Journal of Nuclear Materials 455 (2014) 217–224

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Journal of Nuclear Materials

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Overview of Indian activities on fusion reactor materials

Srikumar Banerjee ⇑, the Indian Team on Fusion Reactor Materials
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper on overview of Indian activities on fusion reactor materials describes in brief the efforts India
Available online 17 June 2014 has made to develop materials for the first wall of a tokamak, its blanket and superconducting magnet
coils.
Through a systematic and scientific approach, India has developed and commercially produced reduced
activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel that is comparable to Eurofer 97. Powder of low activation
ferritic/martensitic oxide dispersion strengthened steel with characteristics desired for its application
in the first wall of a tokamak has been produced on the laboratory scale. V–4Cr–4Ti alloy was also
prepared in the laboratory, and kinetics of hydrogen absorption in this was investigated. Cu–1 wt%Cr–
0.1 wt%Zr – an alloy meant for use as heat transfer elements for hypervapotrons and heat sink for the first
wall – was developed and characterized in detail for its aging behavior. The role of addition of a small
quantity of Zr in its improved fatigue performance was delineated, and its diffusion bonding with both
W and stainless steel was achieved using Ni as an interlayer. The alloy was produced in large quantities
and used for manufacturing both the heat transfer elements and components for the International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
India has proposed to install and test a lead–lithium cooled ceramic breeder test blanket module (LLCB-
TBM) at ITER. To meet this objective, efforts have been made to produce and characterize Li2TiO3 pebbles,
and also improve the thermal conductivity of packed beds of these pebbles. Liquid metal loops have been
set up and corrosion behavior of RAFM steel in flowing Pb–Li eutectic has been studied in the presence as
well as absence of magnetic fields. To prevent permeation of tritium and reduce the magneto-
hydro-dynamic drag, processes have been developed for coating alumina on RAFM steel. Apart from these
activities, different approaches being attempted to make the U-shaped first wall of the TBM box are
briefly described.
India has also initiated the development of fusion grade superconductors. Success achieved in the
fabrication of Nb3Sn based multi-filamentary wires using the internal tin process and cable-in-
conduit-conductors is also briefly presented.
Ó 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Recognizing the potential of thermonuclear fusion in meeting
the rapidly increasing demand of clean energy, India launched a
fusion research program by establishing the Institute of Plasma
Research at Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad. The Institute, a constituent
unit of the Department of Atomic Energy, has already a working
tokamak, Aditya, which is being used for ‘Plasma Physics’ research.
A Steady State Tokamak-1 (SST-1) with a superconducting magnet
system has recently been commissioned. The first plasma in this
was struck in June, 2013 with a superconducting magnet system.
The indigenous program envisages further development in terms
of making a SST-2 by 2027, followed by a DEMO by 2037, and
⇑ Tel.: +91 2225505333; fax: +91 2225505333.
E-mail address: sbanerjee@barc.gov.in
finally a fusion power reactor by 2050. Further, in the year 2005,
India joined as an equal partner in the International Thermonu-
clear Experimental Reactor (ITER) program, in which the commit-
ment of the country lies in delivering a large inventory of
sophisticated components (Fig. 1). Also, India was allotted half-a-
port for placing our Lead–Lithium cooled Ceramic Breeder (LLCB)
Test Blanket Module (TBM) in ITER, the primary objectives of plac-
ing this TBM in ITER being to test its capability to (i) breed tritium
with Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR) > 1, and to (ii) extract the high
grade heat from the tokamak with acceptable thermal efficiency.
2. Materials for tokamak
Tokamak is a device that is based on the concept of magnetic
confinement of plasma in which a mixture of D and T is burned
to obtain the energy. The fusion reaction that takes place may be

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.06.009
0022-3115/Ó 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
218 S. Banerjee / Journal of Nuclear Materials 455 (2014) 217–224
Fig. 1. Supplies committed to ITER by India.
written as: D + T = 4He (3.5 MeV) + n (14.1 MeV). General descrip-
tions of tokamaks and the demanding service conditions of struc-
tural and functional materials in a tokamak are given in several
excellent reviews, Refs. [1–4] being only a few selected ones from
them. Table 1 summarizes the candidate materials now being con-
sidered for applications in the first wall of a tokamak.
2.1. First wall structurals
2.1.1. Steels
2.1.1.1. Development of India specific reduced activation ferritic/
martensitic (RAFM) steel. The development of Indian RAFM steel
was executed [5–14] systematically and scientifically by adopting
three stages of development; (i) pilot scale melting and physical
and mechanical properties evaluation of an internationally estab-
lished RAFM steel, (ii) establishing the specifications of Indian
RAFM steel through melting of several laboratory scale heats of
RAFM steel with different chemical compositions and detailed
characterization of their mechanical properties, and (iii) commer-
cial scale development.
In the pilot scale development phase, three heats having com-
position of Eurofer 97, each weighing around 200 kg, were melted
at Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI). Strict control was
Table 1
Materials for the first wall of a tokamak.
First wall plasma facing
– Low Z – Be, C–C composites
– High Z – W, Mo-based alloys
First wall heat sink
– Cu–Cr–Zr alloy
– Copper alloys dispersion strengthened by alumina
First wall structural
 Steels
– Low activation austenitic steels [SS 316L(N) IG] for the first wall of
ITER
– Ferritic/martensitic steels (F82H, EUROFER) for the DEMO and the
TBMs
– Nanostructured ferritic/martensitic ODS steels for the PROTOTYPE
 Vanadium alloys
 SiC-fiber/SiC composites
exercised on the radioactive tramp elements (Mo, Nb, B, Cu, Ni,
Al, Co, Ti) and on the elements that promote embrittlement (S, P,
As, Sb, Sn, Zr, O). Based on the variation of prior austenite grain size
and hardness of the steel with temperature and time, the optimum
normalizing and tempering heat treatment conditions of the steel
were arrived at as 1253 K for 30 min and 1033 K for 60 min,
respectively. The microstructure of the furnace cooled steel, which
consists of a mixture of ferrite (a) and martensite ða  Þ is shown in
Fig. 2(a). The normalized and tempered steel had a tempered mar-
tensitic microstructure with coarse M23C6 carbides, rich in Cr and
W on the lath boundary and fine intralath Ta and V rich MX precip-
itates (Fig. 2(b) and (c)). The ductile-to-brittle transition tempera-
ture (DBTT) estimated on the basis of 68 joule criterion was below
203 K, as reported for Eurofer 97. The variations of 0.2% offset yield
strength and ultimate tensile strength with test temperature were
comparable to those of Eurofer 97. Creep properties of the pilot
scale RAFM steel studied in air over a wide stress range at 773,
823 and 873 K, showed creep rupture strength comparable to
Eurofer 97 steel. Low cycle fatigue strength was found to be
slightly lower than Eurofer 97 but within the scatter band.
In the second phase of development, four heats of the steel were
melted with tungsten and tantalum contents in the ranges 1–2 wt%
and 0.06–0.14 wt%, respectively. The steels were subjected to nor-
malization (1250 K for 30 min) and tempering (1033 K for 90 min)
heat treatments, which produced a tempered martensitic micro-
structure. The high temperature phase stability of the steels was
studied by calorimetric measurements and the transformation
temperatures were determined. The critical cooling rate for
c ! a formation was determined as a function of austenitizing
temperature and time, to generate the continuous cooling transfor-
mation (CCT) plots. The thermodynamic properties such as relative
enthalpy and specific heat were measured by a combination of
drop and differential scanning calorimetry. Increase in tungsten
content increased the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature
(DBTT), low cycle fatigue and creep strength of the steel, whereas
the tensile strength was not changed significantly. Increase in tan-
talum content increased the DBTT and low cycle fatigue strength of
the steel whereas the tensile and creep strength decreased.
Detailed TEM investigations revealed enhanced microstructural
stability of the steel against creep exposure on tungsten addition.
 S. Banerjee / Journal of Nuclear Materials 455 (2014) 217–224 219

Fig. 2. Microstructure of (a) furnace cooled RAFM steel, (b) tempered RAFM steel exhibiting coarse M23C6 particles and (c) tempered RAFM steel exhibiting fine MX particles.

The RAFM steel having 1.4 wt% tungsten with 0.06 wt% tantalum in the unirradiated state, negligible irradiation-induced embrittle-
was found to possess optimum combination of impact, tensile, ment at temperatures more than 673 K, and good swelling
low cycle fatigue and creep properties and was selected to be resistance. However, they have strong affinity for solutes such as
India-specific RAFM steel. oxygen, carbon and nitrogen, which leads to matrix embrittlement
In the third stage, three commercial scale heats of Indian RAFM and reduced compatibility with liquid Li. Also, they have high
steel, each weighing about 1500 kg, have been produced and short solubility, diffusivity and permeability of tritium, which can lead
term mechanical properties have been evaluated. Long-term creep to embrittlement at low temperatures. At BARC, V–Ti–Cr master
tests of the steel are presently in progress. alloys were synthesized with varying contents of titanium and
chromium by co-reduction of V2O5, Cr2O3 and TiO2 with aluminum.
For this, a range of compositions of mixtures of V2O5, TiO2 and
2.1.1.2. Development of India specific Oxide Dispersion Strengthened
Cr2O3 were chosen along with suitable slag fluidizers [27–29].
(ODS) steel. A critical issue related to the first wall structurals is
Kinetics of hydrogen absorption in the V–4Cr–4Ti alloy thus pre-
their damage due to the high-energy neutrons. So far as the
pared was investigated in the temperature range of 473–773 K. It
displacement damage is concerned, all the effects that occur in
was observed [30] that diffusion of hydrogen was the intrinsic rate
the core of fast reactors occur in the fusion environment as well,
limiting step. The apparent activation energy was calculated using
but more intensely. In addition, in the fusion reactor environment,
Arrhenius equation and was found to be 6.1 kJ/mol. This value
the helium produced because of the (n,a) reactions by 14.1 MeV
appears to be relatively high, which may, perhaps, be due to the
neutrons is very high (in the range of 200–600 appm/year for steel
presence of trace aluminum.
[15]) and, therefore, in its lifetime of 30 years, the material will
accumulate huge amounts of helium. Since the solubility of helium
2.2. First wall heat sink
in any metallic matrix is known to be zero, high temperature
helium embrittlement is an issue of major concern. Furthermore,
Development of CuCrZr alloys and dispersion strengthened Cu-
this helium, under thermal fatigue likely to be experienced by
alloys for the first wall of tokamaks involves optimization of the
the first wall of a tokamak, limits the life of the first wall austenitic
production processes, their thermo-mechanical treatments, evalu-
steel severely [16,17]. To overcome this challenge, the Ferritic/
ation of thermo-physical as well as mechanical properties, irradia-
Martensitic (F/M) steel has been substituted for the stainless steel
tion behavior, and fabrication including joining. Extensive work
316 as this has a much better thermal conductivity. The issue of
has been done in India on these aspects and the mechanism of
high temperature helium embrittlement is being further addressed
the precipitation process in Cu–1Cr–0.1Zr has been delineated.
by distributing He into nano-sized bubbles by developing ODS F/M
Batra et al. [31,32] studied the microstructure and properties of a
steel in which yttria particles having sizes less than 5 nm diameter
Cu–1 wt%Cr–0.1 wt%Zr alloy and observed that coarse chromium
are distributed in the steel in large numbers (1023 particles/m3)
particles formed during solidification did not dissolve completely
[18,19]. Since the nano-sized (18–20 nm dia) yttria gets refined
during the solutionizing treatment. The coarse particles help in
to less than 5 nm dia during attrition of its mixture with steel
limiting the grain growth during solutionizing. Further, decompo-
powder only in the presence of Ti, this is to be added to the mixture
sition of the solution treated ternary alloy during the aging
before attrition, which results in the formation of Ti–Y–O
occurred through the sequence; supersaturated solid
complexes. Interestingly, Ti is the only element that can effectively
solution ? solute rich clusters ? metastable ordered fcc pha-
achieve this [20]. The composition and structure of these
se ? ordered bcc phase, which is in sharp contrast to the sequence
complexes has been recently investigated using the 3-D atom
in binary Cu–Cr alloys. Addition of Zr was found to promote the
probe [21–24]. The mechanism by which the Ti–Y–O complexes
formation of fcc solute rich clusters, which eventually transformed
act as sites for the nucleation of helium bubbles is yet not under-
into ordered bcc precipitates. The initial decomposition product
stood and is being investigated [25].
with an ordered fcc structure had a cube-on-cube Orientation Rela-
At Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), attempts
tionship (OR) with the alloy matrix while the end product with the
[26] to produce powder of RAFM steel with Y–Ti–O complexes with
bcc structure had a Nishiyama–Wassermann (N–M) OR with the
the desired size distribution have been successful (Fig. 3). Work at
alloy matrix. Because of the copious nucleation involved in this
the consolidation of this powder, its extrusion into desired shapes,
mechanism, the precipitates formed due to aging of the alloy were
and further production of the F/M ODS is in full swing.
found to be very fine. Chbihi et al. [33] have recently vindicated the
proposed sequence through a detailed investigation by TEM and
2.1.2. Vanadium alloys Atom Probe Tomography (APT). The observed improvement in
Vanadium-based alloys, mainly V–4Cr–4Ti and V–5Cr–5Ti, are fatigue behavior of the alloy was attributed to the lowering of
very attractive for the structural part of the first wall of a tokamak the stacking fault energy (SFE) of the alloy due to the addition of
due to their low activation, good high temperature strength and a small quantity of Zr to the binary Cu–Cr. It was shown by Kapoor
surface heat capability and, also, because they exhibit low DBTT et al. [34] through X-ray line profile analysis technique that SFE for
220 S. Banerjee / Journal of Nuclear Materials 455 (2014) 217–224
Cu–Cr–Zr alloy (0.037 ± 0.002 J/m2) was almost half than that of
Oxygen Free High Conductivity (OFHC) Cu (0.074 ± 0.004 J/m2). A
lowering of SFE implies [35] a greater propensity for twinning as
well as an increased probability of faulting because of a change
in the nature of slip from ‘wavy’ to ‘planar’. Both twinning and
faulting were seen to occur in the CuCrZr alloy by Batra et al.
[31,32]. Construction of the first wall of a tokamak involves bond-
ing of the heat sink CuCrZr alloy to the plasma facing tungsten on
one side and the structural steel on the other. Metallurgically
sound joints of the CuCrZr alloy with both W and stainless steel
316 were produced, in a single step, through the process of diffu-
sion bonding using nickel as an intermediate layer by Batra et al.
[36].
Cu–Cr–Zr alloy of the desired composition in large quantities
was produced at Nonferrous Materials Technology Development
Centre (NFTDC), Hyderabad and used for manufacturing a large
number of hypervapotron type heat transfer elements for SST-1
and deep drilled long plates and other components for ITER. The
processes of forming, electron beam welding, fabrication and other
steps involved in the making of these components were qualified
through experimentation prior to their implementation.
3. The blanket
Before the tokamak or, for that matter, even a device based on
the concept of inertial confinement, can qualify to be an effective
device for producing electricity, it is obvious that, apart from
achieving its engineering breakeven, methods have to be
Fig. 3. (a) Bright Field (BF) micrograph of extruded F/M ODS steel, (b) a Y2O3 particle, (c) Dark Field (DF) micrograph of the F/M ODS steel showing distribution of fine nano-
oxide dispersoids and (d) size distribution of oxide dispersoids shown in (c).
established for breeding tritium (unavailable on earth) at rates
more than the rates at which it shall be burned in the core of the
tokamak and, also, methods have to be found to extract the fusion
heat, majority of which is carried by the 14.1 MeV neutrons. It is
the blanket that has to perform these two functions. Also, it is obvi-
ous that the design of the blanket would depend on the concept
employed to confine the plasma. Keeping the above in view, a
number of concepts for the Test Blanket Modules (TBMs), for the
purposes of testing, have been proposed [37] for ITER. It is, how-
ever, mandatory that their designs be DEMO-relevant.
The solid and the liquid type of TBMs have been proposed by
the various partners in ITER while a ‘hybrid’ TBM [38–41] has been
proposed by India. In the hybrid concept, the breeding isotope Li6 is
present in solid form (in Li2TiO3 pebbles) as well as liquid form (in
liquid Pb–Li eutectic coolant). This design is likely to give a higher
TBR. Also, experience on tritium extraction can be gained from
both the solid and the liquid breeders, simultaneously. A schematic
of the Indian (LLCB-TBM) is shown in Fig. 4.
The box of the Indian Lead Lithium cooled ceramic breeder test
blanket module (LLCB-TBM) consists of the RAFM steel with the U-
shaped first wall having channels through which high temperature
(inlet at 623 K and outlet at 823 K) high pressure (80 bar) helium is
made to flow to keep the first wall at the allowed operating tem-
perature. Pb in the molten Pb–Li alloy coolant acts as the neutron
multiplier and Li as the tritium breeder. Tritium from solid Li2TiO3
pebbles is carried away by the low velocity purge gas, namely,
helium flowing through the packed beds. Fabrication of the TBM
box and, especially, its first wall, making of the Pb–Li alloy and
 S. Banerjee / Journal of Nuclear Materials 455 (2014) 217–224
its circulation in loops, compatibility and corrosion of materials
that are to be in contact with the liquid Pb–Li, fabrication of
lithium-titanate pebbles and their packing into beds, the thermal
conductivity of the packed beds, enrichment of lithium, and extrac-
tion of tritium from the liquid Pb–Li and purge gas are some of the
issues that are being studied for constructing the Indian LLCB-TBM
for ITER. In the following, work carried out in India on some of
these issues is elaborated.
3.1. Fabrication of the TBM box
LLCB-TBM can be divided into the following subcomponents;
first wall (FW), ceramic breeding cassettes (CBs), top, bottom and
back plates. The envisaged fabrication scheme for the LLCB-TBM
involves fabrication of the individual subcomponents and then
their integration or assembly into the final shape.
First wall is 1.7 m high U-shaped plate (28 mm thick) with
each arm 0.5 m in length. It is embedded with U-shaped cooling
channels of 20  20 mm cross-section for flow of helium to ensure
efficient cooling of the first wall. A total number of 64 such chan-
nels are stacked over each-other at a pitch of 5 mm along height
of the first wall. First wall faces the toughest service conditions
and is exposed to the fusion plasma. To avoid leakage of the
coolant from the first wall to the fusion plasma, no welding seam
is allowed on the plasma facing side of the first wall. Keeping this
in view, three methodologies were conceived and are being pur-
sued further for fabrication of the first wall.
3.1.1. Cooling channel fabrication by machining and bending
In this method, long round channels are first drilled in a flat
plate by gun-drilling and then square channels of 20  20 mm
cross-section are machined using Wire Electro-Discharge Machin-
ing (WEDM). Hot bending is then employed to convert the plates
with square channels into U-shape. Through this method,
500 mm long square channels were produced in P91 steel plates
and subsequently, these plates were bent into L-shape (Fig. 5).
Work is in progress to produce 1.6 m long channels using WEDM.
Fig. 4. Schematic of the LLCB-TBM.
221
3.1.2. Cooling channel fabrication by welding
In this method [42], open rectangular channels of 24  20 mm
are first machined in a plate and then covered with a 4  20 mm
strip. This assembly is then bent into U-shape and the strips are
fused at the interface using high power laser to produce square
channels of 20  20 mm cross-section. The method has been con-
ceived to ensure that there is no welding seam at the plasma facing
surface. As welding seams are at very small spacing (5 mm), a high
power laser with excellent beam maneuverability was employed
and a scale model of first wall with seven cooling channels was
fabricated (Fig. 6). Full penetration narrow fusion zone (width
<1 mm) with no visible distortion was seen. On tensile loading,
the welded assemblies always failed in the parent metal, indicating
that the welds were stronger than the parent metal. Residual stress
measurements using neutron diffraction [43] showed that laser
welding produces either compressive stresses or very low tensile
stresses in the fusion zone and the heat-affected zone (Fig. 7).
3.1.3. Cooling channel fabrication by Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIPing)
First wall cooling channel fabrication on an experimental scale
was carried out successfully at IGCAR through the method of HIP-
ing together plates of RAFM steel in which grooves for the channels
had been cut by machining.
3.2. Corrosion of steel in liquid Pb–Li
A program has been initiated in BARC to study the compatibility
of fusion reactor structural and functional materials in the liquid
Pb–Li eutectic coolant. In this regard, corrosion behavior of fer-
ritic–martensitic steels like modified 9Cr–1Mo (P91) and Indian
RAFM steel has been investigated in various test systems like static
capsules, liquid metal loops and rotating disc corrosion test facility.
Both buoyancy and pump driven loops have been designed, fabri-
cated and operated continuously for extended times. The corrosion
rate of P91 at a temperature of 773 K was found to be 17 lg/cm2.h
under a Pb–17Li flow rate of 6 cm/s [44]. The same material was
exposed to Pb–17Li flowing at15 cm/s in a forced circulation loop
to study the effect of magnetic field on its corrosion behavior
and the results revealed an increase in the corrosion rate by 2–3
times in the presence of a magnetic field of 1.8 T [45]. On the other
hand, preferential dissolution of the major constituent elements
like Fe and Cr was observed up to a depth of 4 lm from the
exposed surface both in the presence and absence of magnetic
field. The corrosion rate of P91 and Indian RAFM steel in Pb–17Li
eutectic at 823 K and at a motor speed of 360 rpm in the rotating
disc test facility have been found to be 19 lm/year and 22 lm/
year, respectively. Novel techniques to reduce the usually high cor-
rosion rate of stainless steel 316L in Pb–17Li through introduction
of nickel and oxygen have also been investigated upon with satis-
factory results [46].
3.3. Lithium titanate
3.3.1. Synthesis of lithium titanate (Li2TiO3) and fabrication of pebbles
A Solid State Reaction Process (SSRP) has been developed by
Mandal et al. [47–51] for the syntheses of lithium titanate (Li2TiO3)
and fabrication of pebbles. Fig. 8 shows some photographs of
Li2TiO3pebbles synthesized and fabricated by SSRP. The advantages
of the process are that (i) there is no waste, except that carbon-
dioxide is generated and (ii) the process is scalable. The flow
characteristics and fluidization properties of Li2TiO3 particles and
the sintering behavior of pebbles have been studied and reported
by Mandal et al. [49–51].
222 S. Banerjee / Journal of Nuclear Materials 455 (2014) 217–224

Fig. 5. L-shaped square channel produced by machining and hot bending.

titanate pebbles and recycle it. Till date, only the feasibilities of dif-
ferent processes are reported. Experiments were carried out [53]
for the recovery of Li from simulated Li2TiO3 pebbles and reuse
of lithium in pebble fabrication. More than 98% Li could be recov-
ered and recycled form the spent Li2TiO3 pebbles [53].

3.3.3. Enhancement of the rate of heat transfer in packed Li2TiO3

Fig. 6. First wall scale model with 7 cooling channels made by high power laser
welding.
3.3.2. Recovery and recycling of lithium value from spent Li2TiO3
pebbles
It is reported [52] that the burn up of Li2TiO3 pebbles in the
fusion reactor will be limited to only 15–17 atomic percentage. It
is necessary to recover the unused Li from the spent lithium
pebble beds
Thermal conductivity of Li2TiO3 pebbles is low (2.5 W/(m.K) at
500 K), which reduces further with increase in temperature [54].
Moreover, when Li2TiO3 pebbles are packed in either a cylindrical
or rectangular column, the effective thermal conductivity of the
bed is much lower than that of a single Li2TiO3 pebble due the pres-
ence of significant amount of void space in the bed [55]. To
increase the rate of tritium breeding, the high rate of heat removal
from the Test Blanket Module (TBM) is desirable. The effective
thermal conductivity of Li2TiO3 particulate bed may be enhanced
by using binary particulate bed [56]. However, the enhancement
in binary particulate bed in terms of effective thermal conductivity
is not very significant. To enhance the rate of heat transfer, packed
fluidization technique was developed by Mandal et al. [57,58]. In
the packed fluidization technique, small Li2TiO3 particles (size
200–800 lm) are allowed to fluidize in the interstices of large
and stationary Li2TiO3 pebbles (size 3–10 mm). It was found that
due to the fluidization of small particles in the bed, the rate of heat

Fig. 7. Cross-weld residual stress profile in laser welded P91 steel plate.
 S. Banerjee / Journal of Nuclear Materials 455 (2014) 217–224
Fig. 8. Photographs of Li2TiO3 pebbles of size (a) 550 lm, (b) 780 lm and (c) 1 mm synthesized and fabricated by SSRP.
transfer is enhanced and, in terms of effective thermal conductiv-
ity, it was more than 260% of the packed bed. In packed fluidized
bed, it is possible to achieve near isothermal state as compared
to a packed bed [59].
3.4. Alumina coatings
To prevent permeation of tritium and reduce the MHD drag, the
RAFM steels are required to be coated with a suitable electrically
insulating layer. It should be compatible with the liquid Pb–Li alloy
and should be resistant to radiation damage. It should also have
good thermal conductivity to allow the transfer of heat across
interfaces. It must bond with the substrate sufficiently strongly
so that it does not get eroded due to the flowing molten metal.
Also, since the TBM has a complex geometry, the process of pro-
ducing the coating should have the potential for coating complex
geometries. For RAFM steel, alumina coating consisting of an inner
aluminide layer and an outer alumina layer is considered to be an
appropriate option. The coating can be produced by a variety of
methods including hot dip aluminizing, pack cementation or
electrolysis of a suitable organic liquid. Alumina coating on 9Cr–
1Mo steel having the desired characteristics has been successfully
produced at BARC through the pack cementation route and further
testing to validate the coating with regard to permeation reduction
factor and erosion corrosion in flowing liquid Pb–Li alloy is in
progress.
4. Development of superconducting magnets
The magnetic confinement of the plasma in a tokamak is
attained by steady or time varying magnetic fields, produced by
large high current carrying superconducting magnets. These robust
superconducting magnets are usually constructed of cables of
Fig. 9. (a) Cross section of 20  20 mm CICC containing 336 wires of 0.8 mm dia out of which 48 nos. are superconducting wires, (b) optical micrograph of multi-filamentary
wire containing 59 strands and (c) EBSD map of the reaction product of Nb and Sn.
223
Nb–Ti, Nb3Sn and Nb3Al superconductor composites incorporated
in cable-in-conduit-conductor (CICC) configurations. The most
important requirement is that the superconducting CICC should
remain stable in the operating reactor plasma environment.
BARC initiated indigenous development of fusion grade super-
conductors and cables. Development and fabrication of CICC of var-
ious configurations involves [60] development of high grade
superconducting multi-filamentary wires, multi stage cabling of
superconducting as well as copper wires and, finally, jacketing of
the cables in stainless steel 316LN tubes. An on-line fabrication
facility has been set up that consists of a foil wrapping setup, a tri-
angular mechanized cable insertion system, an orbital welding
machine along with a tube handling system and a set of swaging,
bending and coil winding machines. 100 m long 30 kA Nb–Ti based
CICC (Fig. 9(a)) has been fabricated using this facility and fabrica-
tion of 800 m long CICC is in progress. Also, it was found that
11,000 A of current could be passed at 6 K through these against
the designed value of 10,000 A at 4.5 K supercritical helium.
Development of Nb3Sn based multi-filamentary superconduc-
ting wire using internal tin process is presently being carried out
at BARC. The process consists of fabrication of Cu/Nb/Sn composite
of required configuration which is utilized for magnet fabrication
followed by reaction heat treatment during which diffusion of Sn
through bronze matrix to the Nb interface facilitates Nb3Sn super-
conducting phase formation. Fig. 9(b) shows the cross section of a
composite wire having 59 strands with the internal core made of
Sn and Fig. 9(c) shows the Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD)
map of the reaction product of Nb and Sn.
5. Concluding remarks
With thermonuclear fusion becoming a potential option of
unlimited and clean energy, India launched its own program to
224 S. Banerjee / Journal of Nuclear Materials 455 (2014) 217–224
develop devices to harness this energy through the magnetic con-
finement of the hot plasma and, also joined the ITER program. With
this, a major challenge was posed to materials scientists as there
were no known materials that could withstand simultaneously
the high operating temperatures and the cyclic loads (especially,
at low frequencies) in the harsh environment of 14.1 MeV neu-
trons. The scientific community the world over was already active
in meeting this challenge. India also recently joined in this effort.
India through its research efforts has already successfully devel-
oped RAFM steel, Cu–Cr–Zr alloy, lithium titanate pebbles, Pb–Li
alloy, and technologies to fabricate beryllium into desired shapes,
enrich lithium and extract tritium from the breeders. Work on
developing the desired sensors and tools for remote handling is
also in full swing. India intends to maintain this momentum.
Acknowledgements
In India, the research and development on fusion reactor mate-
rials is being pursued at Institute of Plasma Research (IPR), Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Indira Gandhi Centre for
Atomic Research (IGCAR). The present paper is a compilation of
the results obtained from various groups working on fusion reactor
materials in these institutes. The corresponding author of this arti-
cle is only a spokesperson who presented the paper at ICFRM-16
held at Beijing. The author acknowledges the contribution of Mr.
I.S. Batra, Raja Ramanna Fellow at BARC, in the preparation of this
manuscript.
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