The safety, environmental and economic implications of the use of silicon carbide in fusion power plant blankets

The potential safety, environmental and economic benefits of the use of silicon carbide as the first wall and blanket structure material in a fusion power plant have been assessed. The study has used a similar approach to that of the earlier European Safety and Environmental Assessment of Fusion Power (SEAFP), based on three new plant models using silicon carbide composites, allowing direct comparisons with the earlier study for vanadium alloy and ferritic–martensitic steel. Decay-heat driven temperature transients in postulated loss of cooling accidents and a number of waste management-related activation quantities have been analysed. Systems code studies have assessed the influence of silicon carbide use on economic factors.