Search results for "Blank"
showing 10 items of 179 documents
Thermo-mechanical testing of Li-ceramic for the helium cooled pebble bed (HCPB) breeding blanket
2004
The helium cooled pebble bed (HCPB) Test blanket module (TBM) for the DEMO Reactor foresees the utilization of lithiate ceramics as breeder in form of pebble beds. The pebbles are organized in several layers alternatively stacked among couples of cooling plates (CP). ENEA has launched an experimental programme for the out-of-pile thermo-mechanical testing of mock-ups simulating a portion of the HCPB-TBM. The programme foresees the fabrication and testing of different mock-ups, to be tested in the HE-FUS3 facility at ENEA Brasimone. The paper describes the HELICHETTA III campaign carried-out in 2003. In particular, the test section layout, the pebble filling procedure, the experimental set-u…
Formation and accumulation of radiation-induced defects and radiolysis products in modified lithium orthosilicate pebbles with additions of titanium …
2016
Abstract Lithium orthosilicate (Li4SiO4) pebbles with 2.5 wt.% excess of silicon dioxide (SiO2) are the European Union's designated reference tritium breeding ceramics for the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) Test Blanket Module (TBM). However, the latest irradiation experiments showed that the reference Li4SiO4 pebbles may crack and form fragments under operation conditions as expected in the HCPB TBM. Therefore, it has been suggested to change the chemical composition of the reference Li4SiO4 pebbles and to add titanium dioxide (TiO2), to obtain lithium metatitanate (Li2TiO3) as a second phase. The aim of this research was to investigate the formation and accumulation of radiation-induced …
Nuclear Analysis of an ITER Blanket Module
2013
ITER blanket system is the reactor’s plasma-facing component, it is mainly devoted to provide the thermal and nuclear shielding of the Vacuum Vessel and external ITER components, being intended also to act as plasma limiter. It consists of 440 individual modules which are located in the inboard, upper and outboard regions of the reactor. In this paper attention has been focused on to a single outboard blanket module located in the equatorial zone, whose nuclear response under irradiation has been investigated following a numerical approach based on the Monte Carlo method and adopting the MCNP5 code. The main features of this blanket module nuclear behaviour have been determined, paying part…
Overview of the HCPB Research Activities in EUROfusion
2018
In the framework of the EUROfusion’s Power Plant Physics and Technology, the working package breeding blanket (BB) aims at investigating four different BB concepts for an EU demonstration fusion reactor (DEMO). One of these concepts is the helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB) BB, which is based on the use of pebble beds of lithiated ternary compounds and Be or beryllides as tritium breeder and multiplier materials, respectively, EUROFER97 as structural steel and He as coolant. This paper aims at giving an overview of the EU HCPB BB Research and Development (R&D) being developed at KIT, in collaboration with Wigner-RCP, BUTE-INT, and CIEMAT. The paper gives an outline of the HCPB BB design evolut…
Water-cooled Pb–17Li test blanket module for ITER: Impact of the structural material grade on the neutronic responses
1998
Abstract The Water-Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) DEMO blanket is one of the two EU lines to be further developed with the aim of manufacturing by 2010 a Test Blanket Module for ITER (TBM). In this paper results of a 3D-Monte Carlo neutronic analysis of the TBM design are reported. A fully 3D heterogeneous model of the WCLL–TBM has been inserted into an existing ITER model accounting for a proper D–T neutron source. The structural material assumed for the calculations was martensitic 9% Cr steel code named Z 10 CDV Nb 9-1. Results have been compared with those obtained using MANET. The main nuclear responses of the TBM have been determined, such as detailed power deposition density, material da…
On the effects of the supporting frame on the radiation-induced damage of HCLL-TBM structural material
2007
Within the European Fusion Technology Programme, research activities have been conducted on the Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead (HCLL) breeding blanket concept with the aim of manufacturing a Test Blanket Module (TBM) to be irradiated in ITER. HCLL-TBM is planned to be located in an ITER equatorial port, housed inside an AISI 316 stainless steel-supporting frame. Since that frame has been designed to provide two positions separated by a dividing plate and the HCLL-TBM is expected to fill one of them, its nuclear response could vary depending on the filling status of the other position and on the plate thickness. A parametric study has been carried out to investigate the potential effects on the …
Overview of the DEMO staged design approach in Europe
2019
This paper describes the status of the pre-conceptual design activities in Europe to advance the technical basis of the design of a DEMOnstration Fusion Power Plant (DEMO) to come in operation around the middle of this century with the main aims of demonstrating the production of few hundred MWs of net electricity, the feasibility of operation with a closed-tritium fuel cycle, and maintenance systems capable of achieving adequate plant availability. This is expected to benefit as much as possible from the ITER experience, in terms of design, licensing, and construction. Emphasis is on an integrated design approach, based on system engineering, which provides a clear path for urgent R&D …
Experimental Assessment of a Flat Sandwich-Like Self-Powered Detector for Nuclear Measurements in ITER Test Blanket Modules
2018
Neutron and gamma flux measurements in designated positions in the test blanket modules (TBMs) of ITER will be important tasks during its campaigns. Investigations on self-powered detectors (SPDs), a class of reactor flux monitors are undertaken in the framework of an ongoing project on development of nuclear instrumentation for European ITER TBMs. This paper reports the findings of experiments performed with an SPD in flat sandwich-like geometry. A detector with vanadium emitter is chosen for preliminary studies. Its irradiation in a thermal neutron field gives a proof of the principle of flat SPDs. It is further irradiated in the mixed neutron-gamma field of a 14-MeV neutron generator and…
Conceptual design of the main Ancillary Systems of the ITER Water Cooled Lithium Lead Test Blanket System
2021
Abstract The Water Cooled Lithium Lead Test Blanket System (WCLL TBS) is one of the EU Test Blanket Systems candidate for being installed and operated in ITER. In view of its Conceptual Design Review by F4E and ITER Organization (IO), planned for mid-September 2020, several technical activities have been performed in the areas of WCLL TBS Ancillary Systems design. In this article the outcomes of the conceptual design phase of the four main Ancillary Systems of WCLL TBS, namely the Water Cooling System (WCS), the Coolant Purification System (CPS), the PbLi loop and the Tritium Extraction System (TES), are reported and critically discussed. In particular, for each Ancillary System hereafter a…
Preliminary design of the top cap of DEMO Water-Cooled Lithium Lead breeding blanket segments
2020
Abstract Within the framework of EUROfusion R&D activity, a research campaign has been carried out at the University of Palermo, in close cooperation with ENEA labs, in order to preliminary design the top cap foreseen for the DEMO Water-Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) breeding blanket segments. Due to the high heat and pressure loads acting on such component, its design results particularly demanding and a specific multi-physics approach is needed, covering several aspects from thermal-hydraulics to structural assessments. Preliminary detailed CAD model of the cap integrated into the upper region of the WCLL breeding blanket outboard central segment has been set-up, equipped with proper cooling …