Large Scale LI17PB83/Water Interaction Studies

One current concept in fusion blanket design is to utilize water as the coolant and liquid lithium-lead as the breeding/neutron-multiplier material. Considering the possibility of certain off-normal events it is conceivable that water leakage into the liquid metal may occur due to a tube rupture. The BLAnket Safety Test facility (BLAST) simulates this transient event by injecting subcooled water, under high pressure, into a stagnant pool of liquid lithium-lead (Li17Pb83). In this paper the BLAST facility will be described, such as the various mechanical components and the measurement devices. The current results of the data analyses from the first three expriments are also presented.