Thermal-stress analysis of IFMIF target back-wall made of reduced-activation ferritic steel and austenitic stainless steel

Abstract For long time operation of a liquid lithium target of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility, annual replacement of a back-wall, a part of the flow channel, is planned, since the target suffers neutron damage of more than 50 dpa/fpy. Considering irradiation/activation conditions, remote weld on stainless steel 316L between a back-wall and a target assembly was employed. Furthermore, dissimilar weld between the 316L and a reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic steel F82H in the back-wall was employed. The objective of this study is to clarify structures and materials of the back-wall with acceptable thermal-stress under nuclear heating. Thermal-stress analysis was done using a code ABAQUS and data of the nuclear heating. As a result, thermal-stress in the back-wall is acceptable level, if thickness of the stress-mitigation part is more than 5 mm. With results of the analysis, necessity of material data for F82H and 316L under conditions of irradiation tests and mechanical tests are clarified.