Expansion of solidified lead bismuth eutectic

Study on phase transition of Pb–Bi eutectic alloy by neutron transmission spectroscopy

“…The crystal structure was more uniform in the rapid cooling sample than in the slow cooling one. The estimated value of the γ-phase precipitation in the rapid cooling sample was larger than in the slow cooling one, which is consistent with previous results [1].…”

“…Grasbrenner et al investigated the expansion of LBE by various methods, glass vial break test, X-ray diffraction (XRD), dilatometer measurement and so on [1]. They showed a relation between cooling speed and expansion, and also a relation between the γ-phase growth and the expansion by XRD.…”

Preliminary Failure Modes and Effects Analysis of the US DCLL Test Blanket Module

“…Recrystallization enriches the bismuth phase, and bismuth expands on freezing while lead shrinks. An LBE pool that is undergoing freezing will place stresses on the chamber walls as it expands (Foletti 2006;Glasbrenner 2005); the depth of the pool increases the stresses on the chamber walls. For LBE cylindrical storage tanks, it is preferable to have the storage tank axis aligned horizontally rather than vertically and to fill the tank to less than half capacity.…”

Lead–gold eutectic: An alternative liquid target material candidate for high power spallation neutron sources

“…However, substantial amounts of a-emitting polonium isotopes are produced during irradiation as a transmutation product of bismuth [14]. Moreover, a significant volume increase takes place after solidification due to a structural phase transformation characterized by a very slow kinetics [14,15]. While none of these two issues is a showstopper, the first one poses special requirements on the facility in terms of safety precautions and the second demands design provisions to exclude fast, accidental freezing of LBE in the target volume and all tubing.…”

“…These characteristics grant it the two main advantages that LBE has over mercury, i.e., being solid at room temperature and non-volatile at elevated temperatures (the boiling points of mercury and LBE are 356.73°C and $1670°C, respectively [17,14]). Moreover, its RT density (estimated to $12.2 Â 10 À9 kg/m 3 ), higher than that of LBE (10.5-10.7 Â 10 À9 kg/m 3 [14,15]) and close to that of mercury (13.534 Â 10 À9 kg/m 3 [17]), allows optimistic expectations concerning its neutronic performance. Besides these encouraging basic properties, very little information about lead-gold alloys and in particular about LGE can be found in the scientific literature.…”