Overview of Kyoto Fusioneering’s SCYLLA© (“Self-Cooled Yuryo Lithium-Lead Advanced”) Blanket for Commercial Fusion Reactors

Abstract

This article outlines Kyoto Fusioneering's (KF's) initial engineering and development activities for its self-cooled lithium lead-type blanket: Self-Cooled Yuryo Lithium-Lead Advanced (SCYLLA©). We provide details on overall design, including an initial tritium breeding ratio (TBR) assessment via neutronics analysis, as well as the status of SCYLLA©-relevant R&D. This includes silicon carbide composite (SiC f /SiC) manufacturing techniques, tritium extraction, materials compatibility, and heat transfer, which are being explored via collaboration with Kyoto University. Results of previous work in relation to this R&D are presented. Permeability coefficients indicate a promising property of SiC f /SiC tritium hermeticity at high temperatures. Tritium extraction technology via vacuum sieve tray (VST) is shown to be demonstrated at engineering scale. A local TBR of up to 1.4 can be achieved with the SCYLLA© configuration. Fabrication methods for various SiC f /SiC components including the blanket module, heat exchanger, and flow path components are provided. A tritium compatible high-temperature SiC f /SiC heat exchanger is discussed. Commercial viability and reactor adaptability are considered as a theme throughout. Finally, KF's plans to build a facility for demonstration reactor relevant testing of a SCYLLA© prototype in the mid-2020s, which will provide a significant step toward commercial fusion energy, are presented.

Kyoto Fusioneering’s Mission to Accelerate Fusion Energy: Technologies, Challenges and Role in Industrialisation

“…It is important to highlight the advancement and uptake of SiC f /SiC in other industries over the past two decades; SiC f /SiC is now used commercially in aerospace and is being trialled in the fission industry. This industrialisation of SiC f /SiC and resulting developments can also be taken advantage of by the fusion industry [29], as there are parallels to be drawn, particularly as regards manufacturability. It is for these reasons that KF is pursuing development of SiC f /SiC as a breakthrough material for fusion (see Sect.…”

Simultaneous measurements for fast neutron flux and tritium production rate using pulse shape discrimination and single crystal CVD diamond detector

“…The breeding blanket (BB) of the deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reactor has multiple roles: generating fuel tritium and converting neutron energy to heat. Many different concepts of BB have so far been proposed for fusion reactors which are based on water-cooled ceramic breeder, helium-cooled ceramic breeder, helium-cooled lithium lead, and watercooled lithium lead method, self-cooled liquid metal concept, and so on [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. All the proposed BB are designed using the most advanced and updated calculation tools and nuclear data libraries [9][10][11][12][13].…”