1

Current Status of

Chinese Solid Tritium Breeder TBM

Presented at Sixth PRC/US Magnetic Fusion Collaboration Workshop

July 10 -12, 2012, University of California, Sen Deigo, USA

Kaiming Feng

(On behalf of Chinese HCCB TBM Team)

Co-Institutes:

1). China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), Mianyang, P.R. China

2). Chinese Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) , Beijing, 100084, P.R. China.

3). Chinese Institute of Nuclear Power（CINP), Chengdu 610043, P.R. China

4). Shanghai Ceramic Institute, Chinese Academy of Science (SCICAS), P.R. China

5). Haibao Special Metal Materials Co.(HSMM) , Baoji, P.R. China

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Outline

1. Background

2. Progress on TBM Design

3. Progress on TBM R&D

4. R&D Plan and Collaboration

5. Summary

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1. Background

ITER is an unique opportunity to test tritium breeding blanket mock- ups in integrated Tokamak operating conditions.

Helium-cooled ceramic breeder (HCCB) test blanket module （TBM) will

be the primary option of the Chinese ITER TBM program. China has a formal position of Port Master (PM) in port number 2 and is

leading the HCCB concept as the TBM Leader (TL). Chinese solid TBM will be tested at different phases of ITER operation.

In order to reduce the effects of magnetic field ripple, the TBM design has been updated with reduced RAFM mass recently.

Related R&D on key components, materials, fabrications and mock-up test have being implemented in China.

China plan to sign HCCB TBM-A based on IO schedule (before June, 2013).

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ITER TBM Concepts and Port-Sharing

Six TBM Systems to be installed in ITER three test ports

Port No. and PM TBM Concept TBM Concept

A (PM : EU) HCLL (TL : EU) HCPB (TL : EU)

B (PM : JA) WCCB (TL : JA) HCCB(TL:KO)

C (PM : CN) HCCB (TL : CN) LLCB (TL : IN)

PM : Port Master, TL : TBM Leader

HCLL : Helium-cooled Lithium Lead HCPB : He-cooled Pebble Beds (Ceramic/Beryllium)

WCCB : Water-cooled Ceramic Breeder (+Beryllium) HCCB : He-cooled Ceramic Breeder (+Beryllium)

LLCB : Lithium-Lead Ceramic Breeder (LiPb & He, Dual-Coolant type)

CN HCCB TBM will demonstrate the functions required

for Chinese DEMO blanket in ITER condition

HCSB-DEMO ITER cross-section

CN HCCB TBM

Relationship of ITER,TBM and DEMO

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2. Progress on the updated TBM Design

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A series of the Chinese HCCB TBM design have been carried-out since 2004 within the

space limitation and technical requirements specified by ITER.

Progress on CN HCCB TBM Design

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Outline of HCCB TBM Design

- TBM structure: Sub-module arrangement

- Structure material: RAFM (CLF-1);

- Tritium breeder: Li4SiO4 pebble bed, 80%Li-6 ; - Neutron multiplier: Be pebbles bed;

- Coolant and purge gas: Helium gas

- Coolant pressure: 8MPa

- Coolant temperature: 300 OC(inlet) -500 OC (outlet)

- Tritium production ratio (TPR): 0.0505g/d

Integration View of CN HCCB TBM

Cross-section of SB

Assembly scheme of Sub-Modules

Basic design characteristics:

Original design of CN HCCB TBM has been completed before

2009.

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Updated Design of HCCB TBM for Reduction of the RAFM Mass

HCCB TBM Module TBM Sub-module arrangement Cross-section of SM

- The RAFM mass is reduced from

2.3 to 1.6 tons ).

- TPR is increased from 0.051 to

0.0798g/day.

Objectives of updated design:

- to simplify Sub-module structure;

- to reduce RAFM mass;

- to improve TPR performance;

Exploded view of sub-module

Main modifications

An optimized RAFM design with reduced mass of 1.3t is on going.

An updated DDD report will be completed soon.

Results shown:

- Reduce radial dimension of the FW and sub-modules.

- Bypass is introduced to TBM design to control the difference of

flow-rates .

- Arrangement of pebble beds in the sub-module is changed from

the former transverse direction to the current vertical direction.

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TES

HCS CPS

TES

HCS

Cryostat

Vacuum

T-Building L2

T-Building L4,

Vault Annex

Gallery

Primary

Vacuum

Port Cell AEU

Bio-shield

Block

Shield

Block TBM

Cryostat

Bio-shield

Inter-space

VV

Control Room

ITER CCWS

ITER

Tritium

System

ITER

Tritium

System

Pipe

forest

CN HCCB TBS consists of TBM module and several ancillary sub-systems

HCCB TBM Auxiliary Sub-system

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CN HCCB TBM Auxiliary Sub-system Design

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Integration and Interface in AEU

Pipes

Pipes

IN components CN components

Valves and Pipes

The integration design and analysis in AEU including thermal-hydraulic analysis, mechanical

analysis, seismic analysis, according to RCC-MR code have been completed.

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3. Progress on R&D

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500kg Ingot of CLF-1

1-ton Ingot of CLF-1

3. Progress on R&D: Structural Materials-CLF-1

Consumable electrode furnace

Two RAFM alloys have being developed in China; CLF-1 in SWIP

and CLAM in ASIPP

1-ton ingot of CLF-1 steel were recently produced by vacuum

induction melting and electro-slag re-melting methods.

The optimization of the melting technique for the larger ingots to 3

tons is underway.

Tensile strength of CLF-1 DBTT of CLF-1

Remelting facility

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3. Progress on R&D: Ceramic Breeder Pebbles

Relative density 94% TD

Li4SiO4 phase content 90%

Closed porosity 0.72%

Open porosity 5.2 %

Average crush load 7.0 N

Specific surface area 1.092 m2/g Li2TiO3 Pebbles (D=1mm)

by Sol-gel method@CAEP

Li4SiO4 Pebbles (D=1mm) by

Extrusion–sintering method @CIAE

Two kinds of ceramic breeders (Li4SiO4, Li2TiO3) for HCCB TBM are

being developed at different institutions in China;

Lithium orthosilicate (Li4SiO4 ) pebbles will be the primary option in the

CN HCCB TBM. The Li2TiO3 will be a candidate tritium breeder.

Li4SiO4 Pebbles (D=1mm)

by metl spraying method @SWIP

Li4SiO4 Pebbles (D=1mm)

by freeze-sintering method @CAEP

Melt spraying method for Li4SiO4 have

good sphericity, and high density.

Freeze-sintering process for Li4SiO4

have good mechanical properties ;

Sol-gel method for Li2TiO3 Pebbles have

good surface feature .

XRD pattern of Li4SiO4 pebbles

Main properties (Li4SiO4) by melt spraying method

15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

Inte

rns

ity

(C

ou

nts

)

2

Li4SiO

4

Li2SiO

3

Li2CO

3

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3. Progress on R&D: Fabrication of Be Pebbles

Chinese

VHP-Be Be BeO% Al C Fe Mg Si

Other metallic

elements

1# ≥99% 0.750 0.006 0.060 0.050 0.003 0.009 <0.04

Be metal of high performance has been developed in China .

Be pebbles have been produced by Rotating Electrode Process (REP) method in China. Related performance tests are on going.

A new project to develop higher quality Be pebbles in China has being implemented for the ITER project.

Main chemical composition of Chinese Be 1#

Be Pebbles (D=1mm)

Micrographs of Be Pebbles (D=1mm) REP Facility at HBSM Co.

Be (wt%) 98.3

BeO (wt%) 1.67

Al (ppm) 235

Si (ppm) 18

Mn (ppm) 58

Mg (ppm) ≤10

Co (ppm) ≤10

Sample of Be Pebbles (D=1mm)

Chemical Composition of Be pebble

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3. Progress on R&D: Related Tritium Technologies

• Related R&D of the tritium technologies of Chinese solider breeder TBM have

being developed at CAEP and CIAE.

The PRF of the tritium permeation barrier samples

Electrochemical Al (ECA) coating glove box Iron chambers for tritium analysis

20um coating on surface of RAFM)

0 5 10 15 20 25

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Cr

Fe

AlCo

mp

ositio

n/a

t.%

Depth/um

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3. Progress on R&D: Helium Coolant Test Loop

Flow diagram of He Loop Layout of He Loop

The construction of a small He Test Loop to validate circulator technology will be completed this year.

- The He test loop has two impellers. It uses aerostatic bearings to avoid oil lubricating.

Flow diagram of small He loop

Parameters Maximum flow rate

/kg-1s

Inlet pressure

/MPa

Maximum pressure head /MPa He inlet/outlet temperature

/℃

Circulator ~0.35 8 0.4 ~50/65

A prototyped Helium Test Loop to validate TBM components and design is also to be built in

SWIP. The flow rate will up to 1.3kg/s.

Fabrication of Impeller Impeller of circulator

Cross-section view

Main parameters of circulator design

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3. Progress on R&D: Fabrication Process of U-Shaped FW

A small-sized mock-up of U-shaped first wall fabrication is completed;

Two kinds of fabrication method (EBW, HIP) of U-shaped FW have been considered;

Full sized mock-up of U-shaped first wall is under way.

Fabrication Process of U-Shaped FW

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3. Progress on R&D: Fabrication of Medium Sized Mock-up

A full-sized mock-up with 2X2 sub-modules arrangement using the RAFM steel (CLF-1)

as structure material will be completed in this year (1:3 in the height, 1:1 for others)

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4. R&D Plan and Collaboration

CN HCCB TBM

ITER Operation and TBM Test Schedule

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030

Construction First Plasma Hydrogen Helium Phase Complete Deuterium Phase Complete

ITER Commissioning and Operations

Start Torus Pump Down

Pump Down & Integrated Commissioning

First Plasma

Plasma Development and H&CD Commissioning

Nuclear License

Blankets Divertor

DT Hybrid Scenario

DT Non Inductive

He H-Mode Studies

Pre-Nuclear Shutdown & Divertor Change

DT Plasma Exploration & DT H-Mode Studies

Shutdown

Q=10 Q=10 Long Pulse

End of Magnet Commissioning

Phase 2 Machine Assembly

Commission, Cool & Vacuum Plasma Restart

Phase 3 Machine Assembly / Regulatory Shutdown

Full H&CD, TBM & Diagnostics Commissioning Full Heating Power @ Short Pulse N Licensing validation

100% T-fuelling capability

D Plasmas on W Divertor

D H-Mode Studies

Trace-T Studies

100% Tritium throughput capability

All TBMs installed

TBMs installation

EM-TBM

TN-TBM

NT/TM-TBM

INT-TBM

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R&D Plan and Time Schedule

1. CN HCCB TBS qualification activities – Helium test loop construction (2011.01-2012.12)

– Conceptual design of CN HCCB TBM (2010.01-2012.12)

– Small-sized (1:3) TBM mock-up tests (2011.06-2012.12)

– Preliminary design of CN HCCB TBM (2013.01-2013.12)

– Prototype helium loop construction (2012.01-2014.06)

– Large scaled TBM mock-up tests (2014.06-2014.12)

– Final design of CN HCCB TBM (2014.01-2015.12)

2. CN HCCB TBS delivery activities. – Main TBS components fabrication (2016.01-2017.06)

Final TBS design in ITER.

Main TBS components fabrication.

TBS function tests (in domestic).

– CN TBS delivery (2017.01-2017.06)

– CN TBS acceptance tests in ITER site (2017.06-2017.12)

– EM TBM delivery (2018.01-2018.06)

– EM-TBM System acceptance tests(2018.06-2019.06)

3. EM-TBM will be installed in ITER port after the first plasma (2020)

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CN HCCB TBM

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Domestic and Intl. Collaboration

CAEP: China Academy of Engineering Physics; CIAE: China Institute of Atomic Energy;

SJTU: Shanghai Jiao Tong University; ASIPP: Institute of Plasma Physics; Academy of Sciences ;

NCEPU: North China Electric Power University; NECB: Nuclear Engineer Corporation , Beijing

NPIC: Nuclear Power Institute, China; IMPCAS: Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences;

TUINET: Tsinghua University, Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology; XJTU: Xi’an Jiao Tong University;

SICCAS: Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences ; HBSMC: Haibao special metal materials Co.

Design and analyses

（ module, system，integration)

Material develop, tritium

technology, components,

mock-up,

Assembly ,safe & QA, test,

interface with ITER,

maintenance

China TBM Program

A lot of domestic institutions, universities and companies are joined into CN HCCB TBM program,

including industry companies

China is interested in other TBM concepts as a partner in HCPB, WCCB, LLCB and LiPb-based TBMs.

China HCCB TBM is open to cooperation with other ITER parties. Some informal discussions, for

instance, CN-EU,CN-JA, CN-KO, CN-IN have being processed.

CN-US bilateral meeting on TBM program collaboration has held in last year.

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R&D Strategy for CN TBM Development

In/Out-of-pile

Component

Tests

Basic Material

Development

Sub-modules

In-pile Tests

RAFM(CLF-1), Tritium permeation barrier

Beryllium pebble, Ceramic Breeder

High temperature

/pressure He test

loop construction

Neutron

irradiations

TBM Design ,R&D, Mock-up

Integration, Test on ITER D

EM

O B

lan

ke

t D

es

ign

an

d D

eve

lop

me

nt

Pebble-Bed

Tests

TBM Interface

with ITER

DEMO TBS

integration

Thermal behaviour, Flow

Mechanical behaviour

He loop

High flux test reactor

Planed SWIP-US Cooperation on ITER-TBM

and Safety (2010-2012)

No. Topics To From Contents Status

C ITER-TBM

C-1.2 ITER He cooled TBM

Design

SWIP GA TBM structure, thermo-hydraulic, safety

analysis fields.

Yes

C-2 R&D for He cooled

solid breeder blanket

Design

SWIP UCLA Ceramic pebble bed purge flow tests and

simulation, safety analysis for CN HCCB

TBM

Yes

C-4.1 ITER He cooled TBM

Design

GA SWIP TBM structure, thermo-hydraulic, safety

analysis fields.

NO

C-5.1 R&D for He cooled

solid breeder blanket

Design

UCLA SWIP Ceramic pebble bed purge flow tests and

simulation, safety analysis for CN HCCB

TBM

NO

C-5.2 Therom-mechanics

tests for pebble bed

UCLA SWIP Pebble bed thermo-mechanics test, etc. NO

D Safety cooperation for fusion facilities

D-1.1

D-1.2

JWG on Safety SWIP

ASIPP

PPPL,GA,

INL

US Members visit China , 2009 and 2011 2009，Yes

D-1.3

D-1.4

JWG on Safety PPPL,

GA, INL

SWIP

ASIPP

CN Members visit US, 20210 and 2012 2010，Yes

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Summary of SWIP- US Magnetic Fusion Collaboration

on ITER-TBM and Safety（ 2010-2012）

C-1.2 ITER Helium cooled TBM

October 6-7, 2011, Dr. C. Wong visited SWIIP, exchanged on the design status on HCCB

and DCLL TBMs.

C-2 R&D for Helium cooled solid breeder blanket design

Prof. Alice Ying (UCLA) visited SWIP, exchanges were made on the solid breeder blanket

design at SWIP

C-4.1 ITER Helium cooled TBM Design (PRC to US, NOT EXECUTED)

November 14-16, 2011, Dr. C. Wong (GA) visited SWIP, exchanges were made on the

HCCB and DCLL TBMs. (PRC to US, NOT EXECUTED)

C-5.1 R&D for Helium cooled solid breeder blanket design

Nov.7-9, 2011, CN -US bilateral meeting on TBM program collaboration , the cooperation

feasibility on TBM design and related R&D were discussed.

C-5.2 thermo-mechanics tests for pebble bed (PRC to US, NOT EXECUTED)

D-2.1 PRC-US Joint Working Group （JWG) on Safety

November 4 -9, 2010, Profs. Qiang Li and K.M. Feng visited PPPL and GA, exchanged

were made on fusion facilities safety .

D2.2 US delegation to PRC , NOT EXECUTED yet, 2011.

National Spherical Torus Experiment

(NSTX)

CN HCCB TBM

US HCCB TBM PRC-US TBM workshop

Proposed Cooperation on TBM and Fusion Technology

Design, Analysis, and Safety of Ceramic Breeder TBS

Structure materials RAFM, fabricating, joining and welding technology

Tritium transport modeling in ceramic breeder TBM

Pebble and Tritium related technologies

– Tritium permeation barriers, relevant tritium technologies

– Neutron multiplier, Be pebble fabrication

– Ceramic tritium breeder Characterization

Experiments

– Irradiation test under the fission reactor condition (HFIR)

– Test of the pebble bed thermo-mechanics and helium flow stability and

distribution by means of a high temperature, high pressure He test loop.

TBM related tritium processing technology (particularly in low tritium concentration

process)

•

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After China signed TBM-A with IO, following cooperation items should

be considered under the different collaborative format .

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5. Summary

Solid breeder conceptual TBM is the primary option of the Chinese ITER TBM program.

Preliminary design for reducing RAFM mass has been completed. Farther

optimization design is underway.

R&D progress on development of structure material (CLF-1), fabrication of function materials (Ceramic tritium breeder, neutron multiplier Be pebble), and construction of He test loops, medium-sized mock-up of first wall and sub-module are presented.

The test plan and delivery time are scheduled.

Chinese TBM program will be implemented with the cooperation of domestic and international institutions and industries.

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Thank you for your Attention !