Conceptual design and coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic/mechanical research of the supercritical water cooled ceramic blanket for CFETR

摘要

A conceptual structure design of the supercritical water cooled ceramic blanket has been proposed for phase-II of Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). In this work, the coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic/mechanical analyses were performed specifically for the optimized blanket concept as well as the design process. Firstly, the 3D-1D-3D coupling approach was applied in the neutronic and thermal-hydraulic calculations after the materials were carefully selected. The different results of the 3D model and 1D model have been compared and analyzed. Secondly, the detailed design of the typical outboard equatorial blanket was carried out and introduced based on the coupling analysis. Then, the neutronic, thermal-hydraulic and mechanical characteristics of the optimized blanket were studied and verified. The 3D neutronic calculations of the blanket indicated the tritium breeding ratio (TBR) is 1.21, which can meet the requirement for tritium self-sufficiency. The thermal-hydraulic calculations proved that all the involved materials can be effectively cooled to their allowable temperatures with the coolant temperature reaching 500 degrees C. According to thermo-mechanics calculation results, the blanket structure (first wall, caps, coolant pips, etc.) can certainly sustain the structure stress as well as the thermal stress in steady state. The analyses show good performances of the blanket and prove the feasibility of the conceptual design preliminarily.