HIP technologies for fusion reactor blankets fabrication

The benefit of HIP techniques applied to the fabrication of fusion internal components for higher performances, reliability and cost savings are empha sized. To demonstrate the potential of the techniques, design of new blanke ts concepts and mock-ups fabrication are currently performed by CEA. A coil ed tube concept that allows cooling arrangment flexibility, strong reductio n of the machining and number of welds is proposed for ITER IAM. Medium siz e mock-ups according to the WCLL breeding blanket concept have been manufac tured. The fabrication of a large size mock-up is under progress. These act ivities are supported by numerical calculations to predict the deformations of the parts during HIP'ing. Finally, several HIP techniques issues have b een identified and are discussed. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B. V.