A shallow land buriable low-activation austenitic stainless steel for fusion applications

First-wall components are the most activated materials in fusion reactors, but their activity can be reduced by material selection. The development of new alloys with good mechanical and physical properties and with low activation characteristics is needed. The PCA is one of the reference austenitic stainless steels for fusion structural applications in the United States. In this paper, the authors analyze the induced radioactivity in the PCA in connection with the shallow land burial (SLB) waste disposal concept. The most proper elemental substitutions is suggested for reducing the activity in the PCA. A low-activity version of the PCA is proposed. Since recycling is not possible, shallow land burial is the best achievable goal for a low-activation steel for the first wall. The PCA cannot be accepted for SLB, mainly due to the presence of molybdenum, niobium, and certain impurities. With limited elemental substitutions and impurity limitations, a new alloy (PCA-la) can be obtained. The PCA-la meets requirements for SLB. The properties of PCA-la should be comparable to those of the PCA. Fabrication and testing of specimens to check its main properties will be the next step of this work