Speaker
Francisco A. Hernandez Gonzalez
(Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology)
Description
The Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) Breeding Blanket (BB) is one of the four BB concepts being investigated in the EU for their possible implementation in DEMO.
During 2011-2013 initial HCPB BB conceptual studies were performed based on a design extrapolation from the ITER’s HCPB Test Blanket Module, leading to the so called “beer-box” BB concept. During 2014 the “beer-box” BB concept suffered several design changes so as to meet different counteracting nuclear, thermo-hydraulic and thermo-mechanical requirements, specially evidencing that the concept was not flexible enough to meet the tight TBR requirements (i.e. TBR≥1.10). Additionally, the complex manifold system with unbalanced helium mass flow needs in each of the two redundant cooling loops made the concept complex. However, parametric studies during 2015 revealed that the HCPB concept have potential for larger nuclear performance, as well as potential for a significant simplification of the cooling internals by redefining the cooling plates and the architecture of this blanket, making the flow scheme symmetric.
This paper describes the new HCPB blanket concept based on a “sandwich” structure of cooling plates with integrated helium manifold systems. The former complex manifold backplate system has been compacted and integrated in the cooling plates, releasing about 300mm of radial space that can be used now for increased tritium breeding, shielding or reinforcement of the Back Supporting Structure (BSS). Detailed neutronic analyses confirm a TBR of at least ~1.20. Preliminary analyses show good thermo-hydraulic behaviors of the concept and preliminary thermo-mechanical analyses also indicates that the design should be able to withstand off-normal in-box LOCA scenarios up to a level C according to the RCC-MRx code. Future optimization activities are described, which shall lead to a concept meeting all the BB requirements with still some margin for mitigation, in the case of future changes in the tokamak configuration.
Co-authors
Bela Kiss
(Institute of Nuclear Techniques, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest,Műegyetem rkp. 3, 1111 Budapest, Hungary)
Francisco A. Hernandez Gonzalez
(Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany)
Gabor Nadasi
(Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33, 1121 Budapest, Hungary)
Heiko Neuberger
(Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany)
Oliver Bitz
(Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany)
Pavel Pereslavtsev
(Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany)
Prachai Norajitra
(Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany)
Qinlang Kang
(Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany)
