Fusion Engineering and Design 87 (2012) 461465

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Fusion Engineering and Design

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fusengdes

Overview of TBM R&D activities in India

E. Rajendra Kumar a, , T. Jayakumar b , A.K. Suri c
a
b
c

Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar 382428, India

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, India
Materials Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 8 September 2011
Received in revised form
16 December 2011
Accepted 19 December 2011
Available online 20 January 2012
Keywords:
Breeding Blanket
TBM
LLCB
ITER
DEMO

a b s t r a c t
In India, development of LeadLithium Ceramic Breeder (LLCB) blanket is being performed as the primary
candidate of Test Blanket Module (TBM) towards DEMO reactor. The LLCB TBM will be tested from the
rst phase of ITER operation (H-H phase) in one-half of an ITER port no. 2. The Indian TBM R&D program is focused on the development of blanket materials and critical technologies: structural material
(IN-RAFMS), breeding materials (PbLi, Li2 TiO3 ), development of technologies for LeadLithium cooling
system (LLCS), helium cooling system (HCS), tritium extraction system (TES) and TBM related fabrication
technologies. This paper will provide an overview of LLCB TBM R&D activities under progress in India.
2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
India is developing LLCB blanket as a primary option for its
DEMO reactor [1]. In the Indian fusion roadmap towards DEMO
reactor, ITER-Test Blanket Module program [2] is one of the major
milestones through which the performance of the LLCB blanket,
candidate blanket materials and auxiliary system technologies can
be tested and qualied in real fusion environment.
The LLCB TBM will be tested from the rst phase of ITER operation (H-H phase) in one-half of an ITER port no. 2. The Indian
TBM R&D program is focused on the development of blanket
materials and critical technologies: structural material (IN-RAFMS),
breeding materials (PbLi, Li2TiO3), development of technologies
for LeadLithium Cooling System (LLCS), helium cooling system
(HCS), tritium extraction system (TES) and TBM related fabrication
technologies. LeadLithium technologies development activities
are focused on LeadLithium loop developments for MHD experiments, corrosion experiments and operational experience with
critical loop components. IN-RAFM steel is a structural material
under development for fusion reactor applications. Several fabrication procedures for manufacturing TBM sub-components and their
assembly sequence need to be investigated in the developmental
program. For the fabrication of TBM sub-components mock-up, INRAFMS is being considered to investigate its fabrication feasibilities

Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 7923962091.

E-mail address: rajendrakumare@gmail.com (E. Rajendra Kumar).
0920-3796/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2011.12.014

by Hot Isostatic Press (HIP), Electron Beam Welding (EBW), laser

and narrow gap TIG welding processes.
The R&D activities focusing on ITER-TBM system development are in full swing in Institute for Plasma Research (IPR)
Gandhinagar, in collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
(IGCAR), Kalpakkam, and other research institutions and universities within India. This paper provides an overview of the LLCB
TBM activities and related R&D progress in India.
2. LLCB TBM description
The LLCB-TBM has both the features of solid breeder and liquid
breeder blankets [3]. Fig. 1 shows the schematic view of LLCB TBM.
The overall dimensions of the LLCB TBM are 1.66 m (h) 0.484 m
(w) 0.534 m (t). The U shaped First Wall (FW) encloses the internal ceramic breeder compartments containing Li2 TiO3 pebbles and
rectangular ow channels for owing leadlithium. Table 1 shows
the LLCB TBM parameters. First wall is cooled by high-pressure
helium gas. The molten PbLi eutectic alloy ows separately around
the ceramic pebble bed compartments to extract heat that is produced in the ceramic pebbles and in PbLi itself. Tritium produced
in the ceramic breeder zones is extracted by low-pressure purge gas
helium. Fig. 2 shows the radial build-up of LLCB TBM. The structural
material for TBM FW is IN-RAFMS with cooling channels running
in radialtoroidalradial direction. The FW is designed to withstand the energetic particle uxes and heat uxes from the plasma,
high thermal and mechanical stresses and magnetic forces during
plasma disruptions.

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E. Rajendra Kumar et al. / Fusion Engineering and Design 87 (2012) 461465

Table 1
LLCB TBM parameters.
Structural material
Breeder material
Lithium enrichment
Coolants
Helium temperature (inlet/outlet)
Helium gas pressure
PbLi temperature (inlet/outlet)
Purge gas for tritium extraction

IN-RAFMS
PbLi, Li2 TiO3
90% in PbLi
60% in Li2 TiO3
Helium, PbLi
573673 K
8 MPa
598723 K
Helium with 0.1% hydrogen at 0.12 MPa

Design of shield block module and pipe forest arrangement up

to port cell is also one of the major design activities. Process system
design such as helium cooling system, coolant purication system,
leadlithium cooling system, tritium extraction systems for both
leadlithium and helium gas are under progress. The preliminary
safety analysis for the complete system has been completed and
further detail work is in progress.
3. LLCB TBM R&D activities

Fig. 1. Schematic view of LLCB-TBM.

R&D activities were identied for LLCB TBM system; the following sections will summarize the status of the R&D activities in
major areas, such as liquid metal MHD, corrosion studies, ceramic
breeder pebble development, and structural material development
and fabrication technologies development.
3.1. Liquid metal technologies related R&D activities

The LLCB-Test Blanket System (TBS) includes several ancillary

systems, namely primary HCS, LLCS, the secondary HCS (for PbLi),
the tritium extraction system (from PbLi and helium purge gas),
the coolant purication system and the control/instrumentation
system. Some components of these systems are located in the port
cell #02, the remaining components are located in level 4 and in
level 2 of the tritium building [4].
2.1. LLCB TBM design activity
The LLCB TBM design activity is focused on the optimization of
TBM design with respect to neutronic performance and high-grade
heat extraction by keeping the temperature within allowable limits
[5]. In this process, various internal congurations have been studied in detail such as series ow and parallel ow conditions. It is
observed that the parallel ow conguration provides more advantages from MHD pressure drop limits and the corrosion levels with
respect to the required ow velocities in leadlithium ow in channels. The present design is focused on parallel ow conguration
of liquid metal inside the TBM.

Fig. 2. Radial build-up of LLCB TBM.

3.1.1. Leadlithium loop developments

Leadlithium loop construction involves development of critical components like electromagnetic pump, heat exchanger,
recuperator, cold trap, ow meter, and pressure transmitters. Electromagnetic induction pump development is based on permanent
magnets; it is designed and constructed with the aim of attaining
high-pressure heads and ow rates. Mass ow meters, cold traps
are presently under fabrication. The lab scale leadlithium has been
prepared and its characterization is under progress. The loops are
developed for both MHD experiments and corrosion experiments.
3.1.2. MHD studies
In LLCB TBM, the required PbLi circulation rate is rather moderate, which leads to average velocities in rectangular duct of typically
0.10.2 m/s. In such ow velocity conditions, it is found that the
non-dimensional parameters [6], namely the Hartmann number
(Ha) and interaction parameter (N) reach high values, Ha 2.0 104
and N 3.0 103 , so that viscous and inertia forces are of minor
importance compared to the electromagnetic forces in most of the
ow domain. In order to address these MHD related issues, various
R&D tasks have been initiated. A 3D MHD code is being developed
using commercially available CFD code and extending it through
user dened MHD subroutines. After validation of the code with
subroutine the analysis is carried out for single rectangular duct
of LLCB TBM. The heat transfer has been studied by keeping high
temperature ceramic breeders at both sides of the leadlithium
ow channel. The simulation results suggest slight deformation in
steady state velocity prole along ow path, which is attributed to
the temperature dependent thermo-physical properties of PbLi.
However, the temperatures in various zones remain well within
the maximum allowable limit. The code is now being upgraded to
predict the MHD velocity prole in more complex ow geometries,
such as bends and expansion.
A mercury (Hg) loop experimental set-up is being developed
at IPR, to study the MHD and heat transfer phenomena in a
scale down version of LLCB TBM. The electromagnet is being
designed for 1.3 T. Nuclear heating of the breeder region has been

E. Rajendra Kumar et al. / Fusion Engineering and Design 87 (2012) 461465

Fig. 3. A photograph of test section used for MHD experiment.

simulated by inserting electric heaters inside the gap of the breeder

section. Mercury has been chosen for its nearly similar thermophysical properties as of PbLi and it also reduces the complexity
in the design of the loop. Availability of diagnostics is also one of
the prime advantages to do the MHD experiment using mercury.
The mechanical design of the complete loop has been completed
and the loop fabrication will be initiated soon.
In parallel, a joint liquid metal MHD experiment has been carried
out in Institute of Physics, University of Latvia (IPUL). The experimental parameters are: operating temperature 623 K, magnetic
eld 0.254.0 T, PbLi ow velocity 0.8 m/s, Ha 1242000, N
21000. A test section has been introduced under a strong magnetic eld up to 4.0 T. Fig. 3 shows the photograph of the test
section used for MHD experiment. The rectangular cross section
is (0.025 m 0.05 m) and consists of four 90 bends (B1B4) in
total ow length of 0.6 m. The diagnostics includes (i) potential
pins for sidewall and Hartmann wall electric potential measurement, (ii) MHD ow meter for average ow rate measurement, (iii)
seven nos. of pressure sensors for pressure drop measurement at
various locations and (iv) thermocouples for temperature measurement. Potential pins are welded on both the sidewalls and on a
single Hartmann wall at various locations (locations AF). Pressure
measurement locations (P1P5) in the test section are also shown
separately. These are on the Hartman wall, on which no potential
pin is welded.
Preliminary conclusions from the experiment are summarized
as follows:
- The total pressure drop in the loop is estimated to be 0.24 MPa
for a magnetic eld of 4.0 T and average velocity of 0.33 m/s.
- A comparison between measured and analytically calculated
electric potentials has shown good agreement at positions D, E
and F of the test section for typically Ha > 1000.
Similar MHD experiments will be planned in near future for
more complex ow geometries, having resemblance with LLCB ow
conguration. The detailed analysis of the MHD test data has been
discussed elsewhere in this conference [7].
3.1.3. Corrosion studies
To study the leadlithium corrosion effects in ferritic martensitic steel, an experiment was conducted in pump driven loop
set-up in IPUL, Latvia, under a joint collaboration. The leadlithium
was driven with electromagnetic pump at a velocity of 0.15 m/s
and in magnetic eld 1.7 T. Flat and tensile sample coupons of

463

9Cr1Mo (P91) are exposed to leadlithium ow in the presence

of magnetic eld for 1000 h. Samples were kept at three locations,
namely: (1) before the magnetic eld, (2) in the magnetic eld and
(3) after the magnetic eld. Weight of the samples is noted before
and after the exposure to PbLi ow. Metallurgical analysis includes
optical micrograph, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy
Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Electron Probe Micro Analyzer
(EPMA) analysis. Tensile and yield strength are also measured and
fractography was done on both fresh and exposed samples. Main
corrosion mechanism seems to be dissolution of elements into
liquid metal. Corrosion is erosioncorrosion type. Samples inside
magnetic eld show a wavy pattern when examined perpendicular to the ow direction. The detail data analyses on the specimens
are under progress.
A buoyancy loop of leadlithium has been set up at IPR, with the
following parameters for corrosion experiments and as a facility to
test liquid metal diagnostics. Hot leg temperature 823 K, cold leg
temperature 723 K, velocity of leadlithium 0.1 m/s. Flat and tensile samples made of IN-RAFMS coupons were kept in both hot and
cold leg. The loop has completed 1500 h of operation. In parallel,
electromagnetic pump driven leadlithium loop is also successfully
commissioned and set to operation at IPR. This loop will be used to
study corrosion effects in IN-RAFMS at a temperature of 823 K and
with different velocities (ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 m/s) with/without
the presence of magnetic eld.
3.2. Lithium titanate ceramic pebble development
Development of Li2 TiO3 is under progress through two techniques: (1) solid-state reaction and (2) chemical solution based
technique. Solid-state reaction based technique [8] is by mixing
of precursors in their oxide or carbonate form, by high energy
ball milling. Reactants used are lithium carbonate Li2 CO3 , titanium
oxy-nitrate TiO(NO3 )2 , citric acid (C6 H8 O7 ), ammonium hydroxide (NH4 OH), sulfuric acid (H2 SO4 ). In this process stoichiometric
amount of Li2 CO3 and TiO(NO3 )2 was mixed along with citric acid
and heated at 353373 K with constant stirring on hot plate.
Extruderspherodization process was adopted for preparation
of spherical pebbles. Small quantity of aqueous solution of polyvinyl-alcohol was added to prepare a paste and is fed into a die
roller extruder. The extruded strips were fed into a spherodizer (an
equipment used at variable speed of chequered circular disc (material: SS316) of 0.003 m pitch to prepare spherical pebbles. The
spherical pebbles were dried in a uid bed dryer at 373 K. The dried
pebbles were sintered at 1173 K for different durations to achieve
the density of 8090%. Bulk density of the pebble is 3087 kg/m3 .
The present capacity to prepare Li2 TiO3 powder is 34 kg per
year. Spray pyrolyzer method has been planned to increase the
rate of production to 30 kg per year. The Li2 TiO3 pebbles diameter
ranges between 0.001 and 0.0015 m.
Measurement of effective thermal conductivity of pebble bed is
also taken as a major task under the TBM R&D and a test facility is
being set up at IPR. The main concept of the test facility is to generate a temperature gradient across the pebble bed by using the heat
source and create one dimensional heat transfer region around the
heater rod inside the pebble bed in radial direction. Then heat ux
and temperatures across the pebble bed are measured with the help
of heat ux sensors and temperature sensors for estimation of the
effective thermal conductivity using Fouriers law of heat conduction, after the steady state conditions is reached i.e. temperature at
each point in the pebble bed will not change with time.
3.3. Structural material development
RAFM steel development in India is based on the
chemical composition of the conventional Grade-91 steel

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E. Rajendra Kumar et al. / Fusion Engineering and Design 87 (2012) 461465

[9Cr1Mo0.06Nb0.2V0.05N], which is modied by substitution of highly radioactive element molybdenum by tungsten

and niobium by tantalum. The specied chemical composition
was achieved by employing vacuum induction melting followed
by vacuum arc rening. Four laboratory heats of RAFM steel
containing 1.0, 1.4 and 2.0 wt.% tungsten with 0.06 wt.% tantalum,
and 1 wt.% tungsten with 0.14 wt.% tantalum, have been produced
for optimizing the chemical composition of India-specic RAFM
steel [9].
3.3.1. Microstructure
The as-received normalized and tempered RAFM steel has a
tempered martensitic structure. The lath like martensitic structure formed on normalization was found to retain even after the
tempering treatment. The prior austenitic grain boundaries as well
as the lath boundaries are decorated with carbides type M23 C6
and MX types of carbide ((V,Ta)C) were observed in the intralath region. The steel derives its strength from the solid solution
strengthening by tungsten, precipitate strengthening from intraand inter-granular MX type ((V,Ta)C) carbides and transformation
induced dislocation substructure.
3.3.2. Impact properties
Charpy V-notch impact properties were determined using full
size impact specimens. The variation of impact energy with temperature showed a typical ductile-to-brittle transition curve. The
ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) estimated on the
basis of 68 J criterion was less than 70 C similar to the values
reported for Eurofer 97. Charpy impact tests were also carried on
the 1.4W0.06Ta steel. The impact energy of the steel was found
not inuenced with the increase of tungsten from 1 to 1.4 wt.%.
3.3.3. Tensile properties
The effects of tungsten and tantalum on tensile strength and
ductility of the steels are studied. The tensile strength and ductility of the steel at temperatures >773 K were found not to depend
appreciably on the tungsten content in the investigated range of
12 wt.%. Tensile strength of the steel decreased with the increase
in tantalum from 0.06 to 0.14 wt.% with the consequent increase in
tensile ductility.
3.3.4. Creep properties
Effect of tungsten and tantalum on the creep rupture strength of
the steels is studied. Creep rupture strength increases with increase
in tungsten content for a given content (0.06 wt.%) of tantalum.
Creep rupture ductility showed an increasing tendency with the
increase in tungsten content. The increase in tantalum content from
0.06 wt.% to 0.14 wt.% in the steel containing 1 wt.% tungsten was
found to decrease the creep rupture of the steel and the strength
reduction is accompanied with the decreasing tendency of creep
rupture ductility.
3.4. Fabrication technologies development
LLCB TBM fabrication technologies development involves systematic investigations to optimize the welding parameters to
produce crack-free welds in RAFMS by using TIG, NGTIG, laser and
electron beam welding techniques.
3.4.1. HIP process
LLCB TBM rst wall has been proposed to fabricate this component by HIP process from two plates of 14 mm thick with
pre-machined slots for the channels. In order to demonstrate the
feasibility of producing a plate with internal channel by HIP process,
initial trials were carried out using stainless steel discs with premachined slots for making internal channels. After demonstrating

the feasibility of producing plates with internal channel by HIP

process, HIPing behavior of RAFM steel is being studied.
3.4.2. Electron beam (EB) welding of RAFM steel
EB welding is one of the processes considered for fabrication of
TBM internal structures. Procedures for welding RAFM steel using
this process have been developed. In order to simulate this welding, a ow channel mock-up was fabricated by EB welding from
6 mm thick austenitic stainless steel plates. Welds of this structure
cleared both ultrasonic examination and radiography. Virtually no
distortion was observed in this structure. It is planned to make
similar structures using RAFM steel plates to gain experience in
fabrication.
3.4.3. Laser and laser hybrid welding of RAFM steel
Like EB welding, laser and laser-hybrid welding are other processes that are being considered for TBM rst wall fabrication.
Hence, welding procedures using these processes were also developed for joining RAFM steel. For laser welding, CO2 laser with a
maximum power of 3.5 kW was employed which can be used to
weld RAFM steels of thickness up to 0.006 m. Based on the beadon-plate studies carried out on 6 mm thick plates, nozzle stand-off
at 0.004 m for better depth of penetration due to effective plasma
suppression, and defocusing of laser by 0.002 m inside the material
for better bead characteristics with less micro porosities, were chosen for welding. Full penetration welds were obtained with various
combinations of parameters like welding speed, beam power, beam
mode (Gaussian or Donut) and size of the focal point. Subsequently,
actual weld joints were prepared using 6 mm plates using these
optimized parameters. These welds were subjected to radiographic
examination, ultrasonic inspection and bend tests, and found to be
of acceptable quality. These welds were subsequently subjected to
PWHT at 1023 K/90 min. Microstructure of weld joints, tensile and
sub-size impact tests are under progress.
3.4.4. TBM FW mock-up fabrication
Preliminary attempts have been made to explore the fabrication
of TBM rst wall by machining straight channels with square crosssection (0.02 m 0.02 m) and 0.3 m length in 0.03 m thick plates
made of ASTM A387 Grade-91 plates. Hot bending process was
modeled, simulated and optimized. Hot bending was performed to
produce L-bends in the plate with square channels. Due to the bending, wall thinning at bend locations has been observed. Destructive
and non-destructive evaluation of the channel cross-section and
wall thinning effects at the bend locations were carried out. It was
found that there is not much deviation in the channel cross-section
at the bend location. However, there was considerable thinning on
the outer wall near the bend location. The wall thickness on the
outer surface has thinned by 1 mm after bending near the bend
location. Defects like crack were not observed in the square channels post bending. Further endeavor in this direction is to make 1/4
size of FW mock-up fabrication is in progress.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank all scientists and engineers from IPR, BARC
and IGCAR for the contribution to this paper.
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