Fission Reactor Experiments for Solid Breeder Blankets

The testing needs for solid breeder blanket development are different from those for liquid breeder blankets. In particular, a reasonable number of moderate volume test sites in a neutron environment are needed. Existing fission reactors are shown to be able to provide this environment with reasonable simulation of many important blanket conditions. Three major additional fission reactor tests are identified beyond those presently underway. These are thermal behavior, advanced in-situ tritium recovery and nuclear submodule experiments.