Candidate blanket concepts for a European fusion power plant study

The breeding blanket is an essential in-vessel component for fusion power p lants based on the deuterium-tritium fuel. It is submitted to severe operat ing conditions such as high surface heat flux on the first wall (> 0.5 MW/m (2)) and to very high 14 MeV neutron flux (>10(18) n/m(2) s). Because of th e simultaneous requirement of very demanding performances, such as tritium breeding self-sufficiency, high thermal cycle efficiency, high availability and high safety standards, the number of candidate breeding blanket concep ts is limited. After recalling advantages and drawbacks of possible combina tions of structural materials, coolants, and breeder materials, this paper summarizes the characteristics and the performances of some potential candi date concepts for a European power plant study and associated required R&D. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.