Speaker
Jose Galabert
(Fusion for Energy)
Description
Europe is developing two reference tritium breeder blankets concepts that will be tested in ITER under form of Test Blanket Systems (TBSs): (i) the helium-cooled lithium-lead (HCLL) which uses liquid Pb16Li as both breeder and neutron multiplier, (ii) the helium-cooled pebble-bed (HCPB) with lithiated ceramic pebbles as breeder and beryllium pebbles as neutron multiplier.
One of core documents to be prepared in view of satisfactory licensing of each of European HCLL & HCPB TBS systems is their ‘Maintenance Plan’. This document, which becomes fundamental for ensuring sound performance and safety of TBS along ITER operational phase, shall include information as relevant as maintenance organization, preventive and corrective maintenance task procedures, condition monitoring for key components, or spare parts plan, just to enumerate some of them.
In compliance with ITER Maintenance policies, first steps aimed to define nuclear maintenance strategy for key HCLL&HCPB TBS components are been conducted by F4E in collaboration with industry, being purpose of such preliminary nuclear maintenance studies:
- identification of requirements and constraints for maintenance activities;
- preliminary assessment of maintenance tasks sequence required for key components of each sub-system: Helium Cooling System (HCS), Coolant Purification System (CPS), Tritium Extraction System (TES) and PbLi Loop;
- preliminary assessment of necessary Maintenance tools and equipment;
- preliminary estimation of maintenance task duration.
The mentioned maintenance studies are based on TBS conceptual design and are intended to challenge their design from maintenance perspective so as to take on board at early design phase possible design recommendations that could facilitate maintenance activities particularly on those areas for which reduction of occupational radiological exposure following ALARA principle is strictly required.
After brief recall of design features of HCLL & HCPB TBS, above mentioned topics are discussed in this paper, paying attention to main conclusions in terms of design recommendations.
Co-authors
Dave Hopper
(AMEC Foster Wheeler, Cheshire, United Kingdom)
Italo Ricapito
(Fusion for Energy, Barcelona, Spain)
Jean-Cristophe Neviere
(ITER Organization, Cadarache, France)
Jose Galabert
(Fusion for Energy, Barcelona, Spain)
Liam Forsythe
(CCFE, Culham, United Kingdom)
Romain Pascal
(ITER Organization, Cadarache, France)
White Gareth
(AMEC Foster Wheeler, Cheshire, United Kingdom)
