DEVELOPMENT OF MANUFACTURING PROCESSES FOR THE ITER HELIUM-COOLED PEBBLE BED BLANKET TEST MODULE

The European helium-cooled pebble bed (HCPB) blanket is a solid breede r blanket concept for the future DEMO reactor. The HCPB test module fo r ITER corresponds, with respect to the general design and functions, to the DEMO blanket. In this paper the most important manufacturing an d assembly steps, including inspection methods for the ITER test modul e, are pointed out. The manufacturing processes for these different st eps are discussed, and a summary of the main results that have been ac hieved in the current development programs is given. The encouraging r esults that have been obtained so far for all manufacturing steps conf irm the feasibility of the ITER test module. A short survey of the fut ure development work in the current programs and the work on alternati ve fabrication techniques for the manufacturing of the first wall are presented. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights rese rved.