Design status and development strategy of China liquid lithium–lead blankets and related material technology

A series of fusion reactors (named FDS series) have been designed and assessed in China, with four types of liquid lithium lead blankets including the RAFM steel-structured He-cooled quasi-static LiPb tritium breeder (SLL) blanket, the RAFM steel-structured He–LiPb dual-cooled (DLL) blanket, the RAFM steel-structured refractory material thermally-insulated high temperature LiPb (HTL) hydrogen production blanket and the RAFM steel or optionally the austenitic stainless steel-structured He–LiPb dual-cooled high level waste transmutation (DWT) blanket. To demonstrate and validate the feasibility of the candidate blankets for fusion energy application, the three-phases-strategy of TBM (test blanket module) development, i.e. material R&D and out-of-pile experimental mockup, EAST-TBM and ITER-TBM have been proposed. A brief overview of the four types of LiPb blanket designs and their goals are given. Material technology requirement and development strategy are also presented in this paper.