MHD, heat transfer and stress analysis for the ITER self-cooled blanket design

AbstractMagnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects of the liquid metal self-cooled blanket proposed for ITER are discussed in this paper. Scoping calculations of heat transfer, MHD pressure drop and structure stresses at a steady state for the self-cooled lithium/vanadium inboard blanket design have been performed in order to show if the blanket option can meet the prescribed design criteria, or if modifications are required. The finite element computer code ANSYSTM (DeSalvo and Gorman, ANSYS User Manual, Swanson Analysis System, Inc., 1989) is used to compute two-dimensional temperature and stress distribution in the inboard blanket. The results of the investigation indicate that the ITER self-cooled lithium/vanadium blanket can satisfy the design criteria from the standpoint of heat transfer, MHD pressure drop and stresses. A comfortable safety margin can be obtained if insulting materials are used to decouple the conductive walls from the eddy currents resulting from the flow of liquid metals across magnetic fields.