The European contribution to the development and validation activities for the design of IFMIF lithium facility

Abstract

The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) is an accelerator-driven intense neutron source where candidate materials for fusion reactors will be tested and validated. The high energy neutron flux is produced by means of two deuteron beams (total current of 250 mA, energy of 40 MeV) that strikes a liquid lithium target circulating in a lithium loop of IFMIF plant. The European (EU) contribution to the development of the lithium facility comprises five procurement packages, as follow: (1) participation to the experimental activities of the EVEDA lithium test loop in Oarai (Japan); (2) study aimed at evaluating the corrosion and erosion phenomena, promoted by lithium, for structural fusion reference materials like AISI 316L and Eurofer; (3) design and validation of the lithium purification method with the aim to provide input data for the design of the purification system of IFIMF lithium loop; (4) design and validation of the remote handling (RH) procedures for the refurbishment/replacement of the EU concept of IFMIF target assembly including the design of the remote handling tools; (5) the engineering design of the European target assembly for IFMIF and the safety and RAMI analyses for the entire IFMIF lithium facility. The paper gives an overview of the status of the activities and of the main outcomes achieved so far.