fusion blanket technology

Fusion Blanket Technology

The development and simulation of fuel self- sufficiency capabilities of nuclear fusion reactors.

Bethany Colling

b.colling@lancaster.ac.uk

B.Colling Fusion Blanket Technology UNTF b.colling@lancaster.ac.uk

Presentation Outline

Fusion and Fuels

Tritium Breeding

Blanket Technology

Computer Models and Simulations

Preliminary Studies

Further Work With DEMO Concepts

Fusion and Fuels

Fusion power, the fusing of two lighter nuclei to create one heavier nucleus, could produce a vast amount of energy, with fuels that are abundant or easily produced, in an inherently safe and environmentally favourable manner.

3.6MeV 14.1MeV

D T He42+ +

A lower projectile energy (in this case the deuteron energy) is required for the DT fusion reaction to take place.

B.Colling Fusion Blanket Technology UNTF b.colling@lancaster.ac.uk

Deuterium Tritium

Image courtesy of http://thepolywellblog.blogspot.com/2010

Tritium Breeding

+

+++

+ ++

++

+ +D T

n

Li-6 He-4

+ +Li6 He4 T

+Li7 +He4 T +

4.8MeV

-2.5MeV

Tritium Production via the neutron bombardment of lithium

Tritium Produced

Tritium BurntTBR =

Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR)

The DT Reaction Fuel Cycle

An exothermic reaction- releasing energy

B.Colling Fusion Blanket Technology UNTF b.colling@lancaster.ac.uk

Blanket Technology

provide shielding to protect the superconducting magnets and personnel

extract heat energy to produce electricity

breed tritium to provide the reactor with a self sufficient fuel supply

1

2

3

Three main requirements of the reactor blanket:

Solid Breeder

Liquid Breeder

EFDA Images: 3D10.06-2c(Images courtesy of European Fusion Development Agreement, "A conceptual study of commercial fusion power plants," 2005.)

B.Colling Fusion Blanket Technology UNTF b.colling@lancaster.ac.uk

Computer Models and SimulationsSoftware:

Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) Material Activation Code ‘FISPACT’ Computer Aided Design Software -such as SolidWorks and MCAM

1 Dimensional Model

2 Dimensional Model

B.Colling Fusion Blanket Technology UNTF b.colling@lancaster.ac.uk

MCNP VISUAL EDITOR MCNP VISUAL EDITOR

Preliminary Studies- Breeding

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000.80

0.90

1.00

1.10

1.20

1.30

1.40 Li Li2O Li4SiO4

Lithium-6 Enrichment (%)

TBR

Increase in Li-6 enrichment above 20% reduces the TBR.

Comparison of Three Breeders Using 2D Model

B.Colling Fusion Blanket Technology UNTF b.colling@lancaster.ac.uk

Preliminary Studies- Shielding

Plasma Core- the hottest part External Components, such as the superconducting magnets required for plasma containment, are shown to be shielded from some neutron dose by the blanket.

These MCNP generated images also show that the modelled neutron source is correctly placed and uniformly distributed in the reactor core.

B.Colling Fusion Blanket Technology UNTF b.colling@lancaster.ac.uk

Preliminary Studies- ActivationInventory

(nuclide atom density /cm^3) The breeder material (lithium orthosilicate) is bombarded with a neutron source for 10 years, then left for a further 20 years to view the decay products.

0 5 10 15 20 25 300

5E+020

1E+021

1.5E+021

2E+021

2.5E+021

3E+021

Lithium-6TritiumDeuteriumHydrogenHelium-3Helium-4

Time (Years)

B.Colling Fusion Blanket Technology UNTF b.colling@lancaster.ac.uk

Further Work With DEMO Concepts

B.Colling Fusion Blanket Technology UNTF

European power plant conceptual study (PPCS) highlights four main reactor designs:

Model A- water cooled lithium lead

Model B- helium cooled pebble bed

Model C- dual coolant lithium lead

Model D- self cooled lithium lead

Breeder materials for investigation:

Lithium ceramics- Li4SiO4, Li2TiO3, Li2TiO2, Li2CaO, Li2O, Li4SiO4 + SiO2 + TeO2, Li2ZrO3 & Li2AlO2

Liquid lithium and molten salts- Li20Sn80, LiFBeF2, LiFNaFBeF2, Li, Li17Pb83

Cross section of model with increasing complexity