A radiation-cooled armor tile design for the first wall of ITER

A tile design that uses radiation rather than conduction to transfer heat to the water-cooled first wall of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is presented. The central, thermally insulated tile attachment minimizes local thermal stresses in the first wall and facilitates remote maintenance. The tile module consists of: a graphite tile; layers of anisotropic pyrolytic carbon used as a high-temperature thermal insulator; a metallic mounting plate; carbon-reinforced carbon screws which join the tile, the insulator, and the mounting plate; and a captive, central mounting screw. The design emphasizes simplicity and ruggedness while minimizing the need for R&D. The results of a detailed, two-dimensional heat transfer and thermal stress analysis are presented for steady-state heat fluxes of 20 and 100 W/cm². The effects of neutron heating, radiation, conduction, contact resistances, material anisotropy, temperature dependences and sliding interfaces are considered. The calculated temperatures and stresses show that the proposed tile design is feasible