Study on aluminum oxide coating preparation on the CLAM steel by air plasma spraying process

Liquid lithium-lead blanket is one of the leading fusion reactor blanket designs in the world. However, it is subject to some bottleneck issues, such as high tritium permeability, corrosion to structural material by liquid LiPb and MHD (Magnetohydro- dynamics) effects caused by flowing LiPb, etc.. Coatings on the surface of blanket structural materials is one of the key technologies to solve the above problems. This study is aimed at preparing multifunctional Al2O3 coatings on the China Low Activation Martensitic (CLAM) steel with air plasma spraying (APS) process. The results of the experiment show that the mean adhesion strength of coating is 31.7 MPa, the resistance of Al2O3 coating is 5.26 x 109-1.54 x 1010 Ω·m, and the coating presents high microhardness and density. This work can provide theoretical and techological reserve for the preparation of liquid-LiPb-blanket coatings in fusion reactors in the future. (authors)