Heat and Radiation Resistant Cable for the Use on LMFBR

The heat and radiation resistant cable for the use on the liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) has been newly developed. Stainless steel sheathed mineral insulated type cable has been usually used in the vinicity of the primary cooling circuit of LMFBR because of the harsh environmental condition in this area. Sometimes, this type of cable causes problems for its inflexibility in terms of installation. This newly developed cable (named M. Flex cable) consists of inorganic materials such as mica and glass, and the heat and radiation resistant organic materials such as polyimide for the insulation and stainless steel wire braid for the protection layer. Such tests as gamma irradiation test up to total dose of 1.4 × 1010R, flexibility test, and other tests, have been performed and results show that M. Flex cable has been satisfactory for the LMFBR applicaltion. And also, these results implied the applicability of this cable to the other fields than nuclear plants.