Liquid metals for nuclear applications

Nuclear applications of liquid metals concern waste transmuters and liquid metal cooled fast reactors of Generation IV. One section of this paper is devoted to a short review of the motivations for liquid metals as reactor coolant or spallation target material and to historic aspects. The next two sections are dedicated to the neutron and physical properties of liquid metals, with special emphasis on sodium, lead and lead–bismuth eutectic, their respective advantages and drawbacks as reactor coolants. The question of the structure of liquid metals in relation with the liquid metal coolant technology is briefly addressed. The last section concerns the compatibility of structural materials with sodium, lead and lead–bismuth eutectic, with attention being paid to the impurities control in the different cases. We conclude briefly.