Performance of the TAURO blanket system associated with a liquid-metal cooled divertor

Blankets and diverters are the key components of a fusion power plant due t o their large impact on the overall plant design, performance and availabil ity, and on the cost of electricity. This paper recalls the main features o f the TAURO blanket, a self-cooled Pb-17Li concept using SiCf/SiC composite as structural material, and describes the most recent thermo-mechanical an alyses performed on the blanket. It includes an evaluation of a liquid-meta l cooled divertor which could be associated with such a blanket. Investigat ions were carried out to determine the potential and limits of the blanket and of a liquid-metal cooled divertor in terms of maximum acceptable surfac e heat flux. The high outlet temperature of the Pb-17Li coolant (800 degree sC) leads to an attractive energy conversion efficiency (>47%) assuming hel ium-coolant for the secondary circuit. Special heat exchangers, using SiCf/ SiC tubes are envisaged. Thermo-mechanical analyses have pointed out that m aximum surface heat flux on FW and divertor could be about 0.65 and < 5 MW/ m(2), respectively. It is expected that an improvement of the SiCf/SiC mode ling, taking into account non linear behavior presently under way, and the use of design criteria adapted to more advanced composites could allow even higher limits. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.