut into slices. Few of them have been analyzed at CIEMAT as a part of the joint collaborative effort on the development of the DCLL blanket concept in the EU and the US. The initial inspection of the slices using optical microscopic analysis at UCLA showed significant PbLi ingress into the bulk FCI material that resulted in degradation of insulating properties of the FCI. Current material analyses at CIEMAT are based on advanced techniques, including characterization of FCI samples by FESEM to study PbLi ingress, imaging of cross sections, composition analysis by EDX and crack inspection. These analyses suggest that the ingress was caused by local defects in the protective inner CVD layer that might be originally present in the FCI or occurred during testing.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	93-98
Number of pages	6
Journal	Fusion Engineering and Design
Volume	109-111
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2016.03.047
State	Published - Nov 1 2016
Externally published	Yes

Funding

This study was performed as a part of the collaborative agreement between UCLA and CIEMAT on the development of the DCLL blanket concept in the EU and the US. The material analyses reported in this paper have been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and have received funding from the Euratom research and training program 2014–2018 under grant agreement No 633053 . The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. The microstructural study was performed using instrumentation partially funded with the European Regional Development Fund ( FEDER-ICTS-2011-06 ). The US authors acknowledge support from the US Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences , under Grant No. DE-FG02-86ER52123 . This study was performed as a part of the collaborative agreement between UCLA and CIEMAT on the development of the DCLL blanket concept in the EU and the US. The material analyses reported in this paper have been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and have received funding from the Euratom research and training program 2014–2018 under grant agreement No 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. The microstructural study was performed using instrumentation partially funded with the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER-ICTS-2011-06). The US authors acknowledge support from the US Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, under Grant No. DE-FG02-86ER52123.

Funders	Funder number
U.S. Department of Energy
Fusion Energy Sciences	DE-FG02-86ER52123
University of California, Los Angeles
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme	633053
H2020 Euratom
European Commission
European Regional Development Fund	FEDER-ICTS-2011-06

Keywords

DCLL
Dual coolant lead lithium breeder blanket concept
FCI development
Material characterization
SiC
Silicon carbide

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10.1016/j.fusengdes.2016.03.047

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title = "Material analyses of foam-based SiC FCI after dynamic testing in PbLi in MaPLE loop at UCLA",

abstract = "Foam-based SiC flow channel inserts (FCIs) developed and manufactured by Ultramet, USA are currently under testing in the flowing hot lead-lithium (PbLi) alloy in the MaPLE loop at UCLA to address chemical/physical compatibility and to access the MHD pressure drop reduction. UCLA has finished the first experimental series, where a single uninterrupted long-term (∼6500 h) test was performed on a 30-cm FCI segment in a magnetic field up to 1.8 T at the temperature of 300 °C and maximum flow velocities of ∼ 15 cm/s. After finishing the experiments, the FCI sample was extracted from the host stainless steel duct and cut into slices. Few of them have been analyzed at CIEMAT as a part of the joint collaborative effort on the development of the DCLL blanket concept in the EU and the US. The initial inspection of the slices using optical microscopic analysis at UCLA showed significant PbLi ingress into the bulk FCI material that resulted in degradation of insulating properties of the FCI. Current material analyses at CIEMAT are based on advanced techniques, including characterization of FCI samples by FESEM to study PbLi ingress, imaging of cross sections, composition analysis by EDX and crack inspection. These analyses suggest that the ingress was caused by local defects in the protective inner CVD layer that might be originally present in the FCI or occurred during testing.",

keywords = "DCLL, Dual coolant lead lithium breeder blanket concept, FCI development, Material characterization, SiC, Silicon carbide",

author = "Maria Gonzalez and David Rapisarda and Angel Ibarra and Cyril Courtessole and Sergey Smolentsev and Mohamed Abdou",

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AU - Smolentsev, Sergey

AU - Abdou, Mohamed

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Material analyses of foam-based SiC FCI after dynamic testing in PbLi in MaPLE loop at UCLA

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