Experimental measurement of effective thermal conductivity of packed lithium-titanate pebble bed

Lithium titanate is a promising solid breeder material for the fusion reactor blanket. Packed lithium titanate pebble bed is considered for the blanket. The thermal energy; that will be produced in the bed during breeding and the radiated heat from the reactor core absorbed must be removed. So, the experimental thermal property data are important for the blanket design. In past, a significant amount of works were conducted to determine the effective thermal conductivity of packed solid breeder pebble bed, in helium atmosphere, but no flow of gas was considered. With increase in gas flow rate, effective thermal conductivity of pebble bed increases. Particle size and void fraction also affect the thermal properties of the bed significantly. An experimental facility with external heat source was designed and installed. Experiments were carried out with lithium-titanate pebbles of different sizes at variable gas flow rates and at different bed wall temperature. It was observed that effective thermal conductivity of pebble bed is a function of particle Reynolds number and temperature. From the experimental data two correlations have been developed to estimate the effective thermal conductivity of packed lithium-titanate pebble bed for different particle Reynolds number and at different temperatures. The experimental details and results are discussed in this paper.     

A Measurement Platform Scheme and Data Post-processing Method for Thermal Conductivity of Li<Subscript>4</Subscript>SiO<Subscript>4</Subscript> Pebble Bed

The effective thermal conductivity of tritium breeder pebble bed is an important thermal parameter and must be known for the thermo-mechanical design of solid tritium breeder blankets. In order to obtain the parameter, experimental measurement is an effective method. A measurement platform was designed by University of Science and Technology of China for CFETR solid blanket scheme to measure the immediate thermal conductivity data and study the effect of pebble bed temperature, the purge gas pressure and pebble deformation on the thermal conductivity of pebble bed. Measurements were performed based on about 1 mm diameter Li₄SiO₄ pebbles in the temperature range between 100 and 800 °C, with purge gas pressure ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 MPa. This paper described a measurement platform scheme by thermal probe method. On the other hand, for the sake of increasing the precision of thermal conductivity data transformed from temperature data, some improvements for the data post-processing using Monte Carlo inversion method were made in this paper too.     

CFETR氦冷固态包层及其辅助系统动态氚输运分析

实现氚自持、建立完整的氚循环系统并保证氚安全是中国聚变工程实验堆(CFETR)的主要目标之一。在CFETR氦冷固态包层及其辅助系统设计过程中,需对系统级氚输运行为进行详细分析,包括氚滞留量、释放量、浓度的动态变化等。基于已建立的动态氚分析程序TriSim-Dynamic,在此基础上进行修改完善,利用该程序对CFETR氦冷固态包层及其辅助系统氚动态输运进行分析模拟,得到了冷却剂及提氚吹扫气中氚浓度、氚分压,管壁及结构材料中氚盘存量,氚通过包层结构材料和辅助系统管壁向真空室、水冷系统及建筑的渗透通量动态变化,并将其稳态值与已进行基准校核的稳态氚分析程序TriSim-SA及理论解析解进行比较,以初步验证分析结果的准确性,数据结果也对CFETR氚安全分析提供了一定的参考。     

Pressure transients in NET building compartments under LOCA conditions

The NET cooling systems for in-vessel components and vessel are generally based on low pressure and low temperature water. However, the cooling loops for the breeder blanket are intended to operate at a water temperature of about 250°C. A pipe break in a loop with such data would pressurize the compartment where the break takes place. Therefore, as a basis for proper compartment design, it is important to analyze possible pressure increases following pipe breaks. It may also be necessary to introduce equipment for pressure relief or pressure suppression. The objective of the parameter study presented is to determine the relationship between allowed maximum containment pressure following postulated large pipe break in breeding blanket loop and required containment volume. Parameters varied are: blanket loop temperature and pressure (within the range of burn and baking), and pressure suppression system inclusion/exclusion. The analysis has been performed by means of the Swedish containment code COPTA. The results of the analysis are summarized in a plot showing the influence of the varied parameters on required containment volume. In addition, the results presented include required vent areas, heat sink capacities, etc.     

聚变堆混和球床包层中子学和热工水力特性研究

在聚变堆初步概念设计的基础上，针对固态包层设计路线，提出了一个先进的氦冷固态包层概念。设计采用Be₁₂Ti和Li₂TiO₃陶瓷小球混和球床，物理和化学相容性好；采用SiC作为结构材料，提高耐高温性能及氦气出口温度。计算结果表明：选择Be₁₂Ti和Li^₂TiO₃球体积比在2和4之间较合理；在Be₁₂Ti和Li₂TiO₃球体积比为3时，⁶Li富集度取30％~80％较适宜；球床的最高温度低于材料的温度限值，温度分布合理均匀。该方案可较大程度提高热效率和改善中子学以及氚增殖性能。     

Status and progress of Indian LLCB test blanket systems for ITER

The lead–lithium ceramic breeder (LLCB) TBM and its auxiliary systems are being developed by India for testing in ITER machine. The LLCB TBM consists of lithium titanate as ceramic breeder (CB) material in the form of packed pebble beds. The FW structural material is ferritic martensitic steel cooled by high-pressure helium gas and lead–lithium eutectic (Pb–Li) flowing separately around the ceramic breeder pebble bed to extract the nuclear heat from the CB zones. Low-pressure helium is purged inside the CB zone for in situ extraction of bred tritium. Currently the LLCB blanket design optimization is under progress. The performance of tritium breeding and high-grade heat extraction is being evaluated by neutronic analysis and thermal–hydraulic calculations for different LLCB cooling configurations and geometrical design variants. The LLCB TBM auxiliary systems such as, helium cooling system (HCS), lead–lithium cooling system (LLCS), tritium extraction system (TES) process design are under progress. Safety analysis of the LLCB test blanket system (TBS) is under progress for the contribution to preliminary safety report of ITER-TBMs. This paper will present the status of the LLCB TBM design, process integration design (PID) of the auxiliary systems and preliminary safety analysis results.     

Comparative studies for two different orientations of pebble bed in an HCCB blanket

The Indian Test Blanket Module(TBM) program in ITER is one of the major steps in its fusion reactor program towards DEMO and the future fusion power reactor vision. Research and development(RD) is focused on two types of breeding blanket concepts: lead–lithium ceramic breeder(LLCB) and helium-cooled ceramic breeder(HCCB) blanket systems for the DEMO reactor. As part of the ITER-TBM program, the LLCB concept will be tested in one-half of ITER port no. 2, whose materials and technologies will be tested during ITER operation. The HCCB concept is a variant of the solid breeder blanket, which is presently part of our domestic RD program for DEMO relevant technology development. In the HCCB concept Li_2TiO_3 and beryllium are used as the tritium breeder and neutron multiplier, respectively, in the form of a packed bed having edge-on configuration with reduced activation ferritic martensitic steel as the structural material. In this paper two design schemes, mainly two different orientations of pebble beds, are discussed. In the current concept(case-1), the ceramic breeder beds are kept horizontal in the toroidal–radial direction. Due to gravity, the pebbles may settle down at the bottom and create a finite gap between the pebbles and the top cooling plate, which will affect the heat transfer between them. In the alternate design concept(case-2), the pebble bed is vertically(poloidal–radial) orientated where the side plates act as cooling plates instead of top and bottom plates. These two design variants are analyzed analytically and 2 D thermal-hydraulic simulation studies are carried out with ANSYS, using the heat loads obtained from neutronic calculations.Based on the analysis the performance is compared and details of the thermal and radiative heat transfer studies are also discussed in this paper.     

硅酸锂球床传热传质特性与吹扫气体流动的DEM-CFD耦合模拟

氦冷固态增殖包层是中国聚变工程实验堆（CFETR）的3种候选包层概念之一,氚增殖球床是包层的核心部件,采用硅酸锂颗粒作为氚增殖材料。球床结构对氚在球床内的输运行为及流动和传热均有重要影响。本文基于离散单元法（DEM）生成了满足氚增殖球床填充率要求的随机堆积结构,通过CFD计算获取了球床结构下氚在吹扫气体内的等效扩散系数及吹扫气体的流动特性,包括速度分布、压力分布及进出口压降;开展了外加热流及有内热源两种工况下球床等效导热系数的模拟。计算结果表明,球床结构下氚在吹扫气体内的等效扩散系数为二元气体扩散系数的40%;受球床结构影响,球床内存在流动迟滞区,壁面出现流动加速;拟合得到Ergun方程的黏性阻力系数C1=87;有内热源工况下的球床等效导热系数低于外加热流工况下的球床等效导热系数。     

聚变增殖堆液态金属Li自冷包层的热工水力分析

完成了托卡马克商用混合堆 TCB(Tokamak Commercial Breeder)Li 自冷包层设计的热工水力分析,讨论了热工水力设计中的一些关键问题。用两维有限元热传导程序 AYER 计算了 TCB 包层的温度分布,用液态金属 MHD(Magnetohydraudynamic)压降公式计算了包层的压降。同时,还分析了包层冷却剂丧失事故 LOCA 的瞬态热工过程。分析表明,正常工况下,包层结构材料最高温度,结构材料与冷却剂界面最高温度,以及包层总压降都满足堆设计要求。在 LOCA 工况下,如果停堆后1小时内包层中的燃料球能够借助重力卸出包层,第一壁和包层是安全的,并且不会受到损伤。     

基于RELAP5的中国氦冷固态包层真空室外破口瞬态特性分析

利用RELAP5/MOD3.4对中国氦冷固态包层、氦气冷却剂回路和二次侧水冷系统进行建模和系统热工水力安全评价。依据ITER事故分析制定的事故序列,对设计基准真空室外破口进行了瞬态分析,并对比了不同破口位置、面积和停堆方式对第一壁的影响。结果表明：真空室外破口发生在风机的下游较上游危险,且小破口较大破口更危险;若真空室外破口同时包层第一壁破口,也可通过自然循环和辐射换热带走衰变热冷却包层;真空室外破口事故中采用聚变停堆系统的3s停堆方式,可避免第一壁熔化。     

A tritium permeation model for conceptual fusion reactor designs

A transient tritium permeation model is developed based on a simplified conceptual DT-fueled fusion reactor design. The major design features described in the model are a solid breeder blanket, a low pressure purge gas in the blanket, and a high pressure helium primary coolant. Tritium inventory in the breeder is considered to be due to diffusive hold-up and solubility effects. It is assumed that diffusive hold-up is the dominant factor in order to separate the solution for the breeder tritium concentration. The model was applied to the STARFIRE-Interim Reference Design, whose system parameters yielded a breeder tritium inventory on the order of grams, based on an average pellet radius of 10^?3 cm. The breeder pellets reach their steady-state tritium content in approximately 1.4×10⁴ s from system start-up, assuming continuous full power operation. Both the steady-state breeder tritium concentration and the time to reach that steady-state are proportional to the pellet radius squared. Other candidate solid breeders were considered, and their effect on the blanket tritium inventory was noted. The addition of oxygen to the primary coolant loop was required in order to keep the tritium losses through the heat exchanger to within the design goal of 0.1 Ci/day.     

Design and validation of breeder unit of helium-cooled pebble bed blanket for demo fusion reactor

In the framework of European helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB) blanket development, an HCPB breeder unit based on the design of pebble beds between flat cooling plates is proposed for a DEMO fusion reactor. The performances of the designed breeder units are validated by supporting analyses. By applying the thermal boundary conditions obtained by neutronics simulations for the DEMO reactor, results of finite element calculations of the breeder unit are analyzed in views of thermal-hydraulics and thermal stress to identify the adherence to maximum temperatures in structural and functional materials and the abidance by the stress criterion imposed by the structural material. The layout of the internal meandering channels in the cooling plates is optimized by using numerical methods. Finally, possible improvements of the new designed breeder unit are proposed.     

Parametric neutronic analysis of HCLL blanket for DEMO fusion reactor utilizing vacuum vessel ITER FDR design

Three-dimensional parametric neutronics calculations using the Monte Carlo code MCNP-4C have been performed for a DEMO-type reactor based on the Helium-Cooled Lithium-Lead (HCLL) blanket. The aim of the analysis was to minimize the radial blanket thickness, while ensuring tritium self-sufficiency and to assess the shielding performance of the reactor in terms of the radiation loads to the super-conducting toroidal field (TF) coils. It was found that tritium self-sufficiency can be achieved with a breeder zone thickness reduced to no more than 55 cm at a ⁶Li enrichment of 90%. Assuming a ⁶Li enrichment of 60%, a breeder zone thickness of 60 cm is required to achieve the target TBR of 1.10 which is assumed to be sufficient to cover potential tritium losses and uncertainties. With regard to the shielding performance it was found that the design limits for the radiation loads to the TF-coil can be met with radial blanket thicknesses of 75 cm, 60 cm and 55 cm utilizing a two-component shield of Eurofer steel and tungsten carbide between the breeder zone and the vacuum vessel. The blanket variants with larger radial breeder zone show better shielding performances due to the reduced Eurofer shielding material acting as gamma radiation emitter in between the breeder zone and the vacuum vessel. In particular the radiation dose absorbed in the Epoxy insulator was shown to be the most critical quantity in this regard.     

堆内辐照氚增殖剂球床有效热导率分析

氘-氚聚变反应堆中,固态氚增殖剂包层能不断为聚变反应提供氚核素,是实现聚变反应堆商用的关键技术之一。由锂陶瓷小球堆积形成的球床形式的固态氚增殖剂包层具有比表面积大、产氚效率高等优点,是我国重点发展的氚增殖剂包层形式。氚增殖剂球床须能支撑在堆内辐照时的高温环境,这就要求氚增殖剂球床有较好的导热特性。球床的有效热导率在球床设计和辐照过程中的安全分析十分重要,因此在中国先进研究堆（CARR）开展了氚增殖剂球床在堆内辐照环境下的有效热导率测量实验。根据MCNP计算得出的球床发热功率,结合实验测量的球床温度分布反推得到氚增殖剂球床的有效热导率,并与广泛应用于球床有效热导率计算的改进型ZBS模型计算结果以及堆外实验结果进行对比分析,理论值与实验值能较好吻合。     

CFETR氦冷陶瓷增殖包层在等离子体主破裂时的电磁结构耦合分析

增殖包层作为中国聚变工程实验堆(China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor,CFETR)的核心部件,承载着能量转换和氚增殖的重要作用。中国科学院等离子体物理研究所在之前增殖包层设计的基础上,又提出了氦冷陶瓷增殖(Helium Cooled Ceramic Breeder,HCCB)包层的概念设计。为评估电磁载荷对HCCB包层结构安全性的影响,借助通用有限元软件ANSYS,研究计算了在等离子体主破裂时包层中产生的感应涡流、洛伦兹力和力矩。通过多物理场耦合分析方法,获取了包层中产生的等效应力和形变位移。结果表明,在等离子体电流指数衰减时,HCCB包层模型上产生的最大等效应力和形变位移满足包层结构设计的要求,同时模拟分析结果也为未来的包层结构优化以及支撑结构设计提供了必要的数据支撑。     

Effect of water vapor on tritium permeation behavior in the blanket system

It is found that most hydrogen supplied to the purge gas changed to water vapor due to the water formation reaction in the early stage of the blanket operation and that physical or chemical adsorbed water is released in the high concentration into the blanket purge gas when the blanket temperature becomes higher than several hundreds of degrees K if the pre-treatment is not applied to the solid breeder materials. Effect of coexistence of water vapor in the purge gas on permeation behavior of hydrogen through F82H ferritic steel in the breeding part and palladium–silver (Pd–Ag) in the recovery part is discussed because use of them is generally considered for recovery of bred tritium from the solid blanket. Almost no decrease in permeation rate of F82H is observed in this study when water vapor exists in the blanket purge gas. The permeability of hydrogen isotopes through the Pd–Ag pipe gradually decreases when water vapor exists in the blanket purge gas. Properties required in estimation of the hydrogen permeated to the purge gas are experimentally obtained in this study.     

水冷固态增殖包层模块冷却剂管系流量分配研究

包层是磁约束聚变堆中实现氚增殖和能量导出的重要部件,针对包层模块中,由于复杂的串并联流道结构所导致的冷却剂流量分配不均匀问题,采用一维热流体流动分析软件Flowmaster,建立了水冷固态增殖包层子模块的冷却剂流道结构模型。对运行工况下包层冷却剂流量分配进行模拟,并与相关试验以及模拟结果进行比对。模拟结果表明,所建立的子模块一维模型各部分冷却剂温升和压降均与设计值吻合,模型能够准确的描述包层冷却剂流动特性。在稳态运行工况下,包层子模块侧壁支管出现较为明显的流量分配不均匀现象,流量最大值与最小值偏差达到5%。位于侧壁上下两端的集合管对流量分配均匀性起重要作用,保持矩形集合管横截面积不变,横截面长宽相等时流量分配最为均匀。当集合管采用不同形状设计时,圆形管道流量分配均匀性要好于矩形管道。     

R&D progress of Korean HCSB TBM

Several R&Ds are being performed for Korean helium cooled solid breeder (HCSB) test blanket module (TBM) in the field of hydrogen isotopes permeation characteristics measurement in the helium purge line, joining technologies of structural materials, breeder pebble materials development, and the measurement of pebble bed characteristics. Electron beam welding for reduced activated ferritic–martensitic (RAFM) steel is evaluated to find optimal welding conditions. Also, a hydrogen permeation measurement apparatus is newly installed for the evaluation of the permeation barrier characteristics of stainless steel and RAFM steels. Two fabrication methods of lithium orthosilicate pebbles are investigated using slurry droplet methods. As methods of silicon carbide coating on the graphite pebble, microwave coating and chemical vapor deposition coating are evaluated. Two apparatuses are established to assess the thermo-mechanical properties of graphite and breeder pebble beds. The current status of R&D activities on these areas is introduced and the main progresses are addressed in this paper.     

Decay Heat Removal by Natural Circulation of Vacuum Vessel Coolant for ITER

The decay heat-driven temperature transients of the in-vessel components following a postulated loss of all in-vessel cooling have been calculated. The resulting time-dependent heat load to the vacuum vessel is due to radiation from the backplate and convection of postulated steam between backplate and vacuum vessel. It is shown, that even for a failure of all in-vessel cooling and total loss of power, the ITER design can rely on passive decay heat removal by natural circulation in one of the two existing cooling loops of the vacuum vessel. A mathematical model describes the transient operating conditions and shows that the temperature established by natural circulation does not exceed 200°C at the maximum shut down heat load to the vacuum vessel. Therefore, no additional emergency cooling system is required if the existing heat exchanger is designed for natural circulation and a bypass is used during normal operation to maintain operation temperature.     

Construction of PREMUX and preliminary experimental results,as preparation for the HCPB breeder unit mock-up testing

One of the European blanket designs for ITER is the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) blanket. The core of the HCPB-TBM consists of so-called breeder units (BUs), which encloses beryllium as neutron multiplier and lithium orthosilicate (Li₄SiO₄) as tritium breeder in form of pebble beds. After the design phase of the HCPB-BU, a non-nuclear thermal and thermo-mechanical qualification program for this device is running at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.Before the complex full scale BU testing, a pre-test mock-up experiment (PREMUX) has been constructed, which consists of a slice of the BU containing the Li₄SiO₄ pebble bed. PREMUX is going to be operated under highly ITER-relevant conditions and has the following goals: (1) as a testing rig of new heater concept based on a matrix of wire heaters, (2) as benchmark for the existing finite element method (FEM) codes used for the thermo-mechanical assessment of the Li₄SiO₄ pebble bed, and (3) in situ measurement of thermal conductivity of the Li₄SiO₄ pebble bed during the tests.This paper describes the construction of PREMUX, its rationale and the experimental campaign planned with the device. Preliminary results testing the algorithm used for the temperature reconstruction of the pebble bed are reported and compared qualitatively with first analyses completed with the FEM codes.