Blankets-key element of a fusion reactor-funktions, design and present state of development

Klaus Hesch, Lorenzo V. Boccaccini, Robert Stieglitz
2018
Blankets are key elements of a future fusion power reactor as they breed the fusion fuel tritium, extract the heat from the reactor for power generation and contribute to the nuclear shielding of the plasma confining magnetic field coils. On the way to the engineering implementation of fusion, in particular, the blanket design approach has changed substantially. Novel blanket designs require already from the beginning a design incorporating a closed coupling plasma physics with engineering
more » ... cs to develop robust designs coping with thermal, mechanical and also electrodynamic loads not only during the stationary operating phase but also during transients. Simultaneously nuclear licensing capability as well as component failure safety must be part of the design. Additional key elements of the blanket design are the ease of reactor integration, the compatibility of interface functionality, as well as reliable maintenance and disassembly, and recyclability. This article describes advanced blanket design approaches undertaken in the past years by the example of the helium cooled pebble bed blanket (HCPB) to facilitate an efficient blanket engineering design, starting from the development of modular integral reactor analysis tool, via the engineering validation of fabrication and design analysis and interface performance capabilities towards the safety analysis on a reactor view level. (German title of publication) -Blankets-Schlüsselelemente eines Fusionsreaktors -Funktionalität, Design und aktuelle Entwicklungsverfahren Figure 4: sketch of the temporal evolution of plasma current and coil currents during a plasma discharge in a tokamak from [4]
doi:10.5445/ir/1000083032 fatcat:x4az5dk6tbel7enb5ooeb73pde