Thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the DEMO divertor plasma facing components cooling circuit

Abstract Within the framework of the Work Package DIV 1 – “Divertor Cassette Design and Integration” of the EUROfusion action, a research campaign has been jointly carried out by ENEA and University of Palermo to investigate the thermal-hydraulic performances of the DEMO divertor cassette cooling system. A comparative evaluation study has been performed considering three different options for the cooling circuit layout of the divertor Plasma Facing Components (PFCs). The potential improvement in the thermal-hydraulic performance of the cooling system, to be achieved by modifying cooling circuit layout, has been also assessed and discussed in terms of optimization strategy. The research acti…

Computational thermofluid-dynamic analysis of DEMO divertor cassette body cooling circuit

Abstract Within the framework of the Work Package Divertor, Subproject: Cassette Design and Integration (WPDIV-Cassette) of the EUROfusion action, a research campaign has been jointly carried out by ENEA and University of Palermo to investigate the thermal-hydraulic performances of the DEMO divertor cassette cooling system. The research activity has been carried out following a theoretical-computational approach based on the finite volume method and adopting a qualified Computational Fluid-Dynamic (CFD) code. Fully-coupled fluid-structure CFD analyses have been carried out for the recently-revised cassette body cooling circuit under nominal steady state conditions, imposing a non-uniform sp…

First Flight Escape Probability and Uncollided Flux of Nuclear Particles in Convex Bodies with Spherical Symmetry

This paper deals with the evaluation of the first flight escape probability of nuclear particles from convex bodies with spherical symmetry by means of some geometrical arguments and very simple probability considerations. The cases of a full sphere, a one-region spherical shell with an empty central zone, a spherical shell region containing a black central zone, and a full sphere with a sourceless shell have been considered. In all the aforementioned cases, a homogeneous medium and uniform isotropic source have been taken into account. Moreover, a simple and general formula has been derived for the calculation of the uncollided flux that is presupposed to be valid for arbitrary geometries.…

Progress in the initial design activities for the European DEMO divertor: Subproject "Cassette"

Abstract Since 2014 preconceptual design activities for European DEMO divertor have been conducted as an integrated, interdisciplinary R&D effort in the framework of EUROfusion Consortium. Consisting of two subproject areas, ‘Cassette’ and ‘Target’, this divertor project has the objective to deliver a holistic preconceptual design concept together with the key technological solutions to materialize the design. In this paper, a brief overview on the recent results from the subproject ‘Cassette’ is presented. In this subproject, the overall cassette system is engineered based on the load analysis and specification. The preliminary studies covered multi-physical analyses of neutronic, thermal,…

Numerical simulation of the transient thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the ITER blanket cooling system under the draining operational procedure

Abstract Within the framework of the research and development activities supported by the ITER Organization on the blanket system issues, an intense analysis campaign has been performed at the University of Palermo with the aim to investigate the thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the cooling system of a standard 20° sector of ITER blanket during the draining transient operational procedure. The analysis has been carried out following a theoretical-computational approach based on the finite volume method and adopting the RELAP5 system code. In a first phase, attention has been focused on the development and validation of the finite volume models of the cooling circuits of the most demanding mod…

On the optimization of the first wall of the DEMO water-cooled lithium lead outboard breeding blanket equatorial module

Abstract Within the framework of EUROfusion R&D activities a research campaign has been carried out at the University of Palermo in order to investigate the thermo-mechanical performances of the DEMO water-cooled lithium lead (WCLL) breeding blanket first wall (FW). The research campaign has been mainly focused on the optimization of the FW geometric configuration in order to maximize the heat flux it may safely withstand fulfilling all the thermal, hydraulic and mechanical requirements foreseen by safety codes. Attention has been focused on the FW flat concept endowed with square cooling channels and the potential influence of its four main geometrical parameters on its thermo-mechanical p…

Thermal-hydraulic optimisation of the DEMO divertor cassette body cooling circuit equipped with a liner

Abstract Within the framework of the Work Package DIV 1 - “Divertor Cassette Design and Integration” of the EUROfusion action, a research campaign has been jointly carried out by University of Palermo and ENEA to investigate the thermal-hydraulic performances of the DEMO divertor cassette cooling system. The research activity has been focused onto the most recent design of the Cassette Body (CB) cooling circuit equipped with a Liner, whose main function is to protect the underlying vacuum pump hole from the radiation arising from the plasma. The research campaign has been carried out following a theoretical-computational approach based on the Finite Volume Method and adopting the commercial…

On the thermal-hydraulic optimization of DEMO divertor plasma facing components cooling circuit

Abstract Within the framework of the Work Package Divertor, Subproject: Cassette Design and Integration (WPDIV-Cassette) of the EUROfusion action, a research campaign has been jointly carried out by ENEA and University of Palermo to investigate the thermal-hydraulic performances of the DEMO divertor cassette cooling system. Attention has been focussed on the divertor Plasma Facing Components (PFCs) cooling circuit and a parametric analysis has been carried out in order to assess the potential impact of proper layout changes on its thermal-hydraulic performances, mainly in terms of coolant total pressure drop, flow velocity distribution and margin against critical heat flux occurrence. The r…

Structural verification and manufacturing procedures of the cooling system, for DEMO divertor target (OVT)

The paper presents the design activities and testing plan of a vertical target mock-up, developed within the pre-conceptual design phase for DEMO Work Package DIV-1 “Divertor Cassette Design and Integration” - EUROfusion Power Plant Physics & Technology (PPPT) program. Activities concerning the Divertor Outboard Vertical Target cooling mock-up are presented in term of CAD model, thermal-hydraulic numerical simulation, structural analysis, structural integrity verification and manufacturing procedure. Moreover, the mechanical dimensions of support systems for Plasma Facing Components (PFCs), manifold and diffuser have been analyzed in detail, in order to avoid structural fault during the tes…

Analysis of steady state thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the DEMO Divertor cassette body cooling circuit

Abstract Within the framework of the Work Package DIV 1 – “Divertor Cassette Design and Integration” of the EUROfusion action, a research campaign has been jointly carried out by ENEA and University of Palermo to investigate the thermal-hydraulic performances of the DEMO divertor cassette cooling system. A comparative evaluation study has been performed considering the two different options under consideration for the divertor cassette body coolant, namely subcooled pressurized water and helium. The research activity has been carried out following a theoretical-computational approach based on the finite volume method and adopting a qualified Computational Fluid-Dynamic (CFD) code. CFD analy…

Computational study of the thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the DEMO Divertor cooling system

Hydraulic analysis of EU-DEMO divertor plasma facing components cooling circuit under nominal operating scenarios

Within the framework of the Work Package DIV 1 – “Divertor Cassette Design and Integration” of the EUROfusion action, a research campaign has been jointly carried out by University of Palermo and ENEA to investigate the steady state thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the DEMO divertor cassette cooling circuit, focussing the attention on its Plasma Facing Components (PFCs). The research campaign has been carried out following a theoretical-computational approach based on the Finite Volume Method and adopting the commercial Computational Fluid-Dynamic code ANSYS-CFX. A realistic model of the PFCs cooling circuit has been analysed, specifically embedding each Plasma Facing Unit (PFU) cooling chann…

Analysis of the steady state hydraulic behaviour of the ITER blanket cooling system

Abstract The blanket system is the ITER reactor component devoted to providing a physical boundary for plasma transients and contributing to thermal and nuclear shielding of vacuum vessel, magnets and external components. It is expected to be subjected to significant heat loads under nominal conditions and its cooling system has to ensure an adequate cooling, preventing any risk of critical heat flux occurrence while complying with pressure drop limits. At the University of Palermo a study has been performed, in cooperation with the ITER Organization, to investigate the steady state hydraulic behaviour of the ITER blanket standard sector cooling system. A theoretical–computational approach …