Ricerc@Sapienza

In the frame of EUROfusion Work Package Breeding Blanket and Horizon2020 thermal-hydraulic analyses have been carried out at ENEA, in close cooperation with Sapienza University of Rome, to investigate and evaluate the thermal and fluid-dynamic behaviour of the Water Cooled Lithium Lead Breeding Blanket (WCLL), which is a candidate option for the European DEMO nuclear fusion reactor.
Several layouts of the Breeding Zone coolant system have been investigated in the last years in order to identify the optimum configuration that guarantee Eurofer temperature below the limit (550°C) and good thermal-hydraulic performances (i.e. water outlet temperature 328 °C). A research activity will be conducted to study a new configuration of WCLL design, characterized by horizontal tubes and PbLi flow path mainly in radial direction. The objective is to investigate the feasibility of this layout and to identify pro and cons from the thermal-hydraulic point of view, also comparing it with the other configurations. The analysis will be carried out using a CFD approach, thus a three-dimensional finite volume model of an elementary cell of the outboard segment will be developed, adopting the commercial ANSYS CFX 19.2 code. The thermal-hydraulic results will be discussed, highlighting open issues and suggesting pertinent modifications to DEMO WCLL coolant system layout aimed at optimizing the design. The research activity aims at laying the groundwork for the finalization of the Water Cooled Lithium Lead blanket design, pointing out relevant thermal-hydraulic aspects.