Thermomechanical analysis supporting the preliminary engineering design of DONES target assembly

Abstract

The design of the Demo Oriented NEutron Source (DONES) is the main objective of the Work Package Early Neutron Source (WPENS) of EUROfusion Power Plant Physics and Technology (PPPT) programme. DONES is an IFMIF-based neutron source with the goal of testing and qualifying candidate materials to be used in DEMO and future fusion power plants. In the framework of these activities, a research campaign has been carried out at the University of Palermo, in close cooperation with ENEA labs, in order to assess the thermomechanical performances of the DONES target system, endowed with an integrated Target Assembly (TA) when it undergoes the thermomechanical loads typical of its nominal operating scenario. The effects on TA behaviour of two possible different configurations for the accelerator beam foot-print have been investigated, considering an entire (20 × 5 cm2) or a halved (10 × 5 cm2) beam foot-print area with respect to that of IFMIF. The study has been carried out following a theoretical-numerical approach, based on the Finite Element Method (FEM), and adopting the qualified ABAQUS v. 6.14 commercial FEM code. The obtained thermomechanical results have been assessed in order to check whether the BP deformation field is such to prevent the contact of the BP itself with the High Flux Test Module, as well as to verify their compliance with the design criteria foreseen for the structural material. To this purpose, a stress linearization procedure has been performed along the most critical paths located within the BP, in order to check the fulfilment of the rules prescribed by the ITER structural design code SDC-IC. The obtained results are herewith presented and critically discussed.