Advancement in tritium transport simulations for solid breeding blanket system

In this paper, advancement on tritium transport simulations was demonstrated for a solid breeder blanket HCCR TBS, where multi-physics and detailed engineering descriptions are considered using a commercial simulation code. The physics involved includes compressible purge gas fluid flow, heat transfer, chemical reaction, isotope swamping effect, and tritium isotopes mass transport. The strategy adopted here is to develop numerical procedures and techniques that allow critical details of material, geometric and operational heterogeneity in a most complete engineering description of the TBS being incorporated into the simulation. Our application focuses on the transient assessment in view of ITER being pulsed operations. An immediate advantage is a more realistic predictive and design analysis tool accounting pulsed operations induced temperature variations which impact helium purge gas flow as well as Q2 composition concentration time and space evolutions in the breeding regions. This affords a more accurate prediction of tritium permeation into the He coolant by accounting correct temperature and partial pressure effects and realistic diffusion paths. The analysis also shows that by introducing by-pass line to accommodate ITER pulsed operations in the TES loop allows tritium extraction design being more cost effective.