Fusion reactor blanket/shield design study

A joint study of tokamak reactor first-wall/blanket/shield technology was conducted by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company (MDAC). The objectives of this program were the identification of key technological limitations for various tritium-breeding-blanket design concepts, establishment of a basis for assessment and comparison of the design features of each concept, and development of optimized blanket designs. The approach used involved a review of previously proposed blanket designs, analysis of critical technological problems and design features associated with each of the blanket concepts, and a detailed evaluation of the most tractable design concepts. Tritium-breeding-blanket concepts were evaluated according to the proposed coolant. The ANL effort concentrated on evaluation of lithium- and water-cooled blanket designs while the MDAC effort focused on helium- and molten salt-cooled designs. A joint effort was undertaken to provide a consistent set of materials property data used for analysis of all blanket concepts. Generalized nuclear analysis of the tritium breeding performance, an analysis of tritium breeding requirements, and a first-wall stress analysis were conducted as part of the study. The impact of coolant selection on the mechanical design of a tokamak reactor was evaluated. Reference blanket designs utilizing the four candidate coolants are presented.