Optimization of tritium breeding ratio in ARC reactor
Author(s)
Hartwig, Zachary Seth; Whyte, Dennis G; Zucchetti, Massimo
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Affordable Robust Compact reactor is a conceptual design for a Tokamak conceived by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers. The design of this tokamak is under development and update. One of the key parameters for fusion reactor power plants is the tritium breeding ratio (TBR), which has to guarantee the tritium self-sufficiency. The tritium inventory circulating in a fusion power plant must be minimized. In the meantime, to enhance plant's economics, the amount of tritium generated and stored should be maximized, since it would be used to startup new reactors. Both of the aforementioned trends meet their best in a TBR as high as possible. In this work, ARC tritium breeding ratio is studied and optimized. Taking advantage of Monte Carlo neutron transport codes, several configurations of ARC's blanket and vacuum vessel have been analyzed in order to find the most effective one for a high TBR. The study takes into account different materials for the structure, such as Inconel718, V-15Cr-5Ti and Eurofer97. Moreover, it scans different width of coolant's channels and evaluates the effect of lithium-6 enrichment in the blanket looking for the best configuration in terms of TBR.
Date issued
2020-05Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plasma Science and Fusion CenterJournal
Fusion Engineering and Design
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Citation
Segantin, Stefano et al. “Optimization of tritium breeding ratio in ARC reactor.” Fusion Engineering and Design, 154 (May 2020): 111531 © 2020 The Author(s)
Version: Author's final manuscript
ISSN
0920-3796