Projects

EUROfusion project

Since 2014 the group is being participating in breeding blanket work package (BBWP) fo EUROfusion project, funded by the European Consortium of the Development of Fusion Energy, in the frame of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 633053. The aim of the BBWP is to develop and verify a feasible and integrated conceptual design of the DEMO blanket and qualify the required technology. This shall be done in parallel for HCPB, HCLL, WCLL and DCLL designs. The group is focuses on WP5.2.2, related to liquid metal technologies and focused on MHD assessment. The group also collaborates in WP4.2.1, focused on DCLL breeding blanket design. Among the studies that are being conducted there is the analysis of the magneto-convection in poloidal DCLL channels, the pressure drop and mass imbalance quantification in DCLL liquid metal manifolds, and the flow distribution and pressure drop prediction in annular liquid metal pipes. In parallel, code improvements and capabilities are assessed. All studies are carried out with the OpenFOAM CFD toolkit.

Innprocess project

Development of an advanced simulation tool for tritium transfer processes in ITER/DEMO plant systems
During 2014-2016 the group has participated in a CDTI project with Inprocess Technology & Consulting Group S.L. The goal of this project was to extend Aspen HYSYS capabilities to accurately simulate tritium transfer in systems of a DEMO/ITER plant. The group has developed and implemented tritium transport models and has cross-checked and validated the developed Aspen HYSYS capabilities. Among the phemona studied there is permeation of H, D and T isotopes, catalytic cracking, isotopic adsorption/desorption, cryo-adsorption, isotopic catalytic exchange in several fluids and cryogenic distillation.

TECNO_FUS project

RELAP/SCDAPSIM/MOD4.0 modification for transient accident scenario of Test Blanket Modules in ITER

ANT collaborates with The Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), India, for safety analysis of the Indian Test Blanket Module (TBM) for ITER (International Thermo nuclear Experimental Reactor). The Indian TBM concept is a Lead-Lithium cooled Ceramic Breeder (LLCB), which utilizes lead-lithium eutectic alloy (LLE) as tritium breeder, neutron multiplier and coolant. The first wall facing the plasma is cooled by helium gas. Thermal hydraulic safety analyses of the TBM system will be carried out with the system code RELAP/SCDAPSIM/MOD4.0 which was initially designed to predict the behavior of light water reactor systems. In order to analyze some of the postulated off-normal events, there is the need to simulate the mixing of Helium and Lead-Lithium fluids. The Technical University of Catalonia is cooperating with IPR to implement the necessary changes in the code to allow for the mixing of helium and liquid metal. A new flow regime map for LLE and helium flows is being developed on the basis of numerical simulations with the OpenFOAM CFD toolkit.