Ricerc@Sapienza

EU-DEMO is a European project, having the ambitious goal to be the first demonstrative
power plant based on nuclear fusion. The electrical power that is expected to be produced is in the
order of 700–800 MW, to be delivered via a connection to the European High Voltage electrical grid.
The initiation and control of fusion processes, besides the problems related to the nuclear physics,
need very complex electrical systems. Moreover, also the conversion of the output power is not

The Water Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) breeding blanket concept is the one of
the PbLi-based concepts under development within the framework of the EUROfusion
project. This concept is characterized by cooling the PbLi using water tubes embedded in
the PbLi flow. In this work, the MHD coupling between the conductive tubes walls and the
PbLi flow is studied for the geometrical and operational configuration of the WCLL.
Velocity profiles are computed first considering a toroidal magnetic field using a fully

Towards the middle of the current century, the DEMOnstration power plant, DEMO, will start operating as the first nuclear fusion reactor capable of supplying its own loads and of providing electrical power to the European electrical grid. The presence of such a unique and peculiar facility in the European transmission system involves many issues that have to be faced in the project phase. This work represents the first study linking the operation of the nuclear fusion power plant DEMO to the actual requirements for its correct functioning as a facility connected to the power systems.