Insulated fixation system of plasma facing components to the divertor cassette in Eurofusion-DEMO

The design activities of an insulated Plasma Facing Components-Cassette Body (PFCs-CB) support has been carried out under the pre-conceptual design phase for Eurofusion-DEMO Work Package DIV-1 \u201cDivertor Cassette Design and Integration\u201d - Eurofusion Power Plant Physics & Technology (PPPT) program. The Eurofusion-DEMO divertor is a key in-vessel component with PFCs which directly interact with the plasma scrape-off layer. The PFCs have to cope with high heat loads, neutron irradiation and electromagnetic loads. The mechanical integrity of the PFCs and water cooling pipes can be jeopardized by high heat loads and by electromagnetic loads generated in a disruption event. In European-DEMO the possibility to estimate the heat load by measuring the relative thermocurrents is under investigation. In order to allow thermocurrents measurements, a divertor design option provides that PFCs are electrically insulated from CB. In this work authors aim to analyze the opportunity that the PFC-CB fixing system incorporates an electrical insulation system, thus acquiring also an important diagnostic role in the measurement of the thermocurrents and in the management of the current flows. The possible use of ceramic material (e.g. alumina) as the insulating layer between the support components is investigated

European divertor target concepts for DEMO: Design rationales and high heat flux performance

The divertor target plates are the most thermally loaded in-vessel components in a fusion reactor where high heat fluxes are produced on the plasma-facing components (PFCs) by intense plasma bombardment, radiation and nuclear heating. For reliable exhaust of huge thermal power, robust and durable divertor target PFCs with a sufficiently large heat removal capability and lifetime has to be developed. Since 2014 in the framework of the preconceptual design activities of the EUROfusion DEMO project, integrated R&D efforts have been made in the subproject ‘Target development’ of the work package ‘Divertor’ to develop divertor target PFCs for DEMO. Recently, the first R&D phase was concluded where six (partly novel) target PFC concepts were developed and evaluated by means of non-destructive inspections and high-heat-flux fatigue testing. In this paper, the major achievements of the first phase activities in this subproject are presented focusing on the design rationales of the target PFC concepts, technology options employed for small-scale mock-up fabrication and the results of the first round high-heat-flux qualification test campaign. It is reported that the mock-ups of three PFC concepts survived up to 500 loading cycles at 20 MW/m² (with hot water cooling at 130 °C) without any discernable indication of degradation in performance or structural integrity

European DEMO divertor target: Operational requirements and material-design interface

Recently, an integrated program of conceptual design activities for the European DEMO reactor was launched in the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium, where reliable power handling capability was identified as one of the most critical scientific as well as technological challenges for a DEMO reactor. The divertor is the key in-vessel plasma-facing component being in charge of power exhaust and removal of impurity particles. The DEMO divertor target will have to withstand extreme thermal loads where the local peak heat flux is expected to reach up to 20 MW/m2 during slow transient events in DEMO. To assure sufficient heat removal capability of the divertor target against normal and transient operational scenarios under expected cumulative neutron dose of up to 13 dpa is one of the fundamental engineering challenges imposed on target design. To develop the design of the DEMO divertor and related technologies, an R&D work package 'Divertor' has been set up in this consortium. The subproject 'Target Development' is devoted to the development of the conceptual design and the core technologies of the plasma-facing target. Devising and implementing novel structural heat sink materials (e.g. W/Cu composites) to advanced target design concepts is one of the major objectives of this subproject. In this paper, the underlying design requirements imposed by the envisaged power exhaust goal and the prominent material-design interface issues are discussed. In addition, the candidate design concepts being currently considered are presented together with the related material issues. Finally, the first results achieved so far are presented

Comparison of X-ray and neutron tomographic imaging to qualify manufacturing of a fusion divertor tungsten monoblock

Within a tokamak fusion energy device, the performance and lifespan of a divertor monoblock under high heat flux cycles is of particular interest. Key to this is the quality of manufacture, especially the material joining interfaces. Presented here is a comparative study between X-ray and neutron tomography to investigate the quality of manufactured monoblocks. Tungsten is a high attenuator of X-rays, thus X-ray tomography was performed on ‘region of interest’ samples where the majority of the tungsten armour was removed to reduce the attenuation path. Neutron tomography was performed on the full monoblock samples for non-destructive testing and on the ‘region of interest’ samples for direct comparison. Both techniques were shown to be capable of imaging the samples but having their own advantages and disadvantages relating to image accuracy and logistical feasibility. The techniques discussed are beneficial for either the research and development cycle of fusion component design or in quality assurance of manufacturing

Divertor of the European DEMO: Engineering and technologies for power exhaust

In a power plant scale fusion reactor, a huge amount of thermal power produced by the fusion reaction and external heating must be exhausted through the narrow area of the divertor targets. The targets must withstand the intense bombardment of the diverted particles where high heat fluxes are generated and erosion takes place on the surface. A considerable amount of volumetric nuclear heating power must also be exhausted. To cope with such an unprecedented power exhaust challenge, a highly efficient cooling capacity is required. Furthermore, the divertor must fulfill other critical functions such as nuclear shielding and channeling (and compression) of exhaust gas for pumping. Assuring the structural integrity of the neutron-irradiated (thus embrittled) components is a crucial prerequisite for a reliable operation over the lifetime. Safety, maintainability, availability, waste and costs are another points of consideration. In late 2020, the Pre-Conceptual Design activities to develop the divertor of the European demonstration fusion reactor were officially concluded. On this occasion, the baseline design and the key technology options were identified and verified by the project team (EUROfusion Work Package Divertor) based on seven years of R&D efforts and endorsed by Gate Review Panel. In this paper, an overview of the load specifications, brief descriptions of the design and the highlights of the technology R&D work are presented together with the further work still needed