The vanadium alloys technological and corrosion studies in construction and operation of liquid metal facilities for fusion reactor

The vanadium-lithium test facility has been constructed to carry out corrosion tests of vanadium alloys in lithium flow, to evaluate the welding procedures and to develop electrically insulating coatings for lithium self-cooled blanket application. The corrosion tests were performed in a nonisothermal lithium flow with the flow rate up to 1 m/s at temperatures in the range 450-700 C. The results of development of the electrically insulating coatings are presented. The achieved specific resistance of AlN based coatings is 30-40 Ω m. The results of electron-beam and argon tungsten-arc welding methods are presented for welding sheets, rods and pipes of V-Ti-Cr type alloys. Solution of the vanadium alloys and vanadium alloys-stainless steels welding problems enabled construction of a liquid metal system satisfying all the necessary requirements. (orig.)