MHD PRESSURE DROPS AND THERMAL-HYDRAULIC ANALYSIS FOR THE ITER BREEDING BLANKET DESIGN

The breeding blanket design of the International Thermonuclear Experim ental Reactor (ITER) is a self-cooled liquid lithium system with a van adium structure. Electrical insulation of the coolant channel surfaces from the liquid metal is required to reduce the magnetohydrodynamic ( MHD) pressure to less than 1 MPa. Insulation is provided by AIN coatin g at the channel surfaces in contact with lithium. MHD pressure drop a nd thermal hydraulic analysis of the blanket design is carried out sub ject to pressure, temperature, and stress considerations. Design windo ws relating the lithium flow velocity, MHD pressure, and structural te mperature are formulated. The requirements of the insulator coating an d characterization of the coating effectiveness are presented. Effects on the MHD pressure drop due to uniform cracks through the coating la yer is also analyzed.