The transpiration cooled first wall and blanket concept

Abstract

To achieve high thermal performance at high power density the EVOLVE concept was investigated under the APEX program. The EVOLVE W-alloy first wall and blanket concept proposes to use transpiration cooling of the first wall and boiling or vaporizing lithium (Li) in the blanket zone. Critical issues of this concept are: the Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure losses of the Li circuit, the evaporation through a capillary structure and the needed superheating of the Li at the first wall and blanket zones. Application of the transpiration concept to the blanket region results in the integrated transpiration cooling concept (ITCC) with either toroidal or poloidal first wall channels. For both orientations the routing of the liquid Li and the Li vapor has been modeled and the corresponding pressure losses have been calculated by varying the width of the supplying slot and the capillary diameter. The concept works when the sum of the active and passive pumping head is higher than the total system pressure losses and when the temperature at the inner side of the first wall does not override the superheating limit of the coolant. This cooling concept has been extended to the divertor design, and the removal of a surface heat flux of up to 10 MW/m 2 appears to be possible, but this paper will focus on the transpiration cooled first wall and blanket concept assessment.