ITER cooling system

The present specification of the ITER cooling system does not permit its operation with water above 150 C. However, the first wall needs to be heated to higher temperatures during conditioning at 250 C and bake-out at 350 C. In order to use the cooling water for these operations the cooling system would have to operate during conditioning at 37 Bar and during bake-out at 164 Bar. This is undesirable from the safety analysis point of view, and alternative heating methods are to be found. This review suggests that superheated steam or gas heating can be used for both baking and conditioning. The blanket design must consider the use of dual heat transfer media, allowing for change from one to another in both directions. Transfer from water to gas or steam is the most intricate and risky part of the entire heating process. Superheated steam conditioning appears unfavorable. The use of inert gas is recommended, although alternative heating fluids such as organic coolant should be investigated