Literature review of lead-lithium thermophysical properties

• Published in: Fusion engineering and design Vol. 138; pp. 183 - 195
• Main Authors: Martelli, D., Venturini, A., Utili, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.01.2019; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Correlation; Eutectic composition; Fusion; Lead-lithium eutectic; Literature reviews; Lithium base alloys; Nuclear fusion; Organizations; PbLi; Properties (attributes); Thermophysical properties; PbLi; Lead-lithium eutectic; Thermophysical properties; Fusion
• ISSN: 0920-3796; 1873-7196
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2018.11.028

In recent years, the scientific community of nuclear fusion raised the issue of thermophysical properties of lead lithium alloys. These alloys are foreseen to be used in several Breeding Blanket concepts in an almost eutectic composition, but only few data on the properties are available in literature and large differences on the same property exist between different authors. Moreover, apparently each organization used different available properties correlations, making practically pointless every comparison of results with the other organizations involved in the design of Breeding Blankets. The aim of this paper is to identify the properties to be used in the design of the Breeding Blankets, performing a literature review of the available data and suggesting a correlation for each of the main properties. These correlations were chosen based on the accurateness of the paper and on the similarities between different authors, where it was possible (e.g., density). The table with the correlations should represent a starting point for a discussion to reach a general consensus on the property database, which should be mandatory in order to allow a comparison of the results from different organizations. Very likely new experiments will be necessary to definitely measure at least the properties with the biggest scattering of the data (e.g., specific heat), encouraging a consensus and reducing the errors in the design activities.