Development of first wall/blanket structure by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) in the JAERI

In the ITER shielding blanket design, first wall coolant tubes of type 316LN stainless steel (SS) are embedded in a heat sink of Al2O3 dispersion-strengthened Cu (DSCu), which are joined to a SS shield block. Development of fabrication technology using hot isostatic pressing (HIP) for this structure, including testing, is currently being performed at JAERI. Recent progress in this development is reviewed in this paper. A simultaneous joining of DSCu/DSCu, DSCu/SS and SS/SS, especially at the first wall and the first wall to the shield block, by a solid HIP technique, has been pursued. Following the optimization of HIP conditions, mechanical tests of the HIP joints and fabrication of first wall mock-ups were performed. High heat flux tests of the first wall mock-ups resulted in their sufficient heat removal capability and integrity of the HIP joints. Small- and medium-scale mock-ups of the shielding blanket, integrated with the first wall, were fabricated to examine the applicability of the HIP technique and develop a fabrication route. As a result of these activities, fabrication technologies and the route to be applied for the ITER shielding blanket and sufficient thermo-mechanical performance of the HIP bonded structure were foreseen.