Estimation of decay heat in fusion DEMO reactor

Abstract

The decay heat of activated materials is important in safety assessment of fusion DEMO reactor against loss of coolant-flow accidents. Decay heat for reactor main components of the SlimCS DEMO reactor was studied with a one-dimensional code THIDA-2. The reactor main components consist of the inboard (IB) blanket module, outboard (OB) blanket module and divertor. For a reactor with a fusion output of 3.0GW, the decay heat of IB blanket, OB blanket, divertor and radiation shield were estimated to be as high as 8.6MW, 30.9MW, 10.6MW and 1.8MW, respectively, immediately after the shutdown of operation. The total decay heat was as high as 52MW immediately after the shutdown and 3.1MW one month later. The blanket produces the largest portion of decay heat, about 76%. © 2012 The Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research.