Boiling points of liquid breeders for fusion blankets

The liquid metals lithium (Li), lead–lithium alloy (Pb–Li), and tin–lithium alloy (Sn–Li) are candidates to be the liquid breeders in fusion blanket systems. Some important properties of these liquid breeders, such as thermodynamics properties, neutronic properties and compatibility with structural materials, have been studied. However, information on vapor pressures and boiling points of these liquids breeders is very limited. Boiling points of liquid breeders are important for safety operation of the fusion blanket. Vapor pressures of the pure metals Li, Pb, and Sn are summarized here based on the Clausius–Clapeyron equation. Vapor pressures and boiling points of the liquid Li alloys, Pb–Li and Sn–Li, are theoretically evaluated on the basis of the vapor pressures and chemical activities of elements of the eutectic alloy.