CFD simulation of the magnetohydrodynamic flow inside the WCLL breeding blanket module
The interaction between the molten metal and the plasma-containing magnetic field in the breeding blanket causes the onset of a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow. To properly design the blanket, it is important to quantify how and how much the flow features are modified compared with an ordinary hydrodynamic flow. This paper aims to characterize the evolution of the fluid inside one of the proposed concepts for DEMO, the Water-Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL), focusing on the central cell of the equatorial outboard module. A preliminary validation was required to gauge the capability of ANSYS CFX to deal with MHD problems. The buoyant and pressure-driven fully developed laminar flows in a square duct were selected as benchmarks. Numerical results were compared with theoretical solutions and an excellent agreement was found. The channel analysis was realized on a simplified version of the latest available design geometry, developed by ENEA, for M ?1000. The simulation highlighted the formation of high velocity jets close to the baffle and the onset of an asymmetrical potential distribution.