ITER Test Blanket Module and the Need for

CoordinationOutline

• What ITER means for the World Technology / Chamber / Blanket Community

• ITER Plans for TBM and Schedule and Timing of R&D

• US-Japan Collaboration on TBM

• General Suggestions for US-Japanese Universities and JUPITER-II

Mohamed Abdou

Presented at the JUPITER-II Special Meeting at UCLA

June 10, 2003

New Momentum for ITER will dramatically impact all World Fusion Programs

What happened

Impact

Technology / Blanket Programs

• New momentum for ITER: US and China joining ITER, serious negotiations for construction, etc.

• Budget outlook is alarming: budget cuts to fusion programs in US, Japan, Europe, Russia

• The world is likely to proceed with ITER with tight budgets

• Expected Impact: ITER becomes the highest priority; everything else is lower priority. There are not enough funds to do other things!!

• Will likely be the most impacted

• Must find ways to be a serious participant in ITER

ITER Plans for Construction and the Role of Chamber / Blanket Technology

• What is being negotiated for construction are basically 85 packages for various components (poloidal magnets, toroidal magnets, neutral beams, rf, buildings, power supplies, etc.)

• There is a package for the shielding blanket / vacuum vessel

- Not a breeding blanket

- R&D is more “industrial”-type

- Meaningful R&D roles for Universities and Labs only in limited area (mostly nuclear analysis)

• There is nothing in the procurement packages or negotiations so far on Breeding Blankets

• The Breeding Blanket is handled only in the ITER Test Blanket Module (TBM) Program. It is handled through ITER TBWG (Test Blanket Working Group) which has representatives from the Parties and the ITER Joint Central Team

What is the ITER Test Blanket Module Program?

• The ITER Basic Device has shielding, but no breeding blanket

• Breeding Blankets will be tested in ITER, starting on Day One, by inserting Test Blanket Modules (TBM) into specially designed ports

• Each TBM will have their own dedicated systems for tritium recovery and processing, heat extraction, etc. Each TBM will also need new diagnostics for the nuclear-electromagnetic environment

• Each ITER Party is allocated limited space for testing two TBM’s

• ITER’s construction plan includes specifications for TBM’s because of impacts on space, vacuum vessel, remote maintenance, ancillary equipment, safety, availability, etc.

ITER Operational Plan Calls for Testing Breeding Blankets from Day 1 of Operation

H-Plasma Phase D Phase First DT plasma phase

Accumulated fluence = 0.09 MWa/m2

Blanket Test

02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

PB Material Fabrication and Char. (mech., chem, etc)

Out-of-pile pebble bed experiments

Pebble bed Irradiation Programme

Modelling on Pebble beds including irradiation effects

Key issues of Blanket Structure Fabr. Tech.

Develop. and testing of instrumentation for TBM

Develop. and testing of components of Ext. Loops

TBM and Ext. Loop Mock-up Design

TBM and Ext. Loops Mock-up Fabrication

Operation of TBM and Ext. Loop Mock-ups

Final Design of TBM

Fabrication and qualification of TBM and Ext. Loops

Operation in the Basic Performance Phase of ITER

HCPB Programme

HCPB Programme for ITER

ITER First PlasmaEU schedule for Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed TBM (1 of 4 TBMs Planned)

a final decision on blanket test modules selection by 2005 in order to initiate design, fabrication and

out-of-pile testing

(Reference: S. Malang, L.V. Boccaccini, ANNEX 2, "EFDA Technology Workprogramme 2002 Field: Tritium Breeding and Materials 2002 activities- Task Area: Breeding Blanket (HCPB), Sep. 2000)

TBM Roll Back from ITER 1st PlasmaShows CT R&D must be accelerated now for TBM Selection in 2005

ITER Test Program US-Japan Collaboration

Questions

1) If each party is only allowed to test two blanket concepts:

a) What are the two favored concepts in Japan? And in US?

b) What are the mechanisms in the US and in Japan to arrive at these decisions?

c) Should we have joint study/assessments to try to arrive at common concepts to maximize the utilization of limited resources/budgets in both countries?

2) Should the US have collaboration with JAERI separate from collaboration with Japanese Universities?

a) How do we enhance US-JAERI collaboration?

b) Should we orient JUPITER-II to serve collaboration between US and Japanese Universities on ITER BTM?

ITER Test Program US-Japan Collaboration

Blanket Options for ITER Blanket Test Module (BTM)

1) Solid Breeder Blankets

– Common Interest in EU, Japan, and US

– Collaboration between US and JAERI

– Some limited activity under JUPITER-II (Task 2.2)

2) Molten Salt Self-Cooled Concept

– Some activity under JUPITER-II

– Is it a candidate for ITER TBM?

3) Liquid Metal Blanket Concepts

– Self-cooled Li/V concept

– Helium-cooled Pb-17Li concept

– Helium-cooled Pb-17Li concept with SiC insert

(Ferritic Steel is the Reference DEMO material worldwide)

Suggestions for JUPITER-II for Discussion

1. Joint Study to select a liquid breeder option

2. Expand Task 2-2 (Thermomechanics) to include both SiC and ferritic; also include temperature control

- with focus on special issues

- involve the broader community (blanket, material, safety, PFC, etc.)

- find ways for JAERI and EU to provide input (participate?)

3. Modify and Expand Thermofluid Task

a) Initiate MHD experiments (in MTOR) and modeling (using newly developed 3-D HIMAG code) on MHD insulators and crack tolerance.

b) For MHD flibe: reduce magnetic field consistent with ITER TBM needs, or defer magnet installation for one year.

MTOR experiment design should proceed next year as part of the ITER TBM study.

ITER TBM development will require LM-MHD tests of several different kinds in an upgraded MTOR facility

Pressure drop and flow distribution experiments on complex geometry elements such as manifolds, interconnected channels and gradient magnetic fields

Pressure drop, velocity profile and heat transfer in channels with simulated insulator coating imperfections

MTOR can accommodate large test structures elongated along the field direction (like manifolds) that

are difficult to fit into standard gap magnets.

Coupling of the HIMAG LM-MHD modeling will be invaluable to TBM R&D effort

HIMAG is expressly designed to handle:

• Complex geometries

• Resolution of small features (boundary layers and cracks)

• Multiple materials and free surfaces

Sample unstructured meshes used in tokamak sector free surface flow simulation, and closed channel simulations

resolving a crack of width 10-4 units in a unit square

ITER relevant heat transfer experiments with Flibe simulants in FLIHY facility

Using our large stainless pipe heat transfer test section already in place it will be possible to simulate ITER TBM FW parameters in both Ha and Re using a reduced field of about 0.25-0.5 T

We can produce longitudinal field of this magnitude (simulating toroidal TBM FW coolant paths) with commercially available water cooled welding cable that we wrap up ourselves. 

We can produce transverse field using the same cable wrapped on a different form, or permanent magnets

This idea would use the existing KOH capability and existing power supply in the lab now, with a reduced cost magnet

Similarity of FLIHY large diameter test section with ITER parameters

ITER with Flibe at 500 C

FLIHY with 20% KOH at 30 C

B 5 T 0.25 T

FW Tube Diameter 1 cm 9 cm

FW Tube Flow Velocity 8 m/s 0.13 m/s

L/D 50 - 100 78

Hartmann Number 5-10

Reynolds Number 11000

Prandtl Number 30 6

1/(1+250*Ha2/Re) {Sze} 62% (38% degradation)

1–1.2*Ha2/Re {Blums} 99.7% (0.3% degradation)