• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.662-669
• /
• 2010

To develop the manufacturing methods for the blanket first wall (FW) of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and to verify the integrity of the joint, Be/Cu mockups were fabricated and tested at the KoHLT-1 (Korea Heat Load Test facility), a graphite heater facility located at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). Since Be and Cu joining is the focus of the present study, the fabricated mockups had a CuCrZr heat sink joined with three Be tiles as an armor material, unlike the original ITER blanket FW, which has a stainless steel structure and coolant tubes. Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) was carried out at $580^{\circ}C$ and 100 MPa for 2 hours as the method for Be/Cu joining. Three interlayers, namely, $1{\mu}mCr/10{\mu}mCu$, $1{\mu}mTi/0.5{\mu}mCr/10{\mu}mCu$, and $5{\mu}mTi/10{\mu}mCu$ were applied as a coating to the Be tiles by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. A shear test was performed with the specimens, which were fabricated by the same methods as those used to fabricate the mockups. The average values were 125 MPa to 180 MPa, and the samples with the $1{\mu}mCr/10{\mu}mCu$ interlayer showed the lowest value. No defect or delamination was found in the joints of the mockups by the developed ultrasonic test using a flat-type probe with a 10 MHz frequency and a 0.25 inch diameter. High heat flux (HHF) tests were performed at $1.0\;MW/m^2$ heat flux for each mockup using the given conditions, and the results were analyzed by ANSYS-CFX code. For the test criteria, an expected fatigue lifetime about 1,000 cycles was obtained by analysis with ANSYS-mechanical code. Mockups using the interlayers of $1{\mu}mTi/0.5{\mu}mCr/10{\mu}mCu$ and $5{\mu}mTi/10{\mu}mCu$ survived up to 1,100 cycles over the required number of cycles. However, one of the Be tiles in the other two mockups using the $1{\mu}mCr/10{\mu}mCu$ interlayer was detached during the screening test, and others were detached by discharge after 862 cycles. The integrity of the joints using the proposed interlayers was proven by the HHF test, but the other interlayer requires more study before it can be used for the joining of Be to Cu. Moreover, it was confirmed that the measured temperatures agreed well with the analysis temperatures, which were used to estimate the lifetime and that the developed facility showed its capability of the long time operation.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.318-330
• /
• 2009

A high heat flux test facility using a graphite heating panel was constructed and is presently in operation at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, which is called KoHLT-1. Its major purpose is to carry out a thermal cycle test to verify the integrity of a HIP (hot isostatic pressing) bonded Be mockups which were fabricated for developing HIP joining technology to bond different metals, i.e., Be-to-CuCrZr and CuCrZr-to-SS316L, for the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) first wall. The KoHLT-1 consists of a graphite heating panel, a box-type test chamber with water-cooling jackets, an electrical DC power supply, a water-cooling system, an evacuation system, an He gas system, and some diagnostics, which are equipped in an authorized laboratory with a special ventilation system for the Be treatment. The graphite heater is placed between two mockups, and the gap distance between the heater and the mockup is adjusted to $2{\sim}3\;mm$. We designed and fabricated several graphite heating panels to have various heating areas depending on the tested mockups, and to have the electrical resistances of $0.2{\sim}0.5$ ohms during high temperature operation. The heater is connected to an electrical DC power supply of 100 V/400 A. The heat flux is easily controlled by the pre-programmed control system which consists of a personal computer and a multi function module. The heat fluxes on the two mockups are deduced from the flow rate and the coolant inlet/out temperatures by a calorimetric method. We have carried out the thermal cycle tests of various Be mockups, and the reliability of the KoHLT-1 for long time operation at a high heat flux was verified, and its broad applicability is promising.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2010.02a
• /
• pp.275-275
• /
• 2010

국제핵융합실험로 (ITER)의 블랑켓 일차벽 조달 자격 획득을 위한 검증시험을 수행하여 1단계를 2009년 완료하였고, 2단계는 2011년 예정으로 진행 중이다. 우리나라는 이미 1단계 검증시험에서 2 개의 일차벽 목업 (First Wall Qualification Mockup ; FWQM)을 제출하여 시험을 성공적으로 통과하였고, 2단계 검증 시험을 위해 semi-prototype 제작 기술 및 시험 기술을 개발 중이다. 블랑켓 일차벽 검증 시험 및 제작 기술을 확보하기 위한 고유접합법 개발을 위해서 표준 크기($80\;mm{\times}80\;mm$)의 목업을 제작하여 국내 고열부하 시험 시설에서 접합 방법의 타당성을 확인하였다. 표준목업은 HIP (Hot Isostatic Pressing) 접합법으로 stainless steel과 Cu 냉각부를 제작하고, 다시 $80\;mm{\times}80\;mm$ Be tile을 HIP 방법으로 냉각부에 접합하여 제작한다. 고유접합법 개발을 위해서 Be과 Cu 냉각부 계면에 Cr($1\;{\mu}m$)/Cu($10\;{\mu}m$), Ti($5\;{\mu}m$)/Cu($10\;{\mu}m$) 층을 코팅하여 Be 접합 성능을 개선하였으며, 기존의 접합 계면과 차별화된 기술을 확보하였다. 표준목업의 전체 크기는 $80\;mmW{\times}80\;mmL{\times}84\;mmH$ 이고, 1차로 총 6개, 2차로 4개를 제작하였으며 제작 과정 및 제작 전후에 파괴검사, 비파괴검사를 수행하여 접합의 건전성을 확인하였다. 제작 완료된 표준 목업은 냉각 관로를 장착하여 국내의 고열부하 시험시설인 KoHLT-1에 장착하여 성능 시험을 수행하였다. 고열부하 시험 시설의 냉각수 조건은, 온도 $25^{\circ}C$(실온), 유량 0.15 kg/sec이고, 고열 부하 조건에서는 0.5, 1.0, $1.5\;MW/m^2$의 screening 시험을 거친 후 1.5 MW/m2에서 cycle 시험을 진행하였다. 각 목업의 고열부하 시험을 마친 후 비파괴 검사의 일환으로 UT(Ultrasonic test) 시험을 수행하여 열부하 시험 전후의 목업 건전성을 확인하였다. 고유접합법을 이용하여 개발한 표준 목업의 고열부하 시험을 통해서 접합법의 타당성 및 건전성을 확인하였고, 향후 블랑켓일차벽 조달 검증 2단계 시험에서 semi-prototype 제작 및 고열부하 시험에 대비하고, ITER 관련 핵심 기술 개발 목표를 달성할 것이다.