Speaker
Christopher Harrington
(Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE))
Description
The Water-cooled Lithium-Lead (WCLL) blanket is one option under consideration for the EUROfusion DEMO programme. This blanket design must interface with the Primary Heat Transfer System, Power Conversion System, and Energy Storage System in an integrated solution to mitigate the pulsed power profile of the tokamak and deliver feasible power plant performance. The system must maintain an acceptable electrical output during the dwell period and minimise thermal and mechanical cycling of components and systems.
This work presents the development of a complete transient model, constructed using the Apros simulation code, of the WCLL blanket with heat transfer and thermal hydraulic phenomena described in one dimension. The model extends to include all primary coolant loops, the LiPb circulation loop, and the secondary steam cycle, with all appropriate components and control systems.
Two energy storage options are investigated: first, use of the LiPb breeder material itself as a latent heat energy storage medium that continues to deliver heat to the coolant via the blanket modules during the dwell; and second, to reduce the volumes of LiPb necessary, the introduction of an interfacing molten salt storage loop. For these options the model captures the thermal inertia of the system, providing the time-dependent plant response. Specific topics of interest include temperature and pressure transients in the various fluid loops, volume requirements for the storage media, and ultimately the power profile delivered to the grid.
This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014-2018 under grant agreement No 633053 and from the RCUK Energy Programme [grant number EP/I501045]. To obtain further information on the data and models underlying this paper please contact PublicationsManager@ccfe.ac.uk. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.
Co-authors
Christopher Harrington
(Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3DB, United Kingdom)
Dominic McLaughlin
(Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3DB, United Kingdom)
Sixten Norrman
(VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1300, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland)
