TBM/MTM for HTS-FNSF: An Innovative Testing Strategy to Qualify/Validate Fusion Technologies for U.S. DEMO

Laila El-Guebaly, Arthur Rowcliffe, Jonathan Menard and Thomas Brown
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Laila El-Guebaly: Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Arthur Rowcliffe: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
Jonathan Menard: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, 100 Stellarator Road, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
Thomas Brown: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, 100 Stellarator Road, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: The qualification and validation of nuclear technologies are daunting tasks for fusion demonstration (DEMO) and power plants. This is particularly true for advanced designs that involve harsh radiation environment with 14 MeV neutrons and high-temperature operating regimes. This paper outlines the unique qualification and validation processes developed in the U.S., offering the only access to the complete fusion environment, focusing on the most prominent U.S. blanket concept (the dual cooled PbLi (DCLL)) along with testing new generations of structural and functional materials in dedicated test modules. The venue for such activities is the proposed Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF), which is viewed as an essential element of the U.S. fusion roadmap. A staged blanket testing strategy has been developed to test and enhance the DCLL blanket performance during each phase of FNSF D-T operation. A materials testing module (MTM) is critically important to include in the FNSF as well to test a broad range of specimens of future, more advanced generations of materials in a relevant fusion environment. The most important attributes for MTM are the relevant He/dpa ratio (10–15) and the much larger specimen volumes compared to the 10–500 mL range available in the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) and European DEMO-Oriented Neutron Source (DONES).

Keywords: testing strategy; testing blanket module; materials testing module; fusion nuclear testing facility; spherical tokamak; high temperature superconducting magnets (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: 2016
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