Effect of FCI Electrical Conductivity on MHD Flow in Channels With Multi-Layer Inserts for Fusion Blanket

Fusion blanket is a key component for energy transformation and extraction in fusion reactor, in many kinds of blanket designs, the flow channel insert (FCI) made of a silicon carbide composite (SiCf/SiC) is a key element, which serves as electric and thermal insulator. In the high temperature liquid metal blanket (HTL) of fusion-based hydrogen production reactor (named FDS-III),. The multilayer flow channel inserts (MFCI) are put into the breeding zone to achieve the LiPb outlet temperature around 1000°C for high efficient production of hydrogen. However, the flow of liquid metal meandering through MFCI will cause strong magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effect under the influence of the intense fusion magnetic field and the liquid metal in the neighboring channels will effect each other. When the FCI conductivity varies, the influence varies coresspondingly. So MHD effect of different FCI electrical conductivity is a key issue which should be concerned in HTL blanket.In this work, the numerical study aims at clarifying the MHD effect for liquid metal LiPb in the multi-layer flow channel inserts of different conductivity by using a code named MTC-H 2.0. The MHD flows with Special geometry of the HTL flow channels with MFCI were considered, velocity and FCI electrical conductivity’s effect on electromagnetic coupling are discussed.Copyright © 2013 by ASME