Present status of the Liquid Breeder Validation Module for IFMIF

• The LBVM will be used to perform irradiation experiments on functional materials for fusion reactors.
• It houses 16 experimental rigs, each one containing a EUROFER capsule partially filled with lithium lead, at 300–550 °C.
• A helium purge gas will sweep the tritium permeated through the capsule walls to a tritium measuring station.
• A helium cooling system will keep tritium diffusion within safe margins and guarantee its mechanical integrity.
• Thermal hydraulic and mechanical calculations, the module instrumentation and aspects as safety or RAMI are presented.

One of the objectives of IFMIF (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility), as stated in its specifications, is the validation of breeder blanket concepts for DEMO design. The so-called Liquid Breeder Validation Module (LBVM) will be used in IFMIF to perform experiments under irradiation on functional materials related to liquid breeder concepts for future fusion reactors. This module, not considered in previous IFMIF design phases, is currently under design by CIEMAT in the framework of the IFMIF/EVEDA project.In this paper, the present status of the design of the LBVM is presented.