Design of a Prototypical Mock-Up for the Experimental Investigation of WCLL First-Wall Performances

Pietro Maccari (), Pietro Arena, Ranieri Marinari, Amelia Tincani and Alessandro Del Nevo
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Pietro Maccari: ENEA, Department for Fusion and Technology for Nuclear Safety and Security, C.R. Brasimone, 40032 Camugnano, Italy
Pietro Arena: ENEA, Department for Fusion and Technology for Nuclear Safety and Security, C.R. Brasimone, 40032 Camugnano, Italy
Ranieri Marinari: ENEA, Department for Fusion and Technology for Nuclear Safety and Security, C.R. Brasimone, 40032 Camugnano, Italy
Amelia Tincani: ENEA, Department for Fusion and Technology for Nuclear Safety and Security, C.R. Brasimone, 40032 Camugnano, Italy
Alessandro Del Nevo: ENEA, Department for Fusion and Technology for Nuclear Safety and Security, C.R. Brasimone, 40032 Camugnano, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: A large research effort is currently ongoing within the framework of the EUROfusion consortium for the study and design of a water-cooled lithium–lead (WCLL) breeding blanket (BB). This concept will be tested in ITER through the installation of a test blanket module (TBM) and it is one of the two candidates adopted as driver BBs in DEMO. In this framework, at the ENEA research centre of Brasimone, the realization of the experimental platform, W-HYDRA, is envisaged. The platform is dedicated to the support of the development of WCLL BB and ITER TBM and the investigation of the DEMO balance of plants. One of the most important experimental infrastructures is the water-loop facility, the aim of which is to provide water at a high pressure and temperature (PWR conditions), with a sufficient mass-flow rate and power for the experimental testing of BB and TBM components. The facility will be equipped with a vacuum chamber and an electron beam gun for the reproduction of high surface heat flux on plasma-facing components. In the present work, the design of a prototypical mock-up (MU) of the WCLL BB first wall is described. The MU is used to investigate the thermal, hydraulic and structural behavior of the current first-wall design under relevant heat loads at the expected operational conditions. The delineation of the main experimental test’s features and the instrumentation needed is assessed in the paper. A preliminary CFD calculation on the prototypical MU and the computational results are also presented.

Keywords: DEMO; WCLL breeding blanket; water loop; CFD; first wall; mock-up (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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