Fabrication of an ITER middle-scaled shielding blanket module mock-up

• Published in: Fusion engineering and design Vol. 39; no. 1-4; pp. 765 - 773
• Main Authors: Sato, Shinichi, Osaki, Toshio, Yamada, Hirokazu, Kobayashi, Takeshi, Sato, Satoshi, Furuya, Kazuyuki, Hatano, Toshihisa, Tokami, Ikuhide, Kuroda, Toshimasa, Takatsu, Hideyuki
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.09.1998; New York, NY Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Controled nuclear fusion plants; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy; Design; Tokamak; Nuclear fusion reactor; Blanket; Wall; Stainless steel; Thermomechanical properties; Shielding; Model test; Experimental study; Scale model
• ISSN: 0920-3796; 1873-7196
• DOI: 10.1016/S0920-3796(97)00195-6

In the present ITER shielding blanket design, the first wall (FW) has built-in cooling channels (SS316LN) in a copper layer that is bonded to the shielding structure (SS316LN). The shielding structure is a SS block also with cooling channels that are drilled. For fabricating the shielding blanket and the FW, hot isostatic pressing (HIP) has been proposed as a promising joining method to avoid fusion welds under severe neutron irradiation. To demonstrate the fabricability of the FW/blanket, a middle-scaled mock-up was fabricated. The mock-up consists of FW, shielding block, and cooling header, etc. The FW was fabricated using a sandwiched tube technique (DSCu plate and SS316L circular tube), which was composed of a 20-mm thick DSCu heat sink containing SS cooling tubes oriented poloidally. The FW is curved in the poloidal direction corresponding to one of inboard modules (No. 6 module). The cooling channels of the SS316L shielding block were machined by the drilling method. The FW parts (SS tubes and DSCu plates) and the shielding block were bonded by single-step HIPing. After HIP bonding, microscopic observations of bonded interfaces using the remnant (edge of the mock-up) were carried out. Also, to confirm the integrity of pressure boundaries, pressure-resistant and helium leak tests were performed. It has been shown that the middle-scaled mock-up was successfully fabricated using a sandwich-tube technique by single step HIPing.