Nitriding treatment of reduced activation ferritic steel as functional layer for liquid breeder blanket

The development of functional layers such as a tritium permeation barrier and an anti-corrosion layer is the essential technology for the development of a molten salt type self cooled fusion blanket. In the present study, the characteristics of a nitriding treatment on a reduced activation ferritic steel, JLF-1 (Fe-9Cr-2W-0.1C) as the functional layer were investigated. The steel surface was nitrided by an ion nitriding treatment or a radical nitriding treatment. The nitridation characteristic of the steel surface was made clear based on the thermodynamic stability. The thermal diffusivity, the hydrogen permeability and the chemical stability in the molten salt Flinak were investigated. The results indicated that the nitriding treatment can improve the compatibility in the Flinak without the decrease of the thermal diffusivity, though there was little improvement as the hydrogen permeation barrier. (author)