Multiphysics tritium transport simulations of the WCLL breeding blanket for DEMO
 
Lundi 14/10/2024, 14h00-17h00
Salle René GRAVIER 506 rdc, CEA Cadarache

 

Avis de Soutenance

Monsieur James DARK

Soutiendra publiquement ses travaux de thèse intitulés :

« Multiphysics tritium transport simulations of the WCLL breeding blanket for DEMO»

Soutenance prévue le lundi 14 octobre 2024 à 14h

Lieu : CEA – IRFM, salle René Gravier, Bâtiment 506

Et par lien Teams : PhD defence James Dark | Microsoft Teams | Meetup-Join

 

Composition du jury :

Raffaella TESTONI

Politecnico di Torino

Rapportrice

Frédéric CHRISTIEN

Mines Saint-Etienne

Rapporteur

Sara FERRY

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Examinatrice

Steven VAN BOXEL

UKAEA

Examinateur

Marie-France BARTHE

CNRS

Présidente du jury

Etienne HODILLE

IRFM, CEA

Encadrant de thèse

Jonathan MOUGENOT

Univ. Sorbonne Paris Nord

Encadrant de thèse

Yann CHARLES

Univ. Sorbonne Paris Nord

Directeur de thèse

Abstract

This work presents the development of a multiphysics tritium transport model in the Water-Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) breeding blanket, designed  using FESTIM to evaluate tritium retention and permeation influenced by heat transfer and fluid mechanics. The developed model aims to estimate inventory buildups within structural materials and quantify permeation into cooling channels. Utilising the Finite Element Method (FEM), the model integrates data from neutronics simulations and accounts for complex fluid flow and heat transfer. Parametric studies assess the influence of heat transfer coefficients, tritium sources, and solubility in PbLi. The work emphasises the impact of tritium trapping mechanisms, increasing tritium inventories in the breeding zone pipes by 80 % and in the first wall by tenfold. A new model, parameterised for tungsten, accounts for the temporal evolution of trap concentrations due to self-damage and thermal annealing, which can be used to estimate the impact of neutron damage on tritium transport in plasma-facing components. Results suggest the tritium inventory in the first wall could increase 700 times after six days of exposure compared to the undamaged case. Methodologies are outlined to modes tritium permeation barriers implicitly for component scale FEM modelling. The developed models and methodologies provide valuable insights for designing and optimising future fusion reactors, ensuring more efficient and sustainable tritium management in breeding blanket systems.

Keywords

DEMO, Breeding blankets, WCLL, Tritium transport, permeation, neutron damage

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