Neutronic analyses and tools development efforts in the European DEMO programme

• Evaluation of neutronic tools for application to DEMO nuclear analyses.
• Generation of a DEMO model for nuclear analyses based on MC calculations.
• Nuclear analyses of the DEMO reactor equipped with a HCLL-type blanket.

The European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) recently launched a programme on Power Plant Physics and Technology (PPPT) with the aim to develop a conceptual design of a fusion demonstration reactor (DEMO) addressing key technology and physics issues. A dedicated part of the PPPT programme is devoted to the neutronics which, among others, has to define and verify requirements and boundary conditions for the DEMO systems. The quality of the provided data depends on the capabilities and the reliability of the computational tools. Accordingly, the PPPT activities in the area of neutronics include both DEMO nuclear analyses and development efforts on neutronic tools including their verification and validation. This paper reports on first neutronics studies performed for DEMO, and on the evaluation and further development of neutronic tools.