The detailed China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) 22.5° computer aided design (CAD) model is very difficult to convert into Monte Carlo N Particle Transport Code (MCNP). Manually writing MCNP input data is complicated, which is not only time-consuming but also cannot guarantee accuracy. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency and accuracy of model transformation, modeling with CAD using CATIA is introduced, and MCNP files are converted by ANSYS. This is because ANSYS has a function that converts CAD “stp” format to MCNP input in the geometry section. Meanwhile, ANSYS can also reverse the converted MCNP input file to inspect which module has the problem. Compared with the software platform that can automatically cut, although the CATIA-to-ANSYS method is inferior in terms of automatic operation, it has advantages in accuracy and quickly dealing with error modules. Moreover, it can also perform parametric modeling in CATIA, which facilitates the optimization of the blanket structure. In this paper, the detailed CFETR 22.5° model was developed, and then parametric modeling of the blanket based on CATIA was performed. Finally, a detailed neutronics model is obtained by ANSYS transformation and inspection. Some representative models were initially validated by comparing volume changes before and after conversion. Then, the final neutronics model was used to calculate the nuclear analyses, including the neutron wall loading, fast neutron flux, and nuclear heating on the inboard side. The results show that the volume of the transformed model is basically consistent with the original model, and the error of results is small.

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The Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) is a magnetic confinement fusion reactor independently designed and developed by China, which is based on the ITER design experience. As one of the candidates for the CFETR, the water cooled ceramic blanket (WCCB) mainly carries out many important tasks, such as tritium breeding and radiation shielding. The high tritium breeding ability is one of the most significant goals of the blanket. For the design of the CFETR, in addition to meeting the requirements of tritium breeding, the design of the blanket must also consider meeting relevant shielding limits. Due to the limited space of the blanket, the improvement in tritium breeding space will inevitably lead to the reduction in neutron shielding space behind the breeding area, and vice versa. Therefore, under the premise of meeting the requirements of neutron shielding, increasing the tritium breeding space as much as possible is the focus of research. In this work, a three-dimensional neutronics model containing the WCCB blanket is developed, and the neutronics performance is calculated based on 1.5 GW fusion power. A set of nuclear analyses are carried out by the MCNP code, including analysis of the neutron wall load, tritium breeding ratio (TBR), and fast neutron fluence of the TF coil. It is found that the shielding space of certain blanket modules could be optimized. After the shielding optimization, the global TBR increased from 1.168 to 1.186, an increase of 0.018 TBR. The current research has important guiding significance for the future design and optimization of the WCCB for the CFETR.

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