DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL SPECIMEN TEST TECHNI QUES DEVELOPMENT OF A REMOTE-CONTROLLED SMALL PUNCH TESTING APPARATUS

An accelerator-driven deuterium-lithium (d-Li) stripping reaction-type neutron source, such as the International Fusion Materials Irradiatio n Facility (IFMIF) planned by the International Energy Agency is recog nized as one of the most promising facility to obtain test environment s of high-energy neutrons for fusion reactor materials development. Th e limitation on the available irradiation volume of the irradiation fa cility requires the development of the small specimen test techniques (SSTT). Application of SSTT to evaluate the degradation of various com ponents in the light water reactor for the life extension is expected to be also quite beneficial. A remote-controlled testing machine for t he Small Punch (SP) and miniaturized tensile tests was developed at th e hot laboratory of the Japan Materials Testing Reactor (JMTR). The ma chine is designed for testing at temperatures ranging between 93 and 1 , 123K to evaluate the temperature dependence of the strength of mater ials including the embrittlement at low temperatures and the softening at elevated temperatures. The tests are performed in a vacuum or in a n inert gas environment. The machine has been installed in a hot cell and is being used for the round robin test program of the SP test meth od. The round robin test program is planned to identify the capability of the test method and to establish a standard test procedure. The co nfiguration and the specifications of the test machine are introduced and the results of the SP tests are also shown.