A feasibility study for a LBE alloy utilization as a thermal media for an irradiation device

From the feasibility study for a LBE alloy utilization as a thermal media for an irradiation device, the following results have been obtained: 1. Information on the chemical and physical properties of the concerned LBE materials was obtained and evaluated experimentally. Produced data could be used as an input datum for the development of a LBE capsule for high temperature irradiation tests. 2. From the handling and filling techniques of the LBE for the application of the LBE, two kinds of approach is investigated for filling LBE into a capsule mockup. From the experiments, working with liquid phase, which is simpler and easier, is chosen. In addition, detailed steps and procedures for safe operation were established. 3. The corrosion behavior of the chosen stainless steel materials was investigated to examine their suitability as container material for LBE by immersion tests in stagnant LBE at 470 and 700 .deg. C for 1500 hours. No reaction products were observed on internal tube surfaces at 470 .deg. C by the SEM-EDAX analysis. However, all candidate materials of SS 304, 316 and 410 were attacked by the molten LBE at 700 .deg. C. The test showed that the chosen alloys could be used for a LBE container for a long duration of about 1500 hours at 700 .deg. C. 4. Under the current HANARO capsule design practice, preliminary thermal analysis was carried out using a finite element analysis program, ANSYS to compare the thermal behavior of the capsules with a solid thermal media Al and a liquid thermal media LBE. It is concluded that a LBE capsule can provide a more favorable environment for high temperature test, and in addition, the temperature distribution in the longitudinal direction is relatively uniform as compared with the data of a typical capsule using a solid thermal media and consequently, it can provide a more precise and stable temperature control for a user's test