JOINT RESEARCH ACTIVITY 1: “LEAD TECHNOLOGY”

Responsable person: Juergen Konys, FZK - juergen.konis@imf.fzk.de

Heavy liquid metal cooled nuclear power plants are being considered as serious candidates for future energy
supply worldwide. In fact, the experimental accelerator driven system (XT-ADS), the GIF reactors and EFIT are foreseen to be cooled by heavy liquid lead alloys.
The objective of this joint research activity is the development and validation of technologies, information/data,
needed for the operation of large loop and pool-type lead configurations, that may be required for the realization of future Gen-IV reactors and Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS) like the EFIT.
While a considerable effort is being dedicated to the development of technologies and test procedures in either LBE (in P&T frame) and/or Pb-17Li (in Fusion frame) at international level, only a few are being devoted to pure Pb even though it is a candidate of considerable importance as a coolant/target for high temperature systems.
This JRA represents a significant step towards the development of the needed technologies and the required know-how for next-generation systems by providing data on:

· how to control oxygen in large lead pool-type configurations, including the development of O2;
· sensors for these applications (calibration procedure);
· the estimation of the corrosion behaviour of potential materials in stagnant Pb at T=550°C;
· the influence of Pb on the mechanical properties (tensile, creep rupture) at T=550°C.

JRA1 INVOLVED INSTITUTIONS :: CEA - CIEMAT - CNR-IENI - CNRS - ENEA - FZK - IQS - NRI - SCK·CEN