Investigation on the Possibility of Tritium Self-Sufficiency for CFETR Using a PWR Water-Cooled Blanket

Abstract

The neutron wall load ( \(P_{\mathrm{n}})\) of Chinese fusion engineering testing reactor (CFETR) will be less than 1 MW/m2. To meet the net tritium breeding ratio (TBR) of the reactor, a new water-cooled blanket concept is considered. The blanket neutronics schemes are performed to explore the local TBR issues in the \(P_{\mathrm{n}}\) range of 1–5 MW/m2, which aims at the effective design of the blanket concept considering the tritium self-sufficiency. As a result, the calculation results are compared with the local TBR values and the material fraction changes. It is found that the local TBR has the high value at low \(P_{\mathrm{n}}\) while the blanket size in radial direction is determined. It is mainly because of the total breeding area increasing due to the pipe pitch increasing in the model. This leads to the possibility for CFETR using a simplified blanket interior. In addition, to match the pressurized water reactor (PWR) water-cooled condition, a reduced size of blanket module in toroidal direction is achievable. It can be concluded that a PWR water-cooled blanket has more benefits to CFETR engineering implementation in the future.