Preliminary performance analysis and optimization based on 1D neutronics model for Indian DEMO HCCB blanket

India, under its breeding blanket R&D program for DEMO, is focusing on the development of two tritium breeding blanket concepts; namely the lead-lithium-cooled ceramic breeder and the helium-cooled ceramic breeder (HCCB). The study presented in this paper focuses on the neutronic design analysis and optimization from the tritium breeding perspective of the HCCB blanket. The Indian concept has an edge-on configuration and is one of the variants of the helium-cooled solid breeder blanket concepts proposed by several partner countries in ITER. The Indian HCCB blanket having lithium titanate (Li₂TiO₃) as the tritium breeder and beryllium (Be) as the neutron multiplier with reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic steel structure aims at utilizing the low-energy neutrons at the rear part of the blanket. The aim of the optimization study is to minimize the radial blanket thickness while ensuring tritium self-sufficiency and provide data for further neutronic design and thermal-hydraulic layout of the HCCB blanket. It is found that inboard and outboard blanket thicknesses of 40 cm and 60 cm, respectively, can give a tritium breeding ratio (TBR) >1.3, with 60% ⁶Li enrichment, which is assumed to be sufficient to cover potential tritium losses and associated uncertainties. The results also demonstrated that the Be packing fraction (PF) has a more profound impact on the TBR as compared to 6Li enrichment and the PF of Li₂TiO₃.     

Preliminary thermal hydraulic safety analysis of water-cooled ceramic breeder blanket for CFETR

The Chinese fusion engineering test reactor (CFETR) was expected to bridge from the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) to the demonstration fusion reactor (DEMO). The water-cooled ceramic breeder (WCCB) blanket is one of the blanket candidates for CFETR. In this paper, preliminary thermal hydraulic safety analyses have been carried out using the system safety analysis code RELAP5 originally developed for light water fission reactors. The pulse operation and three typical loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs), namely, in-vessel LOCA, in-box LOCA, and ex-vessel LOCA, were simulated based on steady-state initialization. Simulation results show that important thermal hydraulic parameters, such as pressure and temperature can meet the design criterion which preliminarily verifies the feasibility of the WCCB blanket from the safety point of view.     

Analysis and optimization of the manifolds of the HCCB blanket for CFETR

Thermal-hydraulic performance is a challenging issue in helium-cooled ceramic breeder (HCCB) blanket design due to the extremely complicated working environment and the strict limits of materials temperature. The heat loads deposited on the HCCB blanket comprises of severe surface heat flux from plasma and the volumetric nuclear heat from neutron irradiation, which can be exhausted by the built-in cooling channels of the components. High pressure helium with 8 MPa, distributed from the coolant manifolds is employed as coolant in the blanket. The design and optimization of the manifolds configuration was performed to guarantee the accurate flow control of helium coolant. The flow distribution in the coolant manifolds was investigated based on the structural improvement of manifolds aiming at overall uniform mass flow rates and better flow streamline distribution without obvious vortexes. The peak temperature of different functional materials in the blanket under normal operating condition is below allowable material limits. It is found that the components in the current blanket module could be cooled effectively under the intense thermal loads due to the updated design and optimization analysis of manifolds.     

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.     

CFETR第一壁及赤道面外包层中子辐照损伤初步分析

中国聚变工程实验堆(Chinese Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor,CFETR)的包层和偏滤器第一壁面向堆芯等离子体,第一壁辐照损伤分析对于托克马克安全运行至关重要。赤道面外包层较其它包层距离堆芯等离子体中心更近,其结构材料承受中子辐照大。因此,进行中子辐照损伤评估十分必要。基于此目的,采用计算机辅助设计(Computer Aided Design,CAD)模型和蒙特卡罗中子学建模转换接口Mc CAD完成中子学建模,并用蒙特卡罗方法的粒子输运程序计算第一壁和氦冷固态外包层结构材料辐照损伤。此外,对比了铍和钨作为面向等离子体材料两种情况下第一壁的受损情况。计算结果表明,氦冷固态包层模型下结构材料可以满足CFETR一期的运行要求。     

Beryllium/ferritic martensitic steel joining for the fabrication of the ITER test blanket module first wall

The first wall of an international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) test blanket module (TBM) is a multilayered component consisting of plasma facing armor and structural materials including the cooling channels. One of the main issues about the R&D on the TBM is to develop the joining technologies for a fabrication of the TBM first wall. The objectives of this study are to optimize the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) conditions and the interlayer combination for the fabrication of beryllium (Be)/ferritic martensitic steel (FMS) joints without a degradation of the mechanical properties of the FMS. Effects of HIP joining conditions including the temperature and interlayer types were investigated. The HIP temperature was selected for the anticipated tempering condition for FMS to avoid a grain coarsening which would deteriorate the mechanical properties of FMS. Several interlayer materials were applied in order to manufacture high strength joints. Be and FMS were joined successfully by the application of a Ti/Cu interlayer and it showed a relatively high bending strength, 257 MPa, among the interlayer types studied. The fracture was caused by a delamination of the reaction layer between FMS and the coated interlayer without a plastic deformation. This paper summarizes the results of a Be/FMS joints manufacturing and an investigation of their properties.     

Study of the helium-cooled lithium lead test blanket module nuclear behaviour under irradiation in ITER

The present paper deals with the detailed investigation of the helium-cooled lithium lead test blanket module (HCLL-TBM) nuclear behaviour under irradiation in ITER, carried out at the Department of Nuclear Engineering of the University of Palermo adopting a numerical approach based on the Monte Carlo method.A realistic 3D heterogeneous model of the HCLL-TBM was set-up and inserted into an ITER 3D semi-heterogeneous model that realistically simulates the reactor lay-out up to the cryostat. A Gaussian-shaped neutron source was adopted for the calculations.The main features of the HCLL-TBM nuclear response were assessed, paying a particular attention to the neutronic and photonic deposited power, the tritium production rate and the spatial distribution of their volumetric densities. Structural material irradiation damage was also investigated through the evaluation of displacement per atom and helium and hydrogen production rates.     

超临界压力水冷包层方案第一壁的热与应力分析

针对超临界水冷包层中第一壁的运行工况,利用数值计算软件ANSYS中CFX和Workbench两个模块对第一壁结构中的固体域和流体域进行数值分析研究。对比矩形管道和圆形管道内传热及热应力分布发现,矩形管道四个角域强化了壁面流体和主流流体的动量和热量的交换,使传热性能优于圆形管道,而四个角域的存在也造成了该处的应力集中,使结构材料的最大应力明显高于圆形管道。进一步研究冷却剂流向和冷却管道几何结构参数对第一壁结构温度场和应力场的影响发现,在ITER运行工况下,冷却剂流向影响很小,增大冷却管道直径和减小冷却管道最小壁厚均能改善第一壁结构材料中的最高温度,而这两个几何结构参数对第一壁应力的影响较为复杂。     

DEMO水冷包层第一壁结构优化设计研究

针对聚变示范堆（DEMO）水冷包层,通过计算流体力学程序CFX和计算结构力学程序ANSYSWorkbench中的SIMULATION模块进行单向流固耦合分析。在对现有设计的DEMO水冷包层第一壁温度和应力数值模拟分析的基础上,改变了第一壁流道结构,着重研究了不同流道结构下的温度和应力分布,分析了几何结构对最高温度和最大应力的影响,提出第一壁结构的优化设计方案。数值模拟结果表明,优化设计方案能有效降低第一壁结构中的最高温度和最大应力。     

ITER双功能液态锂铅实验包层系统故障模式影响分析

实验包层模块允许放置在ITER中实验的前提是其对ITER的安全以及对工作人员和环境不构成显著影响。ITER要求各参与方的实验包层模块在实验前必须提交安全分析报告,进而获取安全许可证。在中国双功能锂铅实验包层模块(DFLL-TBM)设计基础上,采用了故障模式影响分析(FMEA)方法对DFLL-TBM进行了安全评估与分析,得到所有可能导致严重后果的假设始发事件,验证了确定论安全分析所选择的三个参考事件可以包络所有的假设始发事件。     

聚变驱动次临界堆双冷嬗变包层第一壁结构热应力计算与分析

使用有限元程序对聚变次临界堆双冷嬗变包层第一壁进行数值模拟 ,给出不同载荷条件下的温度场和应力场分布 ,结果证明典型氦气系统设计满足热工要求。依据数值模拟结果对第一壁氦气载热能力进行分析 ,并考虑了流道形状对结构热应力的影响。     

Structural components design and analysis of side wall in a Korean HCCR TBM for ITER

Korea has developed a helium cooled ceramic reflector (HCCR) test blanket module (TBM) consisting of four sub-modules in an ITER. From the draft design of the side wall (SW) according to a thermal-hydraulic analysis, a mechanical analysis was performed considering a design channel pressure of 10 MPa. The SW comprised of sixteen grids with the seventeen partitions for the manifold function satisfied 1.5S_m of the allowable stress (S_m) according to RCC-MR code at the maximum stress region in the SW. In addition, an elastic analysis of the draft design of the back manifold (BM) was carried out, which supported the four sub-modules in the HCCR TBM and has the main inlet/outlet of the He cooling pipe, the measurement pipes, and He purge gas lines from the port cell. The results show that the maximum stress was higher than 1.5S_m, and the BM design has been modified to satisfy the BM function and requirements.     

CLAM用作超临界水冷包层第一壁结构材料的热与应力性能分析

在聚变堆超临界水冷固态增殖包层第一壁的运行工况下,采用数值方法对采用中国低活化马氏体钢(CLAM)作为结构材料的第一壁进行单向流固耦合分析,为超临界水冷实验包层模块(TBM)的热工设计提供借鉴。分别采用CLAM和F82H作为第一壁结构材料,对比温度场和应力场,并考察不同冷却管道形状(矩形和圆形)、不同冷却管道直径和最小壁厚对第一壁温度场和应力场的影响。结果表明:CLAM的最高温度及最大应力均高于F82H的;采用CLAM作为结构材料时,矩形冷却管道的角域的换热得到了增强,但同时也造成了应力集中,第一壁设计时应综合权衡;增大冷却管道直径和减小最小壁厚均有利于换热。     

Design and R&D progress of Korean HCCR TBM

Korea plans to test a Helium Cooled Ceramic Reflector (HCCR) Test Blanket Module (TBM) in ITER. The HCCR TBM adopts a four sub-module concept considering the fabricability and the transfer of irradiated TBM for post irradiation examination. Each sub-module has seven-layer breeding zone, including three neutron multiplier layers packed with beryllium pebbles, three lithium ceramic pebble bed packed tritium breeder layers, and a reflector layer packed with graphite pebbles. Based on this configuration, neutronic and electromagnetic calculations were performed and their results were applied for the conceptual design of HCCR TBM that considers manufacturing feasibility. Also, a design and safety analysis of HCCR Test Blanket System (TBS) was performed using integrated design tools modifying nuclear system codes for helium coolant and tritium behavior evaluation. The Advanced Reduced Activation Alloy (ARAA) is being developed as a structural material. A total of 73 candidate ARAA alloys were designed and their out-of-pile performance was evaluated. The graphite pebbles as the neutron reflector were fabricated by using mechanical machining and grounding method with the surface coated with SiC. The hydrogen permeation characteristics of structural materials were evaluated using the Hydrogen PERmeation (HYPER) facility. The recent design and R&D progress on these areas are addressed in this paper.     

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.     

60Co铁路货物列车检查系统安全连锁的计算机控制

作为辐射成像系统,^60Co铁路货物检测系统的安全连锁单元是其中重要组成部分。介绍了安全连锁单元的设计要求,详细说明了安全连锁单元的实现方法,介绍了系统实际运行中安全连锁单元的工作情况,并提出了进一步提高系统安全性的方法。     

60Co铁路货物检测系统中监控单元的设计与实现

^60Co铁路货物检测系统具有极高的自动化程度，监控单元是其自动控制系统中的重要组成部分，详细介绍了监控单元的设计思想，实现了区别于传统实现方法的新型监控单元。