Overview of the HCPB Research Activities in EUROfusion

Hernández, Francisco A.; Arbeiter, Frederik; Boccaccini, Lorenzo Virgilio; Bubelis, E.; Chakin, V.; Cristescu, I.; Ghidersa, Bradut-Eugen; González, M.; Hering, W.; Hernández, T.; Jin, Xue Zhou; Kamlah, Marc; Kiss, Béla; Knitter, Regina; Kolb, M.H.H.; Kurinskiy, P.; Leys, Oliver; Maione, Ivan Alessio; Moscardini, Marigrazia; Nádasi, G.; Neuberger, Heiko; Pereslavtsev, P.; Pupeschi, Simone; Rolli, R.; Ruck, Sebastian; Spagnuolo, Gandolfo Alessandro; Vladimirov, P.; Zeile, Christian; Zhou, Guangming

doi:10.1109/tps.2018.2830813

Cited by 63 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 60 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In nuclear fusion technology, beryllium is considered as a "First Wall" material in ITER, presently one of the largest mankind projects worldwide [3][4][5] , but also as a neutron multiplier material in different tritium-breeding blanket concepts for the future demonstration fusion power plant DEMO 6,7 . In one of the blanket concepts, called helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB), interchanged layers of a lithium ceramic and beryllium pebbles will be used.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights into microstructure of irradiated beryllium based on experiments and computer simulations

Klimenkov

Vladimirov

Jäntsch

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The microstructural response of beryllium after neutron irradiation at various temperatures (643-923 K) was systematically studied using analytical transmission electron microscope that together with outcomes from advanced atomistic modelling provides new insights in the mechanisms of microstructural changes in this material. The most prominent feature of microstructural modification is the formation of gas bubbles, which is revealed at all studied irradiation temperatures. except for the lowest irradiation temperature, gas bubbles have the shape of thin hexagonal prisms with average height and diameter increasing with temperature. A high number density of small bubbles is observed within grains, while significantly larger bubbles are formed along high-angle grain boundaries (GB). Denuded zones (DZ) nearly free from bubbles are found along both high-and low-angle grain boundaries. Precipitations of secondary phases (mainly intermetallic Al-Fe-Be) were observed inside grains, along dislocation lines and at GBs. EDX analysis has revealed homogeneous segregation of chromium and iron along GBs. the observed features are discussed with respect to the available atomistic modelling results. in particular, we present a plausible reasoning for the abundant formation of gas bubbles on intermetallic precipitates, observation of various thickness of zones denuded in gas bubbles and precipitates, and their relation to the atomic scale diffusion mechanisms of solute-vacancy clusters.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights into microstructure of irradiated beryllium based on experiments and computer simulations

Klimenkov

Vladimirov

Jäntsch

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…From all the research done over the last three decades on breeding blankets, it is clear that only two systems remain which can be realistically used in a fusion reactor. The first one is the so-called Pebble Bed Blanket [7] where the functional materials are Li 4 Figure 5. Pebble bed breeding blanket design, the left part shows a more advanced design using horizontal plates to reduce pressure drop and increase the breeding area.…”

Section: (C) In-vessel Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Theoretically layers of breeding material and neutron multipliers should be arranged radially with layers thickening towards the back of the blanket to improve the breeding with a decaying neutron flux. However, a realistic engineering solution can be seen in figure 5 where we have thin radial layers of Li pellets between two He cooled plates and in between wider Be pebble neutron multiplier beds [7]. This arrangement needs a slightly higher thickness of the breeding part but simplifies the Mani folding and the structure of the blanket boxes and thus also minimizes the pressure drops which cause the high pumping power needed for He cooling.…”

Section: (C) In-vessel Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An economical viable tokamak fusion reactor based on the ITER experience

Janeschitz

2019

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This is my personal vision and outlook towards a fusion reactor based on my extensive experience from being part of the ITER design, and now construction, as well as leading the largest fusion technology program worldwide (KIT—Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) for 7 years. In particular, I want to discuss how a fusion reactor can be economically viable without employing too advanced physics and technology. It certainly will be a pulsed machine (approx. 20 000 s pulses) with thermal energy storage (turbine is steady state). I also want to discuss the optimum machine size and toroidal field for such a machine and why I think that high field and smaller plasmas may not necessarily make a fusion reactor more competitive. When one extrapolates from today's knowledge on ITER construction, even considering that ITER can be built much cheaper, it is clear that a fusion power plant will cost more than 10 or more likely more than 15 billion Euros/Dollars (the first of a kind even approx. 30 billion). Therefore, in order to have an economically attractive fusion reactor, it needs to produce a large amount of power (on the order of 2.5 GW electric). The possible size (R ∼ 10 m) and reasonably conservative physics basis of such a machine will be briefly described in the presentation. If we are successful in achieving advanced physics in a burning plasma, e.g. in ITER, then we can make the machine slightly smaller but the principal arguments for a large machine will not change significantly. Key technologies and their status will be discussed with particular emphasis on a realistic blanket and divertor design and the size and issues of a tritium-plant (T-plant) for such a machine as well as the challenges which have to be overcome beyond what is needed for ITER. Finally, a simple economic consideration will be discussed to show that a large machine could be economically viable, even in today's environment, in particular, in competition with renewables. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Fusion energy using tokamaks: can development be accelerated?’.

show abstract

“…Several HCPB BB concepts were extensively investigated using linear design-byanalysis methods with respect to codes and standards over the last decade [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Additionally, a few studies employed non-linear methods to conduct the failure analysis under normal operation (NO) conditions [15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Inelastic Method and Its Comparison with Elastic Method for the Assessment of In-Box LOCA Event on EU DEMO HCPB Breeding Blanket Cap Region

2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) breeding blanket, being developed by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and its partners is one of the two driver blanket candidates to be selected for the European demonstration fusion power plant (EU DEMO). The in-box Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) is a postulated initiating event of the breeding blanket (BB) that must be accounted within the design basis. In this paper, the BB cap region is analyzed for its ability to withstand an in-box LOCA event. Initially, an assessment is performed using conventional elastic design codes for nuclear pressure vessels. However, it is thought that the elastic rules are not ‘equipped’ to assess the material damage modes which are essentially inelastic. Therefore, a non-linear inelastic analysis is further performed to better understand the damage in the material. Two predominant inelastic failure modes are thought to be relevant and addressed: exhaustion of ductility and plastic flow localization. While the design of HCPB BB has been predominantly based on the elastic design-by-analysis studies, results from the present study show that the elastic rules may be overly conservative for the given material and loading and could lead to inefficient designs. To our knowledge, this study is the first attempt to investigate the structural integrity of the European DEMO blankets under in-box LOCA conditions using the inelastic methods.

show abstract

Overview of the HCPB Research Activities in EUROfusion

Cited by 63 publications

References 60 publications

New insights into microstructure of irradiated beryllium based on experiments and computer simulations

New insights into microstructure of irradiated beryllium based on experiments and computer simulations

An economical viable tokamak fusion reactor based on the ITER experience

Application of Inelastic Method and Its Comparison with Elastic Method for the Assessment of In-Box LOCA Event on EU DEMO HCPB Breeding Blanket Cap Region

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About