Status of Research and Development of the Lead-Alloy-Cooled Fast Reactor

Liquid Metals in High-Temperature Cooling Systems: The Effect of Bi Additions for the Physicochemical Properties of Eutectic Ga–Sn–Zn

“…As assumed in ref , a nonlinear behavior of the electrical conductivity in metal alloys can be a consequence of a common influence of the electrical conductivities of their components. In the case of the Ga–Sn–Zn alloy, all three elements reveal different temperature dependence of conductivity, namely the σ­(T) curve in Sn is linear, in Ga it is slightly concave and in Zn it is convex.…”

“…Nontoxic alloys with low melting points are heavily researched for a number of different applications, including lead-free solders, , stretchable electronics, , soft and wearable sensors, , and heat transfer fluid in concentrated solar power technologies . Because of their outstanding thermal conductivity and the fact that those materials remain liquid in operating temperatures, alloys with low melting temperatures are suitable candidates for thermal management in different systems, including cooling computer chips, , high power LEDs, Li-ion batteries and technologies such as directional solidification, where liquid metal cooling can be successfully applied to obtain large castings with desired microstructural and mechanical properties. , Liquid metal cooling can also prove to be the future of thermal management in the nuclear field, for small modular reactors and fast reactors. − Beside their exceptional thermal conductivity, liquid metals offer lower kinematic viscosity compared to air or water, and their high boiling point reduces the problems connected with the potential boiling of the coolant . Moreover, compared to molten salts, liquid metals offer the advantage of a greater operating temperature range, due to lower melting and higher boiling points .…”

LFR Demonstrator Materials Viability

“…For alloys with Cr concentration above 10%, swelling has a local maximum and then decreases towards a quasi-asymptotical minimum which is attributed to precipitation of the Cr-rich a' phase. The region of importance for nuclear applications is that of low Cr concentrations [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. The investigations reported indicate that the strong reduction in the SIA cluster mobility is the major reason for the reduced swelling rate in Fe-Cr alloys.…”

“…Austenitic steels have proven to be unsatisfactory containment materials for liquid Pb-alloys at temperatures above 500 o C [11]. The reason for this is the high solubility of Ni in lead.…”

Characteristics of iron and nickel diffusion in molten lead-bismuth eutectic

“…However, one of the most crucial issues is the compatibility of structural steels with liquid lead-bismuth at the temperature range from 500°C to 650°C which covers the outlet temperature of the fast reactor and the maximum temperature of the cladding tube (Takahashi et al, 2008, Loewn andTokuhiro, 2003). The steels are severely corroded by LBE when they are exposed to LBE directly without protection layers at such temperature.…”