Structural design and preliminary analysis of liquid lead–lithium blanket for China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor

China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) has been proposed as an option in China to bridge the gaps between ITER and fusion power plant. Since one major goal of CFETR is to demonstrate long pulse or steady-state operation with duty cycle time ≥0.3–0.5, easier maintenance of the in-vessel components is emphasized in the design process. In this contribution, a kind of liquid lead–lithium tritium breeder blanket concept focus on the remote maintenance has been designed for CFETR. To make the pipes and mechanical connections at the rear of the blanket accessible from vacuum vessel, two kinds of guide tubes were adopted to provide passageways for remote handling tools. In order to evaluate the effects of the guide tube installation on the structural performance of the blanket, as a preliminary stage, thermal-hydraulic analysis of first wall was carried out based on the heat load obtained from 3D modeled neutronics calculations. In addition, thermal stress analysis of the first wall under normal condition was performed to evaluate the thermomechanical behavior. The preliminary analysis results validated the performance of current blanket design.