Neutronics analyses for an aqueous self-cooled fusion reactor blanket

A concern in the design of fusion reactor blankets is the trade-off between tritium breeding and the other blanket design functions. While net breeding is required, the blanket should also ensure efficient energy recovery and ease of fabrication. A novel, aqueous self-cooled blanket concept based on lithium compounds dissolved in water is proposed and analyzed using one-dimensional neutronics calculations. The concept uses Zircaloy for the structural material and a vanadium alloy for the first wall. Both light water and heavy water systems lead to an acceptable design with respect to tritium breeding. Vanadium alloy and lockalloy (a beryllium-aluminum alloy) might serve as alternative structural materials for the ASCB concept