Neutronic analyses of the HCPB DEMO reactor using a consistent integral approach

This work is devoted to nuclear design analyses of the new HCPB-type DEMO reactor developed in the frame of the EFDA PPPT program. The neutronic simulations were carried out with the MCNP5 code using a full scale 3D torus sector model of the DEMO reactor. The model was generated with the McCad conversion tool from available CAD models using a consistent integral approach. The neutronic analyses addressed the tritium breeding performance, the nuclear power generation and the shielding capabilities of the reactor. Although tritium self-sufficiency was shown, the tritium breeding performance of the current design calls for further design improvements to arrive at a higher uncertainty margin. The shielding performance of the reactor is close to the limit. Sufficient shielding can be easily provided by a slight increase of the inboard shield thickness.