Preliminary analysis of tritium fuel cycle in Z-pinch-driven fusion–fission hybrid reactor

Attaining tritium self-sufficiency is indispensable in a Z-pinch-driven fusion–fission hybrid reactor (Z-FFR). In this paper, a conceptual design is presented in which the Z-FFR tritium cycle system was divided into eight subsystems. A theoretical analysis of tritium inventory based on the mean residence time was performed to quantitatively obtain the tritium distribution in each subsystem. Tritium self-sufficiency judgment criteria were established using a tritium mass flow analysis method. The dependency relationships between the burning rate, tritium breeding ratio, extraction efficiency, and tritium self-sufficiency were also specified for the steady state.