Thermal-mechanical analyses of the ITER shielding blanket designs

Thermal-mechanical analyses were performed for the ITER shielding blanket design to define the performance of the structures when subjected to thermal loads, the internal pressure and the electromagnetic forces. The shielding blanket design under consideration has austenitic steel structure, low temperature and pressure water coolant, and a copper layer coated with beryllium for the first wall. The first wall is structurally integrated with the shielding blanket by thin lateral walls welded to the back plate. At the side wall of the sector, the internal pressure is sustained by the adjacent canisters. Two-dimensional analyses of the equatorial cross-section were carried out using generalized plane strain boundary conditions to simulate the out of plane structure behavior. The mechanical loads used in the analyses consist of an internal coolant pressure of 2 MPa and electromagnetic loads on the first wall due to plasma disruption events of 1 MPa for outboard sections. Two thermal loads were included: a surface heat flux of 50 W cm−2 on the first wall and nuclear heating from the neutronics analyses.