Design of a permeator against vacuum for tritium extraction from eutectic lithium-lead in a DCLL DEMO

Garcinuño, Belit; Rapisarda, D.; Fernández, Irene; Moreno, Carlos; Palermo, Iole; Ibarra, Á.

doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2016.06.036

Cited by 32 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The DCLL is probably one of the BB concepts with highest long term potential of improvement. It provides many advantages with respect to: wider design margins due to the double cooling system intrinsic to the concept (helium for the FW and the BB structures and PbLi as the self-cooler); lower tritium inventory [2] because of the really low partial pressure of tritium in the whole mass flow rate (about 110 mPa [3]); no safety issue related to water cooling (because water is not the cooling option of this concept); good adaptation to the presently available nuclear materials as Eurofer (being the upper temperature limited to 550°) and potential for hightemper ature (and thus higher plant efficiency).…”

Section: Nuclear Fusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization process for the design of the DCLL blanket for the European DEMOnstration fusion reactor according to its nuclear performances

et al. 2017

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The research study focuses on the neutronic design analysis and optimization of one of the options for a fusion reactor designed as DCLL (dual coolant lithium-lead). The main objective has been to develop an efficient and technologically viable modular DCLL blanket using the DEMO generic design specifications established within the EUROfusion Programme. The final neutronic design has to attend the requirements of: tritium self-sufficiency; BB thermal efficiency; preservation of plasma confinement; temperature limits imposed by the materials; and radiation limits to guarantee the largest operational life for all the components. Therefore, a 3D fully heterogeneous DCLL neutronic design has been developed for the DEMO baseline 2014 determining its behaviour under the real operational conditions of the DEMO reactor. Consequent actions have been adopted to improve its performances. Neutronic assessments have specially addressed the Tritium Breeding Ratio, Multiplication Energy Factor, power density distributions, damage and shielding responses. The model has been then adapted to the subsequent DEMO baseline 2015 (with a more powerful and bigger plasma, smaller divertor and bigger blanket segments), implying new design choices to improve the reactor nuclear performances.

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Section: Nuclear Fusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization process for the design of the DCLL blanket for the European DEMOnstration fusion reactor according to its nuclear performances

et al. 2017

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“…One key area that may play a critical role in the future is the area of tritium permeable membranes; materials (usually specially manufactured metallic or ceramic) able to effectively allow permeation of tritium in isolation from other hydrogen isotopes or elements. An example of the deployment of such materials is in the Permeation Against Vacuum [32] concept where a tritium containing liquid flows against one side of a permeable metallic membrane. Tritium permeating through this membrane is then pumped away and recovered.…”

Section: Shared Technical Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview of shared technical challenges for magnetic and inertial fusion power plant development

Chapman

Walkden

2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Fusion energy is an area of active development and innovation worldwide, with many design concepts studied, each exhibiting a range of technical challenges. A significant portion of technical challenges will be unique for a given design concept; however, there are several overarching challenges that any design must address to some degree. These include tritium handling and the tritium cycle; materials and their survivability in the high-energy neutron environment of D-T fusion; neutronics and the validation of nuclear data; remote handling and maintenance activities; and integrated holistic approaches to fusion plant design. This paper provides an overview of these aspects for magnetic and inertial fusion approaches with a view to highlighting commonality and the benefits of shared knowledge that this may bring. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 2)’.

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“…The permeator against vacuum (PAV) concept is based on tritium diffusion through a permeable membrane thanks to a pressure gradient established between the two membrane surfaces. A conceptual design for a PAV unit to work at DCLL conditions was produced in [15]. An expression for the permeator efficiency, defined as the ratio between the difference of the inlet and outlet tritium concentrations and the tritium concentration at the inlet was obtained by analyzing the transport processes occurring during tritium extraction under a diffusive limited regime.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The tritium extraction and removal system for the DCLL-DEMO fusion reactor

Garcinuño

Rapisarda

Antunes³

et al. 2018

Nucl. Fusion

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During the pre-conceptual design phase of DEMO, different alternatives have been explored to be implemented as tritium extraction and removal system (TERS) for the blanket concepts considered in EUROfusion. The TERS is conceived to extract tritium from the breeder and to route it to the Tritium Plant for final processing. A careful review showed that those blankets operated with PbLi should use the permeation against vacuum (PAV) technique as primary option which is based on a one-step, fully continuous procedure. In this paper, a conceptual design of the TERS for the dual coolant lithium lead (DCLL) breeding blanket is presented, based on the European DEMO2015 layout (18 sectors, 2037 MW fusion power). The P&ID of the proposed TERS, integrated in the DCLL-PbLi loop, includes valves and instrumentation, as well as a revised design of the DCLL-PAV. The dimensioning of the permeator considered a tritium extraction efficiency of 80%. An exhaustive investigation on the vacuum system needed for the PAV is also presented. The choice of the most promising vacuum systems took into account the reliability and tritium compatibility of both high and rough pumps. Their pumping requirements, which are dependent on the PAV efficiency, tritium solubility and tritium partial pressure in the loop, are also discussed in this work.

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Design of a permeator against vacuum for tritium extraction from eutectic lithium-lead in a DCLL DEMO

Cited by 32 publications

References 17 publications

Optimization process for the design of the DCLL blanket for the European DEMOnstration fusion reactor according to its nuclear performances

Optimization process for the design of the DCLL blanket for the European DEMOnstration fusion reactor according to its nuclear performances

An overview of shared technical challenges for magnetic and inertial fusion power plant development

The tritium extraction and removal system for the DCLL-DEMO fusion reactor

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