CORRIDA is a forced-convection loop operated with lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE). The circulating mass is in the order of 1000 kg, at a typical mass flow of 5.3 kg/s. Oxygen sensors in five selected positions along the loop monitor the oxygen content of the liquid metal that is actively influenced by mass transfer between the flowing LBE and quasi-static gas. Temperature in the hot leg of the loop is limited to 550 °C.

The CORRIDA loop serves as an apparatus for investigating corrosion caused by oxygen-containing flowing LBE. The two test-sections in the hot leg of the loop can accommodate up to 36 samples (cylindrical with typical dimensions of Ø8 × 30 mm) for simultaneous exposure.

Aside from long term corrosion data (up to 20,000 h for some of the samples tested), operating CORRIDA has significantly contributed to the development of automated oxygen control in liquid metals and qualification of electrochemical oxygen sensors, and provided valuable insights into the precipitation of dissolved steel elements in non-isothermal liquid-metal loops.

PICOLO contains about 160 kg of a eutectic lithium–lead (Pb–16Li), circulated by an electromagnetic pump. The parameters of the corrosion experiments that are currently being performed in the loop, are 550 °C and 0.1 m/s flow velocity along the surface of cylindrical material samples with dimensions of Ø8×30 mm. The test-section in the hot leg of the loop can house up to 13 samples of this size. The resulting mass flow of Pb–16Li is 0.15 kg/s. The concentration of oxygen dissolved in the liquid metal is determined by the exchange via the sample lock (held under technical argon) and the low solubility in Pb–16Li.

PICOLO was commissioned more than 30 years ago, but even today, the loop works reliably and delivers the corrosion data required for the development and qualification of steels and coatings on steels designed to be used in a fusion reactor. Data concerning the precipitation of steel elements from non-isothermal liquid-metal flow are a beneficial by-product of loop operation. 

The exposure of material samples to quiescent liquid metal in small test apparatuses is
test apparatus is particularly suitable for determining the general corrosion behaviour within the framework of material development programmes. The use of a ceramic crucible to hold the liquid metal avoids contamination beyond that of the dissolving components of the samples, or the latter can be selectively adjusted and its influence investigated. The crucible is located in a steel capsule heated from the outside, which is instrumented for temperature measurement inside as well as the introduction and discharge of gases and measurement of oxygen dissolved in the liquid metal. The oxygen content is controlled automatically by integrating the capsule into measuring stations equipped for this purpose in the laboratory.

Such steel capsules can be adapted to the number of samples to be tested simultaneously, their size and the temperature at which testing is to be carried out, up to a capacity of about 1000 ml of liquid metal. The achievable temperature depends on the material of the capsule as well as the selected heating and thermal insulation. The behaviour of steels and nickel-based alloys in liquid lead, lead-bismuth eutectic (Pb45Bi) or tin has been studied using such capsules, at temperatures up to 750 °C.

The CRISLA rig was built to test creep and stress rupture, primarily of steels, in liquid metal at temperatures up to 650 °C. The material sample and liquid metal are housed in a

sealed steel capsule; the sample is clamped to the bottom of this capsule. A flexible bellows installed in the lid allows for the introduction of a static tensile force to be applied to the specimen. The bellows deforms in proportion to the elongation of the sample. The capsule has a gas inlet and a gas outlet, as well as an oxygen sensor for controlling the concentration of oxygen dissolved in the liquid metal via gas/liquid oxygen transfer.

The CRISLA rig provides 8 test sites for mounting these capsules and applying a static tensile load, five of which are equipped with a gas supply, data acquisition and controllers needed for automated oxygen control.

Currently, creep and stress rupture of steels in the presence of static lead or lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE) are being investigated. Experiments in static air serve as a reference for evaluating the results. The experiments in air are performed in a capsule similar to the one used for liquid metal, with the same manner of applying the load and measuring the sample elongation.