Maturation of critical technologies for the DEMO balance of plant systems

Barucca, L.; Hering, W.; Martin, S. Perez; Bubelis, E.; Nevo, Alessandro Del; Prinzio, M. Di; Caramello, Marco; D’Alessandro, A.; Tarallo, Andrea; Vallone, E.; Moscato, I.; Quartararo, A.; D’Amico, Salvatore; Giannetti, Fabio; Lorusso, Pierdomenico; Narcisi, Vincenzo; Ciurluini, Cristiano; Montes, María José; Sánchez, Consuelo; Rovira, Antonio; Santana, D.; González-Gómez, P.A.; Barbero, Rubén; Zaupa, M.; Szogradi, Marton; Normann, S.; Vaananen, M.; Ylatalo, J.; Lewandowska, Monika; Malinowski, L.; Martelli, Emanuela; Froio, Antonio; Arena, P.; Tincani, A.

doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2022.113096

Cited by 31 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…As in the previous analyses, it is assumed that all the BB segments not belonging to the maintained sector are still connected to the PHTS and can thus be kept actively at 300 • C in order to prevent the embrittlement of the EUROFER [10] in the remaining segments; since a PHTS loop is actually feeding more than one sector [11], it is equivalent to assume that isolation valves are available on the hot and cold leg of each sector (at most). The actual applicability of isolation valves is questionable and still under investigation [11], [12], and the choice to implement them or not will require a tradeoff between the clear advantages in the nonoperating phases, such as the maintenance considered in this work (as well as during some accidental transients), and the disadvantages they introduce (e.g., additional pressure drops, the possibility of spurious closure, manufacturability, among others). Consequently, this assumption might need to be revised in the future, and other scenarios are being considered, for example, assuming that all the segments belonging to the same cooling loop are not active anymore.…”

Section: -D Cfd Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Transient 3-D CFD Model for the Simulation of Forced or Natural Convection of the EU DEMO In-Vessel Components

Garelli

Froio

Spagnuolo

et al. 2022

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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As the EU DEMO reactor will act as a ComponentTest Facility for the breeding blanket (BB), it is foreseen that the different BB concepts will be tested throughout the plant's lifetime. The maintenance of all the in-vessel components (IVCs), as for all D-T fusion machines, must be carried out employing remote handling (RH) technology, as the structural materials will be activated by the neutrons. The maintained segment and possibly other nearby segments cannot be actively cooled and will heat up due to the decay heat. For these reasons, alternative cooling strategies need thus to be investigated to ensure that the BB segment will cool down within the limits required by the RH in a reasonable amount of time. In the present work, two possible cooling options are investigated for the case of the Water-Cooled Lithium-Lead BB concept. One is based on the passive cool-down by natural convection of the BB segments, whereas the second one relies on a forcing flow of cool air on the BB surfaces. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach has been used to study the different options for performing transient analyses through the Star-CCM+ commercial code.

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Section: -D Cfd Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Transient 3-D CFD Model for the Simulation of Forced or Natural Convection of the EU DEMO In-Vessel Components

Garelli

Froio

Spagnuolo

et al. 2022

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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“…Unlike ITER reactor, DEMO is conceived to provide electricity to the grid. Since the energy conversion and cooling systems of the tokamak ( [2], [3]) have a fundamental role to the realization and the licensing of the plant, a detailed assessment of their features is needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal-hydraulic study of the EU-DEMO Helium Cooled Pebble Bed Breeding Blanket Primary Heat Transport System

Vallone,

Agnello,

Bongiovì

et al. 2024

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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The European DEMO reactor will work under normal operating conditions in accordance with a pulsed duty cycle. However unplanned and planned transients of plasma overpower may occur compromising the integrity of its plasma-facing components structures. Consequently, adopting appropriate tools is essential to accurately and consistently model the thermal-hydraulic response of the involved cooling systems under both normal operating conditions and accidental events. Given this background, the University of Palermo, in collaboration with EUROfusion, started a research work to study the thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the Primary Heat Transport System (PHTS) of the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed Breeding Blanket (HCPB BB) of the DEMO device under steady-state and transient conditions. The activity has been performed adopting a computational approach, employing the thermal-hydraulic system code TRACE version 5.0 patch 6. The key point of the work has been the code-to-code benchmark with the outcomes previously obtained with the RELAP5-3D code, to estimate the impact of the physical models, numerical resolution schemes and modelling techniques adopted on the predictive capabilities of the system codes considered. The models and the analysis results are presented and critically discussed herein.

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“…One of the peculiar features of the fusion machines is the pulsed power generation from the plasma, which determines unique challenges to the functional feasibility of the components [6], especially of the heat sink (i.e., steam generator), making it necessary Energies 2023, 16, 3729 2 of 19 to define reliable control logics, capable of distinguishing the operational transients (i.e., pulse-dwell-pulse phases) from the accidental ones.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Steam Generator Mock-Up for EU DEMO Fusion Reactor: Conceptual Design and Code Assessment

et al. 2023

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Recent R&D activities in nuclear fusion have identified the DEMO reactor as the ITER successor, aiming at demonstrating the technical feasibility of fusion plants, along with their commercial exploitation. However, the pulsed operation of the machine causes an “unconventional” operation of the system, posing unique challenges to the functional feasibility of the steam generator, for which it is necessary to define and qualify a reference configuration for DEMO. In order to facilitate the transitions between different operational regimes, the Once Through Steam Generator (OTSG) is considered to be a suitable choice for the DEMO primary heat transfer systems, being characterized by lower thermal inertia with respect to the most common U-tube steam generators. In this framework, the ENEA has undertaken construction of the STEAM facility at Brasimone R.C., aiming at characterizing the behavior of the DEMO OTSG and related water coolant systems in steady-state and transient conditions. A dedicated OTSG mock-up has been conceived and designed, adopting a scaling procedure, keeping the height 1:1 of the DEMO OTSGs. The conceptual design has been supported by RELAP5/Mod3.3 thermal-hydraulic calculations. CFD and FEM codes have been used for fluid-dynamic analyses and mechanical stress analyses, respectively, in specific parts of the component.

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Maturation of critical technologies for the DEMO balance of plant systems

Cited by 31 publications

References 18 publications

A Transient 3-D CFD Model for the Simulation of Forced or Natural Convection of the EU DEMO In-Vessel Components

A Transient 3-D CFD Model for the Simulation of Forced or Natural Convection of the EU DEMO In-Vessel Components

Thermal-hydraulic study of the EU-DEMO Helium Cooled Pebble Bed Breeding Blanket Primary Heat Transport System

Development of a Steam Generator Mock-Up for EU DEMO Fusion Reactor: Conceptual Design and Code Assessment

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