Magnetohydrodynamic pressure-driven flows in the HCLL blanket

Magnetohydrodynamic flows in a helium cooled lead lithium blanket have been analyzed by combined asymptotic-numeric computations. The flow has been considered in real 3D geometries. Of special concern are the connections between the circular access tubes with the breeder boxes through poloidal manifolds and distributing gaps, and the region near the first wall, where the fluid has to pass another narrow gap. For application to a DEMO-type reactor pressure drops of the order of 0.28 MPa have been estimated for an applied magnetic field of 10 T.