SWEEP GAS CHEMISTRY EFFECT ON LITHIUM TRANSPORT FROM CERAMIC BREEDER BLANKET MATERIALS

An 'atmosphere controllable high temperature mass spectrometer' was de veloped in order to investigate the effect of D-2 and/or D2O on vapori zation behavior of ceramic breeder blanket materials. The measurements were made on Li4SiO4, LiAlO2 and Li2TiO3. The enhancement of Li vapor ization and the formation of LiOD caused by D-2 and D2O introduction, respectively, were confirmed quantitatively. From the resulting thermo dynamic data, an discussion on Li loss from the breeder ceramic materi als was made. The maximum allowable temperature with respect to lithiu m transport through the sweep gas in fusion reactor blanket was estima ted. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.