Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) considerations for liquid metal blanket and a SiC/SiC composite structure

The electrical conductivity was measured on SiC/SiC composite specimens, in the as-received conditions and after neutron irradiation, for temperatures between 20 deg. C and 1000 deg. C. The tests were aimed at estimating the magnitude of MHD effects in liquid metal blankets and a SiC/SiC composites structure. The electrical conductivity of the unirradiated samples increased continuously with temperature and ranged from 330 (Ω m)-1 at 20 deg. C to 550 (Ω m)-1 at 1000 deg.C. The irradiation reduced only slightly the magnitude of σ indicating the materials tested cannot be treated as an electrical insulator in a MHD analysis for liquid metal blankets. (authors)