Optimization and Simulated Testing of Flow Channel Inserts for Dual-Coolant ITER Test Blanket Modules

Accurate prediction of coupled transport phenomena is critical to the design of liquid metal blankets used in fusion reactors. While rapid advances are being made in the computer modeling of blanket systems in areas of fluid flow, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), heat transfer, structural mechanics, and neutronics, there is a need for advancing the physical models of coupled transport processes (e.g., tritium permeation and corrosion of structural materials in liquid metals in the presence of a strong magnetic field). In particular, a capability is needed to integrate multi-species flow computations with multidimensional solvers, thus benefiting from the comprehensive modeling of flows consisting of two or more species, electromagnetics, and heat transfer. This project will build a solver for coupled transport phenomena in generalized geometries, and will account for momentum, heat, and mass transfer processes under liquid metal blanket conditions. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee The proper evaluation of transport processes in liquid metal MHD is vital to the design of breeding fusion blankets, and should lead to improvements in the safety and economic feasibility of fusion reactors.