Experimental layout and thermo-mechanical studies on a Thermo-mechanical Cycle Mock up (TCM) plate

In the frame of the activities of the EU Breeder Blanket Programme, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is involved in several activities in support of the design and qualification of the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed Test Blanket Module (HCPB-TBM). During operation the TBM will be subjected to complex thermo-mechanical loads, especially the plasma facing parts, the so-called First Wall (FW). In the recent years significant effort was dedicated to the FE modeling of the TBM box as a complete assembly: detailed FE models (1 quarter) were developed and thermo-mechanical calculations were performed for the better description of the thermo-mechanical behavior of the HCPB-TBM box under nominal and accidental conditions. In parallel with the numerical studies the manufacturing process for the TBM-FW has progressed. Currently KIT has developed a manufacturing path that will allow the manufacturing of an FW plate, the so-called TCM (Thermo-mechanical Cycle Mock up), with an overall size of 710 mm × 484 mm × 30 mm. The present paper presents the results of the numerical investigations of a mock up designed to qualify the manufacturing procedure of the TCM. For this the TCM will be subject to the same heat loads as the central part of a TBM-FW operating under TBM characteristic conditions (nominal surface heat flux of 500 kW/m2 in pulsed regime). Based on the comparison with the numerical simulations of a full TBM box, a design of the test mock up including the support structure behind the TCM plate will be proposed with the aim of reproducing an equivalent level of stresses in the test object as in a TBM-FW.