International Workshop on Ceramic Breeder Blanket Interactions (CBBI-16)

Sept. 8-10, 2011, Portland, OR, USA

European Test Blanket Modules Project:

Organization, Objectives, Time Schedule and Development Strategy

M. ZmitkoTBM & MD Project Team, Fusion for Energy (F4E), Barcelona, Spain

22

– The European Breeder Blanket concepts – European TBM Project Organization– TBM testing at ITER

• Time schedule– Ceramic breeder material for BB

• Requirements• Some R&D results• Current status

– Functional Materials Development Strategy• Key Milestones• Development, qualification and procurement plan• Key Technical Issues

Presentation Outline

The European Breeder Blanket concepts

4

European breeder blanket concepts

HCPBHe-Cooled Pebble Bed

HCLLHe-Cooled lithium Lead

Structural material

Ferritic-Martensitic steel (EUROFER)

Ferritic-Martensitic steel (EUROFER)

Coolant Helium

(8 MPa, 300/500C)

Helium

(8 MPa, 300/500C)

Tritium breeder, multiplier

Solid (pebbles bed)

Li2TiO3/Li4SiO4, Be

6Li enrich. 40-70%

Liquid (liquid metal)

Pb-15.7at.%Li

6Li enrich. 90%

Tritium extraction

He purge gas

(~1 bar)

Slowly re-circulating PbLi; extraction outside the blanket

BreederBlanketsmodules

The European TBM Project organization

66

• Fusion for Energy is the EU Domestic Agency for ITER

• The objectives of Fusion for Energy are threefold:– Provide Europe’s contribution to the ITER

international fusion energy project; • EU TBM Project Management & interface with ITER IO

– Implement the Broader Approach agreement between Euratom and Japan;

– Prepare for the construction of demonstration fusion reactors (DEMO).

Fusion for Energy

7

European Laboratories and Institutions Involved

KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany

NRG Petten, The Netherlands

CEA Saclay/Cadarache, France

ENEA Brasimone/Frascati, Italy

NRI Rez, Czech Republic

IPUL, Riga, Latvia

KFKI, HAS, Hungary

CIEMAT, Spain

TBM Consortium of Associates

Fusion for Energy (F4E)

TBMs ProjectTBMs Project

TBM Systems (and support equipment) ready to operate in

ITER

= HARDWARE

1.1 - HCLL TBS1.1.1 TBMs1.1.2 Ancillary Syst.1.1.3 DACS1.1.4 TBS Intg. Eng.

1.3 - HCPB TBS1.3.1 TBMs1.3.2 Ancillary Syst.1.3.3 DACS1.3.4 TBS Intg. Eng.

1.5 – Port Cell Int. Eng.

1.6 – SUPPORT EQUIPMENT

TBMs prototypes qualification prior

to ITER

= QUALIFICATION

1.2 - HCLL TBM/S PROTOTYPICAL PERF. EVAL./DEMO (*)

1.4 - HCPB TBM/S PROTOTYPICAL PERF. EVAL./DEMO (*)

Tests in ITER (and associated

maintenance, PIE)

= OPERATION

1.10 – TESTS IN ITER & PIE (*)

Project & System Engineering Management

= MANAGEMENT (SERVICE)

1.11 – PROJECT /TECHNICAL

MANAGEMENT

1.11.1 Proj. Man.

1.11.2 TBS Tech. Man.

1.11.2.1 HCLL TBS Tech. Man.

1.11.2.2 HCPB TBS Tech. Man.

Project Data (all types: tests, engineering,

qualification, PM, etc.)

= DATA COLLECTION

1.12 - DATA

Development and validation of DEMO relevant Materials,

Blanket Technologies and Predictive Tools to

be used/validated in TBMs

= VALIDATED TECHNO /

MATERIALS / TOOLS

1.7 - MATERIAL DEV/CHARACT.

1.8 - TECHNO DEV/QUALIF

1.8.1 Box fab.

1.8.2 Be coating

1.8.3 Anti-corr./perm.

1.8.4 Sensors

1.9 - PREDICTIVE TOOLS DEV/QUALIF

1.13 - SUPPORT TEST FACILITIES

TBM & Materials Development

Project Scope (1)

More details – See next slide

Note: TBM Project WBS dictionary issued in 2008

8

TBM & Materials Development

Project Scope (2)

Development and validation of DEMO relevant Materials,

Blanket Technologies and Predictive Tools to

be used/validated in TBMs

= VALIDATED TECHNO /

MATERIALS / TOOLS

1.7 - MATERIAL DEV/CHARACT.

1.8 - TECHNO DEV/QUALIF

1.8.1 Box fab.

1.8.2 Be coating

1.8.3 Anti-corr./perm.

1.8.4 Sensors

1.9 - PREDICTIVE TOOLS DEV/QUALIF

1.13 - SUPPORT TEST FACILITIES

EUROFER-ODSR&D

SiC Dual Insulator R&D

MD Group

9

ITER, a unique opportunity to test Breeder Blanket mock-ups:

‘Test Blanket Modules’ (TBMs)

TBMs mission in ITER

ITER should test Tritium Breeding Module concepts that

would lead in a future reactor to tritium self-sufficiency and to

the extraction of high grade heat and electricity production

• To develop and build the European Test Blanket Module (TBM) Systems for ITER

• To develop numerical tools for analysis of TBM tests and design of DEMO breeder blankets

11

12

Test Blanket Modules (TBM)

Forschungszentrum Karlsruhein der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft

HCLL TBM

(Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead) TBM

HCPB TBM

(Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed) TBM

1,66 m

ITER Equatorial Port #16

Back plate 4

Back plate 3

Back plate 2

Back plate 1

PbLi internal pipes

PbLi outlet pipe +manifold

He inlet pipe

He outlet pipe

PbLi inlet pipe +manifold

Breeder unit

Stiffening grid

Stiffening rod bolt

First wall

Stiffening rod

Cover

He by-pass pipe

Back plate 5

Back manifold

Tie Rod

BeCeramicBreeder

He coolant

Purge gas

Plasma

Manifolds

Breeder Unit

TBM Port Plug

AEU

Pipe forest

– From L.V. Boccaccini , SOFT-2010

Port Cell

InterspacePort Plug

Bio Shield

ITER Equatorial Port #16

Tokamak Building

Tritium Building

TBS in EPP16

TBS in CVCS area: HCS & CPSTBS in L1 of Tritium building

TBS locations

14

EU TBMs master schedule(prior to ITER)

15

Adopted Strategy for the TBM Programme Integration (IRP v2.0)

4 versions per each TBM are considered with specific objectives as follow:

Learning/validation phase the Electro Magnetic module (EM-TBM): H phase, H-He phase;

the Thermal/Neutronic module (TN-TBM): D-phase;

DEMO-relevant data acquisition phase the Neutronic/Tritium & Thermo-Mechanic module (NT/TM-TBM): DT1 phase;

DEMO-relevant data acquisition phase (2nd 10 years) the INTegral TBM (INT-TBM): DT2 (high duty, long pulses)

16

TB

Ms

te

st p

rog

ram

ITE

R p

ha

ses

TBMs testing in ITER

17

Ceramic Breeder Materials

Lithium Orthosilicate (OSi)

Li4SiO4

(FZK-Schott, melt-spray process)

= [0.25 - 0.63] mm

Lithium Metatitanate (MTi)

Li2TiO3

(CEA-CTI, extrusion-spheronisation-sintering)

= [0.6 – 1.2] mm

Two Li-ceramic breeder materials in the form of pebbles have been extensively investigated in the EU

Ceramic solid breeder materials

19

Ceramic breeder materials:Functional requirements

• Withstand stresses without excessive fragmentation

• Heat transfer parameters of the pebble beds (temperature control Tmax = 920°C)

• Compatibility between the ceramic and EUROFER (max. T~ 550°C)

• Neutron irradiation resistance

• Low tritium residence time in the Li ceramics to minimize tritium inventory (safety)

• As low as possible activation under neutron irradiation (impurities)

• Easy reprocessing capability20

Ceramic breeder materials:R&D activities (1/4)

Li4SiO4

T= 600-650 oC

Li2TiO3

T= 750-800 oC

Li2TiO3

T= 750-800 oC

Li4SiO4

T= 750-800 oC

Pebble Bed Assembly (PBA) irradiation campaign

Post-irradiation examination and final evaluation still on-going

300 FPD achievedLi burn-up 2-3% (DEMO: ~13% OSi; ~20% MTi)EUROFER 2.3 dpa

Be pebble bed

Breeder pebble bed

EUROFER

Irradiation capsule preparation for PIE

21

Ceramic breeder materials:R&D activities (2/4)

PBA #4 Tirr = 750 CPBA #1 Tirr = 600 C

Optical Microscopy

Post-irradiation examination of OSi and MTi pebbles

before irradiation

EXOTIC-9/1 Tirr = 500 C

MTi

OSi

OSiCrack along grain boundariesFragmentationMTiHigh internal porosity

22

Ceramic breeder materials:R&D activities (3/4)

MTi (PBA #2)700-740 C

OSi (PBA #4)750-770 C

- On-line tritium release measurements- MTi and OSi similar behavior

Tritium release from irradiated OSi and MTiFractional release R9/1-04-01

0.5 K/min He+0.1%H2

0.000.100.200.300.400.500.600.700.800.901.00

0 200 400 600 800 1000Temperature [oC]

Fra

ctio

n

HT+HTOHT

Fractional release R9/1-02-030.5 K/min He+0.1%H2

0.00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.91.01.1

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000Temperature [oC]

Fra

ctio

n HTO+HTHT

MTi (EXOTIC 9/1) 6Li 29.5%

MTi (EXOTIC 9/1) 6Li 7.5%

Out of pile Tritium release (TPD)

23

Ceramic breeder materials:R&D activities (4/4)

OSi2 cell temperatures

150175200225250275300325350375400425450475500525550575600625650675700

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420 450 480 510 540 570 600 630

Time (min)

T (

°C)

TE301

TE302

TE303

TE304

TE310

TE311

TE312

TE313

TE314

TE315

TE316

TE317

TE318

HEXCALIBER test campaign

- 2 OSi breeder pebble beds- 2 Be pebble beds (1 mm in diameter)- 36 thermocouples – temperature distribution in beds- 6 LVDT transducers – displacement- Electrical heaters- Thermo-mechanical performance of pebble beds- Database for validation of modelling/predictive tools

Be1 cell temperatures

150

175

200

225

250

275

300

325

350

375

400

425

450

475

500

525

550

575

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 390 420 450 480 510 540 570 600 630

Time (min)

T (

°C)

TE201

TE202

TE203

TE204

TE210

TE211

TE212

TE213

TE214

TE215

TE216

TE217

TE218

OSi pebble bed temperatures

Be pebble bed temperatures

Pebble beds thermo-mechanical behaviour

24

Functional materials:Review of the current situation

• Ceramic solid breeder materials– Two ceramic breeder materials available, OSi and MTi; minor differences in

certain physical parameters but no critical issue exists

– Materials extensively characterized under non-irradiation conditions,

– Fabrication processes up to semi-industrial level (with industrial partnership),

– Only limited data on the impact of irradiation,

– HICU irradiation results (in 2012-2013) a crucial milestone for the materials qualification,

– Possible testing of the both materials in ITER (e.g. in different breeder units of a TBM).

• Beryllium multiplier materials– The 1 mm Be pebbles at present the reference multiplier material for the EU

HCPB concept; will be used in the first HCPB TBMs,

– In later stages of ITER operation beryllides (e.g. Be12Ti) could be tested when the level of maturity achieved,

– HIDOBE-01 & -02 irradiation results a crucial milestone for the qualification of the reference Be material (HIDOBE-01 PIE on-going)

25

Functional Materials Development & Procurement Strategy

1. Technical situation of the Work-package2. Key milestones up to installation in ITER3. Key technical and project issues4. Technical risk registered and possible mitigations5. Competences needed6. Preliminary analysis/knowledge of the market7. Division of works8. Elements of procurements strategy

• TBS conceptual design review (CDR) achieved: Jan-2013• TBS preliminary design review (PDR) achieved: Dec-2014• TBS final design review (FDR) achieved: Dec-2016• Functional materials for HCPB & HCLL PMUs procured: Jun-2016• TBM PMU Test phase 2 (IN-TBM relevant) achieved: Dec-2016• EM-TBM-Sets Delivery on ITER Site completed: Oct-2019• Functional materials for HCPB & HCLL EM-TBM procured: Dec-2019• Installation of 2 TBM-Sets + Frame and TBSs completed: Oct-2020• TBS Commissioning completed: Mar-2021

Key milestones up to installation in ITER

27

As agreed with ITER IO and integrated in the TBM Project Plan

28

General strategy for the FM

Development, qualification, procurement plan for functional materials (e.g. status review, suitability for design needs, additional tests/experiments)

Optimization of production processes (e.g. thermal treatment, fabrication routes, impurity level etc.)

Design, realization and evaluation of the experiments (e.g. effect of irrad., compatibility, tritium interaction/release, PBTM)

HCLL & HCPB TBMs design qualification

Updating of the functional materials’ database (MAR, MDBH)

Technical specification, procurement and characterization of the functional materials for the TBM mock-ups and TBMs

29

Predictive / modelling tools development strategy

Step 1: Expression of the needs

Definition of technical contour for DEMO breeder blankets, DEMO requirements and figures of merit

List of experiments/tests to be performed in ITER (EM, TH, MHD, PBTM, neutronics, tritium cycle, system/coupled phenomena); the proposals to be prepared by experts

Step 2: State-of-the-art and rationale for the R&D program (level of maturity for each modeling field)

Step 3: Workplan for the development of the TBS experimental program (in ITER & out-of-ITER) and simulation capacity

Ranking of the proposed experiments/tests based on the addressed issue, technical feasibility, model/software development needs, instrumentation, integration into TBMs, etc.

Step 4: Development and validation of predictive tools for each modeling field(for TBMs conceptual design & for ITER test results analyses)

• Review of TBM and DEMO functional requirements for the functional materials

• Review of current status of development of already produced functional materials within the past activities (e.g. used fabrication processes/routes, characteristics/properties of produced materials, etc.)

• Evaluation of suitability of the existing properties with respect to the HCPB/HCLL TBM design needs; identification of missing elements in the Material Assessment Report (MAR) and in the Material Data Base Report (MDBR)

• Identification of further development needs in order to fulfil TBM/DEMO functional requirements and definition of a roadmap for such development

• Development of a qualification plan for functional materials allowing the use of these materials in TBMs in ITER e.g. identification of additional tests/experiments to be performed in order to qualify the material(s) for TBM application

Development, qualification & procurement plan for FM (1/2)

30

Development, qualification & procurement plan elaborated for CB, Be and Pb-Li alloy (TBM-CA)

• Survey of regulation aspects and identification of requirements of Host Country licensing authorities and ITER Organization (e.g. for Li-6 enrichment, Be handling/processing)

• Development of a preliminary procurement plan for the functional materials defining:

– The amount of the material to be procured at various steps/phases of the TBM project (e.g. for the TBM prototypical mock-up, EM-TBM, NT-TBM, INT-TBM)

– The quality of the material to be procured (e.g. geometrical characteristics, chemical composition, impurities level, grade, Li-6 enrichment level, etc.)

• Evaluation of the proposed procurement plan with respect to the materials commercial availability and, if necessary, identification of development needs for a relevant production facility

Development, qualification & procurement plan for FM (2/2)

31

1. Development and further optimization of fabrication routes:– Optimization of ceramic and Be pebbles fabrication processes with

respect to the production yield, pebbles’ characteristics (e.g. sphericity, pebbles size distribution, porosity, density, chemical and phase composition, microstructure, grain size) and mechanical properties (e.g. brittleness/crush load, creep characteristics)

– Production of Be pebbles with small grains (considered to be in favour for tritium release),

– Development of an alternative fabrication route to the Rotating Electrode Method (REM) back-up solution for fabrication/procurement of Be pebbles,

– Development of a suitable fabrication route for Be-alloy material(s) (e.g. Be12Ti),

– Control of undesired impurities level in the functional materials (FM) (e.g. Co, U, Bi),

Key technical issues related to the FM (1/4)

32

2. Availability of the materials properties needed for a proper TBMs design:– Effect of neutron irradiation on thermo-mechanical properties as function of

irradiation temperature, neutron dose, lithium burn-up (e.g. swelling, thermal conductivity degradation, irradiation induced creep and embrittlement, changes in open/close porosity),

– Tritium retention/release characteristics as a function of irradiation temperature, neutron dose, purge gas chemistry, material properties (e.g. porosity, grain size)

– Compatibility with structure material under neutron irradiation,

– Interaction of air/steam with Be/Be-alloy pebbles and Pb-Li alloy (safety related issue),

– Thermal conductivity in pebble beds under compressive loads (e.g. in the bulk of the pebble bed, at the interface between structural material and pebble bed),

– Pb-Li alloy properties (e.g. H-isotopes solubility and diffusivity, He transport properties in Pb-Li, corrosion products (Fe, Cr) solubility in Pb-Li, effect of neutron irradiation on He nano bubbles formation, Po/Hg impurities behaviour),

Key technical issues related to the FM (2/4)

33

3. Modelling:– Thermo-mechanical behaviour of pebbles beds:

• Further development of the pebble bed thermo-mechanics (PBTM) predictive tool(s) to be used for TBMs design (both DEM & FEM approaches),

• Benchmarking and validation of the PBTM predictive tool(s),

• Definition and realization of validation experiments necessary for verification of PBTM modelling tools,

– Be/Be-alloy materials behaviour:

• Be/Be-alloy materials behaviour under neutron irradiation (e.g. involving atomic scale modelling),

• Tritium production, inventory and release in irradiated Be/Be-alloy pebbles

– Activation analysis:

• Definition of allowable limits of impurities in the functional materials (e.g. Bi Po, U Pu, Co60)

Key technical issues related to the FM (3/4)

34

4. Procurement of functional materials:– Elaboration of a proper Specification for the materials to be procured in

various stages of the TBM Project taking into account needed quality (non-/nuclear grade, impurities level), quantity and cost;

– Decision on selection of a reference ceramic breeder material (OSi or MTi) or/and determination of the amount of OSI & MTi to be procured for dedicated Breeder Units of PMU and EM-TBM to be filled in with OSi & MTi pebbles,

– Scaling of the laboratory developed production methods,

– Ensure adequate production capability, involving industrial partners,

– Limited production capacity batch-like production ensure reproducibility of materials properties at a batch-like fabrication process,

– Mass production with proper quality control,

– Li-6 enrichment of ceramic breeder (e.g. availability of enriched Li-6 in a proper chemical form, procurement of a sufficient amount of Li-6, dual use material issue),

– Standardization (i.e. elaboration of standard procedures) to be used for characterization of the produced materials,

Key technical issues related to the FM (4/4)

35

Thank you for your attention