Investigation of T breeding potential and T inventory in a magnetized target fusion reactor system

Abstract

A new and innovative type of fusion reactor known as the magnetized target fusion (MTF) device is expected to provide self-sufficient energy production without the complexities and serious challenges associated with the conventional fusion approaches. In the device, D-T plasma is injected into center of liquid Li17Pb83 blanket and then compressed mechanically for fusion reactions. The main goal of this thesis is to quantify the tritium breeding ratio and T inventory in an MTF design. Parametric studies are performed to characterize the T breeding capability of the MTF device. In this work, a conceptual MTF power system is considered to quantify the T inventory in the primary LiPb fluid system, which can be a potential safety issue of the system. To calculate the T inventory, a T removal facility (TRF) is placed before heat exchangers in the primary LiPb loop. As a T removal technology, the PAV (pressure against vacuum) system is introduced and reviewed. For a typical MTF system design, the equilibrium T inventory was evaluated as a function of the T removal capability of the PAV system. It was found that the T concentration can be too high unless T is effectively removed in the PAV system during the system operation.