Abstract
According to the most recently revised European design strategy for DEMO breeding blankets, mature concepts have been identified that require a reduced technological extrapolation towards DEMO and will be tested in ITER. In order to optimize and finalize the design of test blanket modules, a number of issues have to be better understood that are related to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) interactions of the liquid breeder with the strong magnetic field that confines the fusion plasma. The aim of the present paper is to describe the state of the art of the study of MHD effects coupled with other physical phenomena, such as tritium transport, corrosion and heat transfer. Both numerical and experimental approaches are discussed, as well as future requirements to achieve a reliable prediction of these processes in liquid metal blankets.
Highlights
As stated in the most recent European roadmap for a DEMO reactor [1,2], one of the candidate driver blankets that will be investigated in ITER is the Water Cooled LeadLithium (WCLL) blanket concept
It is well known that electromagnetic forces induced by the interaction of magnetic field and velocity significantly modify liquid metal flow behavior compared to hydrodynamic conditions [3]
The peculiar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow distribution affects all phenomena that depend on the near-wall velocity profile, such as transport of tritium and corrosion products, and heat transfer
Summary
It uses water as a coolant at typical pressurized water reactor conditions (290–325 ◦ C, 15.5 MPa) and lead lithium PbLi in eutectic composition as tritium breeder, neutron multiplier and tritium carrier. In liquid metal (LM) blankets, the electrically conducting PbLi moves in the system under the action of the intense magnetic field that confines the fusion plasma. It is well known that electromagnetic forces induced by the interaction of magnetic field and velocity significantly modify liquid metal flow behavior compared to hydrodynamic conditions [3]. Significant temperature gradients are present in breeding blankets, giving rise to buoyancy forces
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