Development status of CLAM steel for fusion application

The China low activation martensitic (CLAM) steel is being developed at the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology (INEST) under wide collaboration within China. Significant R&D work on CLAM steel was carried out to help make it suitable for industrial applications. The effect of refining processes and thermal aging on composition, microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated. Material properties before irradiation including impact, fracture toughness, thermal aging, creep and fatigue properties etc. were assessed. A series of irradiation tests in the fission reactor HFETR in Chengdu up to 2 dpa and in the spallation neutron source SINQ in Paul Scherrer Institute up to 20 dpa were performed. PbLi corrosion tests for more than 10,000 h were done in the DRAGON-I and PICOLO loops. Fabrication techniques for a test blanket module (TBM) are being developed and a 1/3 scale TBM prototype is being fabricated with CLAM steel. Recent progresses on the development status of this steel are presented here. The code qualification of CLAM steel is under plan for its final application in ITER-TBM and DEMO in the future. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.