A coupled systems code-CFD MHD solver for fusion blanket design

Highlights: • A coupled systems code-CFD MHD solver for fusion blanket applications is proposed. • Development of a thermal hydraulic systems code with MHD capabilities is detailed. • A code coupling methodology based on the use of TCP socket communications is detailed. • Validation cases are briefly discussed for the systems code and coupled solver. - Abstract: The network of flow channels in a fusion blanket can be modelled using a 1D thermal hydraulic systems code. For more complex components such as junctions and manifolds, the simplifications employed in such codes can become invalid, requiring more detailed analyses. For magnetic confinement reactor blanket designs using a conducting fluid as coolant/breeder, the difficulties in flow modelling are particularly severe due to MHD effects. Blanket analysis is an ideal candidate for the application of a code coupling methodology, with a thermal hydraulic systems code modelling portions of the blanket amenable to 1D analysis, and CFD providing detail where necessary. A systems code, MHD-SYS, has been developed and validated against existing analyses. The code shows good agreement in the prediction of MHD pressure loss and the temperature profile in the fluid and wall regions of the blanket breeding zone. MHD-SYS has been coupled to an MHD solver developed in OpenFOAM and the coupled solver validated for test geometries in preparation for modelling blanket systems.