Solid breeder blanket option for the ITER conceptual design

A solid-breeder, water-cooled blanket option based on a multilayer configuration was developed for the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). The blanket uses beryllium for neutron multiplication and lithium oxide for tritium breeding. The material forms are sintered products for both materials with 0.8 density factor. The lithium-6 enrichment is 90%. The blanket can accommodate a factor of two change in the neutron wall loading without violating the different design guidelines. The design philosophy adopted for the blanket is to produce the necessary tritium required for the ITER operation and to operate at power reactor conditions as much as possible. At the same time, the reliability and the safety aspects of the blanket are enhanced by using a low-pressure coolant and separating the tritium purge lines from the coolant system. The blanket modules are made by hot vacuum forming and diffusion bonding a double-wall structure with integral cooling channels. The different aspects of the blanket design including tritium breeding, nuclear heat deposition, activation analyses, thermal-hydraulics, tritium inventory, structural analyses, and water-coolant conditions are summarized