The "International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility" IFMIF
IFMIF Development
So called “Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities” (EVEDA) for IFMIF are currently being pursued by Japan and several European states (represented by the F4E agency) in the framework of the “Broader Approach” agreement. Design work for critical components and systems is done by research institutions such as CEA (France), CIEMAT (Spain), ENEA (Italy), JAEA (Japan), KIT (Germany), SCK-CEN (Belgium), PSI (Switzerland), their associates and universities, coordinated by an integrated project team localized in Rokkasho, Japan. The EVEDA phase is planned to be concluded mid 2013, to be followed by decisions on the construction of IFMIF.
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is responsible for several R&D tasks:
- The detailed design of the target and test cell (TTC)
- The specification of the peripheral cells for test module handling and preparation, as well as for the ancillary systems such as cooling, purification and evacuation
- The high flux test module (HFTM) to irradiate a high number of specimen up to 150 displacements per atom
- The tritium release test module (TRTM) for in-situ tritium breeding experiments
- Development of suitable neutron physics models and their application to support the design
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| Overview of CAD designs of the IFMIF Target and Test cell and the High Flux Test Module, designed at the Institute of Neutron physics and Reactor technology (INR) at KIT |
The R&D tasks performed at KIT rely on several interdisciplinary science and engineering skills, linked in an integrated and iterating design and validation process:
- 3D CAD design, performed with CATIA V5
- Numerical calculation of neutronic responses
- Numerical calculation of temperature fields (CFD)
- Numerical calculation of mechanical stresses and deformations (FEM)
- Basic investigations on fluid dynamics for high efficiency cooling
- Qualification of high tech manufacturing technologies
- Engineering tests of mockups