Speaker
Description
The Water-Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) concept is one of the reference breeding blanket options for the European Demonstration Fusion Power Reactor (DEMO) and a key focus of the joint EUROfusion and Fusion for Energy (F4E) research programme. Ensuring tritium self-sufficiency and adequate shielding performance requires robust experimental validation of neutronics predictions, together with a comprehensive qualification strategy for materials, technologies, and integrated blanket systems.
Within the EUROfusion framework, significant effort has been devoted to the development of representative WCLL breeding blanket mock-ups and to advanced neutronics analyses aimed at assessing tritium production, neutron and gamma attenuation, and associated uncertainties. Detailed Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to optimise experimental layouts capable of reproducing the essential nuclear features of the WCLL blanket foreseen for DEMO, while enabling accurate measurement of key quantities such as tritium production rate and shielding performance. These studies provide a solid basis for defining future experimental campaigns and for identifying the design margins required to guarantee tritium self-sufficiency.
In parallel, following extensive technical and programmatic evaluations, EUROfusion and F4E have strengthened their collaboration through an integrated Test Blanket Module (TBM) and Breeding Blanket (BB) programme. This joint approach aims to streamline European resources, avoid duplication of effort, and ensure coherence between DEMO-oriented breeding blanket development and TBM qualification activities. The collaborative R&D has been structured into four main pillars: system modelling, technology development, safety analyses, and materials qualification, with particular emphasis on functional materials, predictive tools, sensors, and the characterisation of EUROFER97 as a structural material.
This contribution provides an overview of the ongoing WCLL-related activities within the EUROfusion–F4E programme and discusses how facilities such as LIBRTI could play a key role in addressing remaining experimental gaps. In particular, the potential use of LIBRTI for neutronics-driven breeder blanket testing, tritium generation and transport studies, and integrated validation of WCLL-relevant technologies is explored. Such experiments would represent a valuable step towards the comprehensive qualification of tritium breeder blankets required for DEMO and future fusion power plants.
| Speaker affiliation | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - KIT |
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