Hydrogen permeation through tritium permeation barrier in Pb–17Li

One of the main problems in the development of water cooled lithium lead (WCLL) DEMO fusion reactor is the reduction of the tritium permeation from the Pb–17Li, or the plasma, into the cooling water. The control of tritium losses is an important issue in fusion technology because of its safety and operational implications. This goal can be achieved using a tritium permeation barrier (TPB). The use of aluminium rich coatings, which forms Al2O3 at their surface, has been selected as reference solution for WCLL blanket in order to produce reliable TPB. The hot dipping process is one of the two candidates for the production of coatings on large blanket segments. The effectiveness of hot dipped aluminium coating on MANET II steel has been verified in gas phase and in liquid Pb–17Li, using a test apparatus named Corelli II. The permeation rate measured in gas phase is one order of magnitude lower than the one in liquid metal phase. Performing SEM-EDS analysis on the specimen, it was observed that micro cracks on the coating surface were present. The permeation curves in gas and Pb–17Li are reported and discussed. The characteristics of the new experimental device Vivaldi will be briefly described.