Lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) is a candidate liquid metal coolant for a fast reactor, especially accelerator driven system (ADS). Freeze sealed valve is a candidate design to be possible to add passive safety to the reactor. On the other hand, since LBE is known that it causes expansion after its solidification, quantitative evaluation of the stress to the pipe produced by the LBE expansion should be considered. Many researchers produced related data for the expansion, however, evaluations of the strain by LBE expansion was barely reported. Therefore, the strain measurement using a stainless steel cup and the stress evaluation was performed together with visual observation using an optical microscopy. The results indicated keeping above room temperature (RT) was a significantly effective way to reduce the strain to the pipe.
Because the material irradiation data are important for Accelerator-Driven nuclear transmutation System (ADS) development, JAEA is planning an irradiation facility with a lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) spallation target at J-PARC. To design the facility, various R&Ds such as corrosion by LBE, large scale LBE loop experiment, oxygen concentration control associated with LBE flow, development of instruments for diagnostics, remote handling technologies, freeze seal valve development and investigation of impurities behavior, are being carried out. Present status and future plans for the next few years of these R&Ds, especially the corrosion test and long-term non-isothermal operations, are discussed.
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